Army Spec. Joshua R. Wright, a parachute rigger with the 11th Quartermaster Company at Fort Bragg, N.C., helped to prepare needed supplies that were shipped to Haiti after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake left tens of thousands of people without food, water and shelter.
Members of the 11th Quartermaster Company at Fort Bragg, N.C., prepare parachutes that were used to air deliver food, water and other supplies to people in remote locations of Haiti.
Airmen from the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., push supplies headed to Haiti onto a C-130 after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake left tens of thousands of people without food and water.
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., stack water onto pallets that were delivered to Haiti after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the island nation.
A C-17 Globemaster III from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., air delivers pallets of food and water to Mirebalais, Haiti, Jan 21. The supplies were later distributed by members of the United Nations to the survivors of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
Haitian-Americans in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, board a C-17 Globemaster III from McChord Air Force Base, Wash. The people were flown from Haiti to Miami after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Port-au-Prince region.
By STAFF SGT. CHRISTOPHER HOLMES
Special to The Sunday Times
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — When a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti, it was the son of a Taylor couple who stepped in to help rush medical supplies, food and water to the region.
Army Spec. Joshua R. Wright, son of William and Nancy Wright, of Kensington Street in Taylor, is a parachute rigger with the 11th Quartermaster Company at Fort Bragg, N.C., who worked tirelessly to make sure the people of Haiti received the assistance they needed.
“My involvement with the current operations has been to help build and rig 600 container delivery systems,” Wright said. “These systems can hold up to 2,000 pounds of humanitarian aid supplies like water and food. Our mission was very crucial for helping support the Haitians.”
During the relief mission the men and women at Fort Bragg helped deliver more than 50,000 gallons of water, 375,000 Meals Ready to Eat, 700 container delivery systems for air deliveries, and 200 pallets of supplies to Haiti.
“I think we helped them tremendously,” Wright said. “We sent pallets of water, food and Meals Ready to Eat to areas devastated by the earthquake.”
Because of Wright, and other service members, tens of thousands of people in Haiti were able to survive in the weeks following the earthquake. Helping make a difference is something he feels is the right thing to do.
“I think it’s important for the U.S. to help other nations so that we can attain more allies, friends and what have you,” Wright said. “Other nations will then appreciate the U.S. and help support us if we ever need it.”