Historians seem reluctant to record or publish the names and numbers of American women who gave their lives in service to their country. Whether from illness, injury, disease, enemy fire, plane crashes, or the unknown, they deserve to be remembered as having made the ultimate sacrifice. Let us all remember that women have served proudly since our nation began.
The Civil War
Some historical records verify the fact that over sixty women were either wounded or killed at various battles during the Civil War.
Perhaps one of the the most poignant stories about women in the Civil War is told in Women in War1866, by Frank Moore.
In 1863, at age 19, a woman known only as Emily, ran away from home and joined the drum corps of a Michigan Regiment. The regiment was sent to Tennessee and during the struggle for Chatanooga a minie ball pierced the side of the young soldier. Her wound was fatal and her sex was disclosed. At first she refused to disclose her real name but as she lay dying she consented to dictate a telegram to her father in Brooklyn. "Forgive your dying daughter. I have but a few moments to live. My native soil drinks my blood. I expected to deliver my country but the fates would not have it so. I am content to die. Pray forgive me...... Emily."
After the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863, the bodies of two Confederate women, in uniform, were found. A Union flag bearer, also a woman in uniform, was killed on the hill near Picketts Charge. A young woman named Frances Day was mortally wounded while serving as Sgt Frank Mayne in the Western Theater.
Spanish American War
Ellen May Tower of Byron, Michigan was the first U.S. Army nurse to die on foreign soil, of typhoid fever, in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War, and was the first woman to receive a military funeral in Michigan.
Twenty two women died as a result of service in the Spanish American War:
Bailey, Lurecia - Army Contract Nurse - Died from Typhoid Fever
Source Material graciously provided by WIMSA - The above names came from Record Group 112, National Archives, 2nd Report, NSDAR, p. 87; 3rd Report, NSDAR, p. 50 ; Record Group 112, "Order of Spanish American War Nurses," Trained Nurse and Hospital Review, Vol. 23, p. 81 and ps. 208-210; same peridocal, Vol. 24, p. 423; Vol 25, p. 447; Record Group 112, "The Village of Byron and It's Heroine, Ellen May Tower," by Kathryn Seward.
Bradford, T.R. - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - African American
Burke, Mary - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - Nun
Cameron, Emma - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Campos, Anna - Army Contract Nurse - Died from Typhoid Fever
Dorothy Cochrane - Army Conttract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Flanagan, Elizabeth - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - Nun
Greenfield, Margaret - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Larkin, Anne - Army Contract Nurse - Died from Typhoid Fever - Nun
Plant, Lulu - Army Contract Nurse - Undiagnosed
Roberts, Alcice - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Stansberry, Katherine - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Sweeney, Mary - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - Nun
Toland, Irene - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Tower, Ellen - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Trioche, Margaret - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Turnbull, Minerva - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - African American
Walworth, Ruebena - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Ward, Clara - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever
Wolfe, Carolina - Army Contract Nurse - Died From Typhoid Fever - Nun
Phinney, Dorthea - Volunteer - Died From Malaria
A U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1976 in honor of Clara Maass.
During the battle on Anzio, six Army Nurses were killed by the German bombing and strafing of the tented hospital area. Four Army Nurses among the survivors were awarded Silver Stars for extraordinary courage under fire.
In the Pacific Theater a Japanese suicide plane bombed the hospital ship USS Comfort off Leyte Island. In the attack 6 nurses, 5 medical officers, 8 enlisted men, and 7 patients were killed, and 4 nurses were wounded
In all, more than 400 military women lost their lives during World War II. In 1944 U.S. Army Nurse Aleda E. Lutz of Freeland Michigan was the first U.S. military woman to die in a combat zone during World War II when her hospital plane went down on her 196th rescue mission.
Ellen Ainsworth, a 24-year-old Army nurse from Glenwood City, Wisconsin, was killed during theBattle of Anzio in Italy. She was the only Wisconsin woman to die from enemy fire during World War II. On February 10, 1944, Lieutenant Ainsworth was on duty in a hospital ward near the Anzio beachhead. During an enemy artillery bombardment, a shell hit the hospital. Despite the severe damage to the hospital, the Wisconsin nurse calmly moved her patients to safety. According to an Army report: "by her disregard for her own safety and her calm assurance she instilled confidence in her assistants and her patients, thereby preventing serious panic and injury. Her courage under fire and her selfless devotion to duty were an inspiration to all who witnessed her actions." She was wounded in the attack and died six days later. She was awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third highest award for bravery, and the Purple Heart. In her honor, a nursing care building at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King is named Ainsworth Hall. A dispensary at Fort Hamilton, New York, and a conference room in the Pentagon also are named in her honor.
