Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez (19 February 1983 – 12 September 2006) was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army serving in Iraq who became first female African-American officer in US military history to die in combat.

Early life and education

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. 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, becoming the highest-ranking African-American female cadet in the history of West Point. She was a Cadet

Command Sergeant Major A command sergeant major (CSM) is a non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit (battalion or higher). The CSM is ap ...

Career and death

Following graduation from West Point in 2005, she was commissioned a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

204th Support Battalion The mission of the 204th Brigade Support Battalion, "Rough Riders," is to, on order, deploy and execute responsive Combat Service Support and Combat Health Support in support of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division's objectives. ("R ...

, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. 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 The "Class of 9/11" is a term coined by National Public Radio for American high school graduating classes of 2005. These students were freshmen when the September 11 attacks occurred in 2001, and have had to cope with the many aspects of the afterm ...

" 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. Perez was buried at the West Point Cemetery.

References

External links

* Partlow, Joshua and Lonnae O'Neal Parker
"West Point Mourns a Font Of Energy, Laid to Rest by War"
'' The Washington Post'', 27 September 2006
Faces of the Fallen: 2nd Lt. Emily J. Perez
''The Washington Post''
West Point Graduate Is First of 'Class of 9/11' to Die in Combat
'' Reuters'' via '' Los Angeles Times'', 27 September 2006
Death Comes Calling For the Class of 9/11
'' Time'', 1 October 2006
Memorial program (PowerPoint)
medicalservicecorps.amedd.army.mil] {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Emily 1983 births 2006 deaths African-American female military personnel American military personnel killed in the Iraq War Burials at West Point Cemetery United States Military Academy alumni Women in the Iraq War Women in the United States Army United States Army personnel of the Iraq War 21st-century American women African-American United States Army personnel