LT. EMILY J. T. PEREZ, 23, was a West Point graduate, and a platoon leader in the Army’s 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas. On September 12, 2006 she was killed in Kifl, Iraq, south of Baghdad. Her hometown was Fort Washington, Maryland. An obiturary in the WaPo can be accesssed here. Here is an excerpt:
Emily J.T. Perez, a determined 23-year-old from Prince George’s County, rose to the top of her high school class and then became the first minority female command sergeant in the history of the U.S. Military Academy.
Now she has another distinction. The second lieutenant was buried Tuesday at the academy, the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq. Perez, a platoon leader, was killed while patrolling southern Iraq near Najaf on Sept. 12 when a roadside bomb exploded under her Humvee.
Brief NYT profiles of Perez, and other American female soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan can be accessed here.
2nd Lieutenant Emily J. T. Perez (In Memorial)
Saddened when in the local paper of parents Daniel & Vicki I read,
About the death of their 23-year old daughter 2nd Lt. Emily J.T. Perez,
Father and grandfather proudly served their country I remember that,
She proved a very tough act to follow, this spunky little Army brat.
At that time she was small in stature but big in heart,
No matter the role, Emily more than played her part,
Armed with the nickname of Kobe for always being sure,
Or whatever the task was her shots were straight and pure.
Active with Peace Baptist Church residing at Fort Washington,
A family member afflicted with HIV and her crusade had begun,
In Prince George County she helped others start a HIV-AIDS Ministry,
Superwoman was determined to help combat this deadly disease.
Assistant Principal N. Laney said,”this wasn’t some average Joe”,
As her high school track coach, Nathaniel certainly should know,
Alexandria’s Red Cross called her focused while always ready to go,
The peer education program said she was never late & very dependable.
An Oxon Hill High School wing commander in the Junior ROTC,
Serving her country with the Army in any capacity is what she longed to be,
At West Point, choir, track, first minority command, cream of the crop,
Intelligent as Emily was she still couldn’t spell the words quit or stop.
As the platoon leader Perez was patrolling Iraq in a military Humvee,
A bomb exploded under her truck from cowardly insurgents called an IED,
A sweetheart decked out in battle fatigues that only aimed to please,
God called you home to Heaven in the name of Jesus, our loving Emily.
© 2006 by Luke Easter
http://www.LyricsByLucas.com