Lt. Blanche Sigman, 1st Lt. Carrie Sheetz and Lt. Majorie Morrow, of the Army Nurse Corp, were killed on Feb. 7, 1944 when the 95th Evac Hospital at Anzio Beach was bombed. A few days later Lt. Gertrude Spelboug and Lt. La Verne Farquar were killed when the 33rd Field Hospital at Anzio was hit by artillery. Approximately 200 Army nurses took part in the Anzio campaign. Two of them were the first women to receive the Silver Star for meritorious duty. During the Anzio campaign they cared for 33,128 patients (10,809 battle casualties; 18,074 sick; 4,245 other injuries). Lt. Fern Wingerd, who was wounded when the 95th Evac was bombed recovered in time to be one of the first women to wade ashore with the 7th Army in southern France.
Lieutenant Frances Slanger U.S. Army Nurses Corps' unit was the target of a German artillery barrage when one of their shells burst near her. She and three other nurses were hit by shell fragments. On October 21, 1944 Lt Slanger died from her injuries.In Boston, Jewish women veterans of World War II formed an all women chapter of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA and named it the Lieutenant Frances Slanger Memorial Post. Lt Slanger was with the 45th Field Hospital - one of four units that arrived in Normandy on 10 June 1944 - just four days after D-Day. Learn more about Frances Slanger by reading American Nightingale by Bob Welch. Incredibly well researched and poignantly told, the book takes you back and forth from Frances humble beginnings to her service in the Army Nurse Corps.
Also seeJewish Heroes and Heroines in America.
"Missing in Action" - the Eloise Richardson story -Flight Nurse
A little known fact is that thirty eight WASP gave their lives during WWII - and yet the WASP were not given full military status until many years later.
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WASP: Jane Champlin Susan P. Clarke Margie L. Davis Katherine Dussaq Marjorie D. Edwards Elizabeth Erickson Cornelia Fort Frances F. Grimes Mary Hartson Edith Keene Kathryn B. Lawrence Hazel Ah Ying Lee Paula Loop Alice Lovejoy Lea Ola McDonald Peggy Martin Virginia Moffatt Beverly Moses |
Dorothy Nichols Jeanne L. Norbeck Margaret C. Oldenburg Mabel Rawlinson --- For a wonderful personal glimpse of WASP Mabel Rawlinson please visit: Mabel Rawlinson Gleanna Roberts Marie Mitchell Robinson Betty Scott Dorothy Scott Margaret J. Seip Helen Jo Severson Ethel Marie Sharon Evelyn Sharp Gertrude Thompkins Silver Betty P. Stine Marion Toevs Mary E. Trebing Mary L. Webster Bonnie Jean Welz Betty Taylor Wood |
U.S. Army
2nd Lt. Carol Ann Elizabeth Drazba ~~~~~~ 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Ann Jones
Lt. Drazba and Lt. Jones were assigned to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon. They died in a helicopter crash near Saigon, February 18, 1966. Drazba was from Dunmore, PA., Jones from Allendale, SC. Both were 22 years old.
Capt. Eleanor Grace Alexander ~~~~~~ 1st Lt. Hedwig Diane Orlowski
Capt. Alexander of Westwood, NJ and Lt. Orlowski of Detroit, MI died November 30, 1967. Alexander, stationed at the 85th Evac. and Orlowski, stationed at the 67th Evac., in Qui Nhon, had been sent to a hospital in Pleiku to help out during a push. With them when their plane crashed on the return trip to Qui Nhon were two other nurses, Jerome E. Olmstead of Clintonville, WI and Kenneth R. Shoemaker, Jr. of Owensboro, KY. Alexander was 27, Orlowski 23. Both were posthumously awarded Bronze Stars.
2nd Lt. Pamela Dorothy Donovan
Lt. Donovan, from Allston, MA, became seriously ill and died on July 8, 1968. She was assigned to the 85th Evac. in Qui Nhon. She was 26 years old.
1st Lt. Sharon Ann Lane
Lt. Lane died from shrapnel wounds when the 312th Evac. at Chu Lai was hit by rockets on June 8, 1969. From Canton, OH, she was a month short of her 26th birthday. She was posthumously awarded the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and the Bronze Star for Heroism. In 1970, the recovery room at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, where Lt. Lane had been assigned before going to Viet Nam, was dedicated in her honor. In 1973, Aultman Hospital in Canton, OH, where Lane had attended nursing school, erected a bronze statue of Lane. The names of 110 local servicemen killed in Vietnam are on the base of the statue.
