Emily Perez

Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez (19 February 1983 – 12 September 2006) was a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army serving in Iraq. She was the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq.[1]

Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez
Pictured as a USMA cadet in 2005
Born(1983-02-19)19 February 1983
Heidelberg, West Germany
Died12 September 2006(2006-09-12) (aged 23)
KIA in Al Kifl, Iraq
Buried
West Point Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service2001–2006 (USMA Cadet and active duty officer)
RankSecond Lieutenant
Unit204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade
Battles/warsIraq War
AwardsBronze Star
Purple Heart
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

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.

Career and death
Grave of Emily Perez, West Point Cemetery (2013)

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 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.

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.

She was the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq.[1]

Perez was buried at the West Point Cemetery.

References
  1. "West Point Mourns a Font of Energy, Laid to Rest by War". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
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