BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Emily Perez
Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez
Emily Perez.jpg
Born February 19, 1983
Heidelberg, West Germany
Died September 12, 2006 (aged 23)
KIA in Al Kifl, Iraq
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 2001-2006
Rank Second Lieutenant
Unit 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade
Battles/wars Iraq War
Awards Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez (19 February 1983 – 12 September 2006) was a female minority Cadet Command Sergeant Major in the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Born in Heidelberg, West Germany, of African American and Hispanic parents in a U.S. military family, she graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland, where she ranked among the top-10 students in her class and was wing commander of Junior ROTC. In July 2001, after graduation from high school, Perez entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. There she was an exemplary student and talented track athlete. Following graduation from West Point in 2005, she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Perez was killed in action on September 12, 2006, while leading a convoy through Al Kifl, Iraq, a mission for which she had volunteered.
Death
Grave of Emily Perez, West Point Cemetery (2013)
Perez was deployed to Iraq in December as a Medical Service Corps officer. She was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near her Humvee during combat operations in Al Kifl, near Najaf. Aged 23, she was the first female graduate of West Point to die in the Iraq War, the first West Point graduate of the "Class of 9/11" to die in combat, and the first female African-American officer to die in combat.
Lieutenant Perez's military awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge. She posthumously received the NCAA Award of Valor in 2008.
Emily Perez was the 64th female member of the U.S. military to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan and the 40th West Point graduate killed since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Another female West Point graduate, Laura M. Walker of the Class of 2003, was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.
Perez was interred at the West Point Cemetery.
Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez
Emily Perez.jpg
Born February 19, 1983
Heidelberg, West Germany
Died September 12, 2006 (aged 23)
KIA in Al Kifl, Iraq
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 2001-2006
Rank Second Lieutenant
Unit 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade
Battles/wars Iraq War
Awards Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez (19 February 1983 – 12 September 2006) was a female minority Cadet Command Sergeant Major in the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Born in Heidelberg, West Germany, of African American and Hispanic parents in a U.S. military family, she graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland, where she ranked among the top-10 students in her class and was wing commander of Junior ROTC. In July 2001, after graduation from high school, Perez entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. There she was an exemplary student and talented track athlete. Following graduation from West Point in 2005, she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Perez was killed in action on September 12, 2006, while leading a convoy through Al Kifl, Iraq, a mission for which she had volunteered.
Death
Grave of Emily Perez, West Point Cemetery (2013)
Perez was deployed to Iraq in December as a Medical Service Corps officer. She was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near her Humvee during combat operations in Al Kifl, near Najaf. Aged 23, she was the first female graduate of West Point to die in the Iraq War, the first West Point graduate of the "Class of 9/11" to die in combat, and the first female African-American officer to die in combat.
Lieutenant Perez's military awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge. She posthumously received the NCAA Award of Valor in 2008.
Emily Perez was the 64th female member of the U.S. military to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan and the 40th West Point graduate killed since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Another female West Point graduate, Laura M. Walker of the Class of 2003, was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.
Perez was interred at the West Point Cemetery.
No comments:
Post a Comment