Lt. Col. Annie Ruth Graham, Chief Nurse at 91st Evac. Hospital, 43d Med Group, 44th Medical Brigade, Tuy Hoa.
Lt. Col. Graham, from Efland, NC, suffered a stroke in August 1968 and was evacuated to Japan where she died four days later. A veteran of both World War II and Korea, she was 52.
U.S. Air Force
Capt. Mary Therese Klinker
Capt. Klinker, a flight nurse with the 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, temporarily assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, was on the C-5A Galaxy which crashed on April 4 1975 outside Saigon while evacuating Vietnamese orphans. This is known as the Operation Babylift crash. From Lafayette, IN, she was 27. She was posthumously awarded the Airman's Medal for Heroism and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Addenda - Civilian Women Serving They Too Gave Their Lives
Desert Storm
Major Marie T. Rossi was killed 1 March 1991 in Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Storm. She was flying a CH-47D CHINOOK Cargo Helicopter when it crashed into an unlit Microwave Tower in bad weather. Major Rossi was 32 and a native of Oradell, NJ.
Army
PFC Pamela V. Gay, 19, Surrey, Virginia
PFC Cindy D.J. Bridges, 20, Trinity, Alabama
Private Dorothy Fails, Taylor, Arizona
Private Candace Daniel
Sergeant Tracey Brogdon, Bartow, Florida
2Lt Kathleen M. Sherry, 23, Tonawanda, NY
Specialist Cindy Beaudoin, 19, Plainfield, Conn.
Specialist Christine Mayes, 22, Rochester Mills, Pa.
Specialist Beverly Clark, 23, Armagh, Pa.
Specialist Adrienne L. Mitchell, 20, Moreno Valley, Calif.
Staff Sergeant Tatiana Khaghani Dees, Valley Cottage, Rockland County, New York.
Sergeant Cheryl LaBeau O'Brien, 24, Racine, Wisc.
Lt. Lorraine Lawton
Navy
AG1 Shirley Marie Cross
Stateside
ANG Pilot CWO2 Carol McKinney, Missouri
Peacetime
Lt Cmdr. Barbara Allen Rainey, 34, US Navy - First woman pilot in the history of the U.S. Navy, earning her gold wings in 1974. She was killed while training another pilot, in an air accident at Middleton Field near Evergreen, Alabama. in 1982.
LT Colleen Cain became the Coast Guard's first female HH-52A pilot in June 1979. On Jan. 7, 1982, while stationed at AIRSTA Barbers Point, Hawaii, the helicopter she was co-piloting responded to a distress call from a fishing vessel in stormy weather. The helo crashed into the side of a mountain in the Wailua Valley of Molokai, Hawaii. Cain, along with two other crew members, CDR Buzz Johnson and ASM David Thompson were killed. Cain Hall, a 100-room residence hall at RTC Yorktown, was dedicated in her memory Oct. 25, 1985.
Lt. Laura Piper, 25,
Lt Piper, an Air Force Academy graduate, was one of 26 people killed when Air Force fighter jets shot down two Army helicopters over Iraq on 14 April 1994.
The "Official "Conclusions.
Lt. Kara Hultgreen, 29, US Navy
Lt. Hultgreen was the first woman to qualify in a combat-ready F-14 Tomcat, graduating third in her pilot training class. She was a member of the Black Lions of VF-213 readying to deploy to the Persian Gulf. As she was approaching the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on 25 Oct 1994, her aircraft began losing altitude. Her radar intercept officer ejected successfully. Hultgreen ejected immediately after, but the jet had already rolled. After an exhaustive search, her body and the plane were not recovered. She received full military honors upon her death.
The Navy salvaged the plane and recovered her body, still strapped inside the ejector seat. A four-month investigation found that engine malfunction caused the crash and that almost no pilot could have saved the plane after the left engine stalled.
Captain Amy Lynn Svoboda, 29, US Air Force
Captain Svoboda, an Air Force jet pilot, died on May 29, 1997, after her A-10 Thunderbolt plane crashed during a training mission at the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona. Capt. Amy Lynn Svoboda's death marked the first fatality of a woman pilot in the Air Force, which has only 13 other women fighter pilots. The No. 2 training officer in her squadron, Captain Svoboda had logged more than 1,400 hours piloting jets and was part of a training flight with another A-10 when her plane crashed near Gila Bend, AZ.
