Columbus veteran featured in documentary film ‘Served Like a Girl’

Nichole Alred, a Columbus native who served two tours in Iraq, will host a free screening of the award-winning documentary “Served Like a Girl” Wednesday at the National Infantry Museum.

Alred served six years with the 3rd Infantry Division, and was deployed during the invasion of Iraq and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The film, which debuted at South by Southwest in March, tells the story of five female veterans, including Alred, as they compete for the crown of Miss Veteran America. The competition raises money for Final Salute Inc., a nonprofit that provides resources to the estimated 55,000 homeless women veterans, and especially those with children.

Alred was already competing in the pageant before the director, Lysa Heslov, contacted her.

“The film kind of found me,” Alred said. “Lysa selected five women to follow. And she concentrated on a particular story about each woman veteran. My story is about the murder of my father. He was murdered in Columbus, off Marathon Drive. His name is Paul Hill Sr.”

The case is still unsolved.

“I wanted to bring my story to Columbus, because it’s where I was born and raised, it’s where my part of the story takes place,” said Alred. “One of my favorite places to visit is the National Infantry Museum, so it’s a great honor that they allowed me to screen it there.”

But from the beginning, Nichole wasn’t sure if she wanted to be in the film at all.

“I believe a lot of veterans are very private in their lives,” she said. “When Lysa first contacted me, I was standoffish. I discussed it with my husband, who is also a veteran.”

After a lot of thought, she and her husband decided it was a story that needed to be told.

“It’s kind of frightening giving someone all those details and inviting them into your life, to follow you and record you,” Alred said. She was worried that her story would be distorted and sensationalized.

“Sometimes Hollywood twists things in such a way that they’re not even believable anymore. I was kind of afraid that that would happen, but from day one I trusted Lysa. She took our stories and she was able to tell them in such a beautiful way.”

Alred will participate in a panel at 6 p.m. before the screening begins, and she encourages people to ask questions and share their experiences. Because the film is not yet rated, the screening is only open to those ages 18 and over.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Columbus veteran featured in documentary film ‘Served Like a Girl’."