Monica Beltran (born 1985) is a retired soldier of the

Virginia Army National Guard The Virginia Army National Guard is the land militia of the American State of Virginia. It is composed of approximately 7,200 soldiers and maintains 46 armories in communities throughout the State of Virginia. The Governor may call individuals ...

who was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with

"V" device A "V" device is a metal Letter case, capital Letter (alphabet), letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on #Decorations eligible for the "V" device, certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes a decoration award ...

for actions during a 2005 battle in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Early life and education

Born in 1985, Beltran is from

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

. Her mother is Luz Washington. Beltran lived in the

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Gar-Field Senior High School Gar-Field Senior High School is a senior high school in Woodbridge in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, educating students in grades 9 to 12. History and administration Gar-Field High School was opened on December 8, 1953, as a s ...

Career

As a teenager in February 2003, Beltran enlisted in the

, primarily for the supplementary tuition assistance. In late October 2005, Beltran was in Iraq as part of the 1173rd Transportation Company. She had been in Iraq for over 10 months by that point and was nearing the end of their mission; her unit's primary duty was providing armed escort for convoys of military vehicles in the country. While heading to a nearby

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...

(for the first time) on October 26, 2005, Beltran and several other soldiers from her unit were ambushed by enemy forces using hand grenades, small arms fire, and rocket-propelled grenades. Ranked private first class at the time, she helped fight off the attack as a vehicle turret gunner, providing suppressing fire with a .50 caliber machine gun, despite suffering (unbeknownst to Beltran at the time) a bullet wound to her left hand in the process. Beltran's vehicle was hit by enemy fire, including rocket-propelled grenades, injuring the driver. Fellow soldier James Witkowski, one of Beltran's friends, was killed in the ambush, and 5 other soldiers were injured. Beltran's actions helped save 54 other soldiers from suffering serious injury. As a result of continuing to fight against the enemy even while injured, Beltran was awarded the

with

, along with a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

(for her injury), and promoted to

specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...

. Several other soldiers also received Bronze Star Medals for valor; the soldier who was killed posthumously received a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

. The entire battle lasted approximately 30 minutes. In October 2006, Beltran was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. In 2006, Beltran also worked for

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

as a dispatcher. She served with the

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is r ...

and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013. Beltran retired from the Army National Guard in August 2023.

Personal life

In 2006, Beltran lived in

Lorton, Virginia Lorton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,072 as of the 2020 census. History Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plaske ...

. She has a younger sister who was in kindergarten in 2006. In 2012, Beltran was given the

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of t ...

award by the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

Awards and decorations

References

External links