Rights entered the University in 1947 after service in World War II and was at UNC for three years. He re-enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1950 and went to Korea with the First Cavalry Division later that month. He soon was transferred to the Second Infantry Division.

In February 1951, he was a member of "B" Battery, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, supporting South Korean units above Hoengsan. His unit was overrun by the Chinese and suffered 1,400 casualties. Rights became a prisoner of war.

In January 1954, Rights' parents were informed by the Department of the Army that he had died of malnutrition in a North Korean prison camp in May 1951.

Sources:
GAA Alumni Records;
Korean War Project