The man who threw himself from the deck of the Royal Caribbean ship Icon of the Seas in May has been identified as a retired, highly-rated war veteran with PTSD.
Lt. Col. James Bryan Wright, 53, was on the first day of a week-long cruise from Florida to the Caribbean with his wife Tracie when passengers raised the alarm at 7:50 a.m. on May 26 about a man who had fallen overboard.
A newly released incident report from Miami-Dade police shows the couple from Gaston, South Carolina, were arguing in their cabin shortly before he disappeared 300 miles off the Florida coast.
Contact was made with Mrs. Wright who advised that she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation, at which point Mrs. Wright left the cabin, leaving Mr. Wright in the cabin, the statement reads.
‘Shortly after the skirmish, Mr. Wright left the cabin and walked to deck five. There he entered through a locked gate and jumped from the ship.’
Lt. Col. James Bryan Wright, 53, jumped from the fifth deck of the Icon of the Seas
The world’s largest cruise ship was on the first day of a week-long cruise from Florida to the Caribbean when passengers raised the alarm about a man overboard at 7:50 a.m. on May 26.
The world’s largest cruise ship was forced to stop while the search continued for the missing father of two.
Passengers shared footage of the rescue on social media as the search continued, with some even saying he had been found alive.
Two hours after he jumped, he was found floating by one of the ship’s lifeboats. He was brought back on board, where crew tried in vain to revive him. He was pronounced dead at 9:58 a.m.
An obituary shows he served in the military for 30 years after enlisting in the South Carolina Air National Guard in 1988.
In 2012, he was stationed at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan as the director of human resources for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force. In 2018, he retired as the deputy director of Human Resources-Joint Force Headquarters for the South Carolina National Guard.
“Bryan had compassion for the men and women who served under him,” his obituary reads. “During his tour in Afghanistan, Bryan flew to many combat zones to visit soldiers and personnel assigned to his command.
“He had the honor of presenting countless Purple Hearts and other awards to the many heroes who selflessly worked to protect the freedoms we all enjoy.”
Wright’s son Nicholas, a law student at The Citadel Military College in South Carolina, had just married in January of last year
Wright’s daughter, Victoria, is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Batesburg-Leesville
In a tragic twist, it emerged that the veteran’s younger brother, William, 49, died just two days after Wright’s death
Chaos broke out on the cruise ship after the alarm was raised on board.
Zachary Normand said his fellow passengers had been informed that a rescue mission was underway and that the ship would turn around.
He was sitting in the dining room having breakfast with about 300 others when the ship’s captain announced that the man had been found.
“Everybody in the dining room clapped and we said ‘yes,’” Normand told the New York Post. “We assumed the guy was OK.”
Only later did they discover that the passenger had died.
To Normandin’s surprise, the atmosphere on board was surreal. Most people were just enjoying their vacation, as if nothing had happened.
“I don’t think everyone knows that this guy is dying. I think it was kept quiet on purpose,” Normandin added.
Wright won numerous awards during his decades in the military, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 2 bronze oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with 2 bronze oak leaf clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal.
The family were members of Gantt Street Baptist Church in Gaston, where his daughter Victoria, a pediatric nurse, plays bass guitar.
His son Nicholas studied law at the Citadel Military College in South Carolina and married his girlfriend Emily in January of last year.
Wright was in critical condition when he was returned to the ship, where he was pronounced dead, but passengers cheered and celebrated after he was found, unaware that he had died.
The ship was held for two hours while the crew assisted with the search and rescue mission
In a tragic twist, it emerged that the veteran’s younger brother, William, 49, died just two days after Wright’s death.
The 365-metre Icon of the Seas did not make her maiden voyage until January.
The $2 billion ship can accommodate 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew, plus features a 53-foot (16-meter) man-made waterfall, 40 dining venues and bars, seven swimming pools (including a 40,000-gallon (154,000-liter) lake), 50 musicians and comedians, and a 16-piece orchestra.
In April, 20-year-old Levion Parker jumped overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in front of his shocked family.
The 18-story Liberty of the Seas was en route from Cuba to the Bahamian island of Grand Inagua when the tragedy occurred.
Wright was buried with military honors at Fort Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina.