MILITARY HISTORY
Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger – N48 857 696 – Active Service (Afghanistan)
Nicholas Ashley Bulger joined the military in September 2000 after getting the call to enlist while attending Sir Sandford Fleming College. He was based in Edmonton, Alberta. In September 2003, Nick took a pause and left the military to work in the Alberta oil fields and evaluate his career. He re-enlisted on December 18, 2007. Nick decided that the military was for him as he always wanted to do more and the forces were a good option for him to make a difference.
Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger was a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry – 3rd Battalion, based out of Edmonton, Alberta. In February 2009, Cpl. Nick Bulger was deployed to serve with the Canadian Contingent of NATO forces serving in Afghanistan and soon became a member of Brigadier General Jonathan Vance’s tactical team.
On July 3, 2009, Cpl. Bulger, 30, Senior Commander of Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance’s tactical team, was travelling in the Zhari District, about sixty kilometers southwest of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Cpl. Bulger was ordered to protect the General and was travelling behind him in Kandahar province, when his light armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device at 11:20 a.m. local time. After Vance’s vehicle passed over the bomb safely, it was set off 15 metres behind by the vehicle in which Cpl. Bulger was travelling. Brigadier-General Vance was not injured in the blast.
Cpl. Bulger was killed instantly and five other soldiers were hurt when the improvised explosive device detonated. The five injured were in good condition and received medical care at Kandahar Airfield. The team had been on patrol that day and was on their way back to camp and they had switched vehicles. They never went the same route and the vehicles were never in the same order. Cpl. Bulger was in the first vehicle on the way to patrol but on the way back, he was in the second vehicle. Cpl. Bulger was not the intended target; the intended target was the Brigadier-General.
Cpl. Bulger had been in Afghanistan since February and was expected to return home to Buckhorn and his family at the end of July 2009. He was looking forward to being reunited with his wife Rebeka and their two young daughters, Brooke Lynn and Elizabeth, as well as his mother and his siblings.
At a news conference, Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance called Cpl. Bulger a determined and passionate soldier. “He attacked every challenge head-on, including the daily grind of providing some relief to this shattered country.” On his first deployment overseas since joining the Forces in 2000, Cpl. Bulger “always handled himself as a seasoned infantry veteran,” Vance said. “He also believed that his military comrades were a part of that family and treated him with the same compassion. Despite his tough exterior, Nick had a huge heart, which he lent to everyone in his life.” Vance called improvised explosive devices the “tools of cowards.” “Today it claimed the life of a valued Canadian soldier. It could have easily claimed the lives of an Afghan family,” he said. “They are indiscriminate and all too deadly.” “Those who knew him well spoke of a man tough yet thoughtful, dedicated to his profession, and fiercely loyal.”
Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger was the 121st Canadian soldier killed since the Country’s mission in Afghanistan began in 2002. Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger was awarded the ‘Sacrifice Medal’ and the ‘General Campaign Star – South West Asia’. Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger is commemorated in “The Service of Canada Book of Remembrance”.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Nicholas Ashley Bulger was born in Toronto, Ontario on June 4, 1979. He was the son of Kathleen Mary Frances Bulger. Nick’s siblings included Christopher, Sheldon and Jessica Bulger. His family moved to the Buckhorn area in October 1986, where he attended Buckhorn Public School and Lakefield District Secondary School. Nick graduated from Lakefield District Secondary School in 1997 and went on to attend Sir Sandford Fleming College.
Nick loved to play rugby and was a member of his Lakefield High School team. He liked baseball and joined a couple of Rep teams while living in Edmonton. His favourite hockey team was the Detroit Red Wings, especially when Steve Yzerman was playing. Nick loved anything to do with water – swimming, fishing, jet skiing, water skiing or a day out in the boat!
It was in 2000 while attending Sir Sandford Fleming College that Nick got the call to enlist to serve his country in the Armed Forces based in Edmonton. He later left the military in September 2003 to go work in the Alberta oil fields. Nick and Rebeka Angela Ohm married on May 19, 2007 and they made their home in Edmonton, Alberta. They had a family of two daughters, Brooke-Lynn and Elizabeth Bulger.
On December 17, 2007, Nick decided to complete his dream and return to the military service enlisting with the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry. He strove to bring the best to whatever he did, whether working hard to make sure his family was provided for or providing guidance and leadership to his fellow soldiers through his kindness and his selfless character. His quiet manner and his charming, contagious grin acted as a light to his family and to the soldiers who served with him.
Sadly Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger was killed in action on July 3, 2009, while returning to camp from patrol duty when his vehicle drove over an explosive device. When Nick did his last will and testament, he wanted to be cremated. Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger is remembered with honour in the Evergreen Memorial Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, home of his wife and daughters. He is also remembered in St. Bridges Cemetery in Foxley River, Prince Edward Island, home of his mother and her family.