Spec. Angela E. Niedermayer,
Eight soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers were killed in the July 8 1997 crash of a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, Ft Bragg, NC. Spec. Angela E. Niedermayer, 20, a noncommunications interceptor and analyst with the 313th Military Intelligence Battalion. Niedermayer joined the Army in July 1996. She had been assigned to the 313th since February 1997. Her military education included the Noncommunications Interceptor Analyst School and Airborne School. Her awards and decorations include the Army Service Ribbon and the Parachutist Badge. Niedermayer, a Richmond, Va., native, is survived by her husband, mother and father.
Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Sherry Lynn Olds, 40, of Panama City, Florida.
Sergeant Olds joined the Air Force 20 years ago after graduating from junior college. She had been assigned to the U.S. embassy in East Africa for the last year and was killed in the August 1998 bombing.
Lt.j.g. Meredith Carol Loughran, 26, of Sandston, Va.
EA-6B "Prowler" crew member missing since the aircraft crash aboard the Norfolk-based nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Nov. 8, 1998, The crew members are presumed lost at sea.
Captain Jennifer Odom at West Point
U.S. Army pilot Captain Jennifer J. Odom, 29, of Brunswick, Maryland, along with her co-pilot and three other crew members, died July 23 1999 when the DeHavilland RC7 reconnaissance plane she was piloting crashed into a mountain in southern Colombia. The Pentagon says there is "no evidence" that narco-guerrillas shot down the plane," but adds that "the investigation is continuing." The whole scenario surrounding Captain Odom's crash is at best suspect.
For more details please visit: THE UNQUIET DEATH OF JENNIFER ODOM at Salon.com Salon Article or at an alternative site - THE UNQUIET DEATH OF JENNIFER ODOM
On Sept. 1, 1999 Sgt. 1st Class Jeanne M. Balcombe, of the 1st Platoon, 55th Military Police Company, was posthumously awarded the Soldiers Medal for heroism in the face of danger. While on duty on Aug. 21st 1999, Balcombe's quick thinking and selfless response safeguarded and protected others at the Troop Medical Clinic at Camp Red Cloud, Korea. She placed herself in harm's way between three soldiers and an armed gunman. Sgt. Balcombe, nee Hamilton, who is from McMinneville, Ore. demonstrated her absolute dedication to the safety of her fellow soldiers at the cost of her own life. She is survived by her husband - Harvey "Mike" Balcombe and two daughters, Kristin and Alice.
Women sailors were among the casualties on board the USS Cole Incident in October 2000. Casualties include Lakeina Monique Francis, 19, Woodleaf, North Carolina and Seaman Recruit Lakiba Nicole Palmer, 22, of San Diego, California. About 35 of the crew are women. It is so tragic that young men and women serving their country voluntarily in peacetime become the victims of insane radicals with no regard for human life.
LtCol Wagner
Spec PakThey gave their lives in the Pentagon attack.
Petty Officer Jamie Lynn Fallon, USN, 23
Specialist Chin Sun Pak, USA, 24
Staff Sergeant Maudlyn A. White, USA, 38
Lt Col Karen J. Wagner, USA, 40
Petty Officer Marsha Dianah Ratchford, USN, 34
Petty Officer Melissa Rose Barnes, USN, 27
Sergeant Tamara C. Thurman, USA, 25
PO Fallon
Sgt Thurman
Operation Enduring Freedom
Among the Marines killed in the C130 crash in Pakistan
was Radio Operator, Sergeant Jeannette L. Winters, 25,
of Du Page, Illinois. She joined the Marine Corps in 1997.
Sgt Winters was the first woman Marine killed in a hostile fire zone.
Lost at Sea -Lt Terri Sue Fessner,Pilot, USN
March 2002 HH-60B Helicopter crash
Air Force Staff Sgt.Anissa A. Shero,31, of Grafton, West Virgina was killed in the plane crash in Afghanistan.
She was a Loadmaster with the Air Force's 16th Special Operations Wing of Hurlburt Field, Fla. on duty in Afghanistan.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Kellye McCarty, 38, in her fourth and final week of Search and Rescue Training at Jacksonville Naval Air Station died during a routine swim test. PO McCarty had served ten years in the Navy and was looking forward to graduation from the training.
Capt. Christel A. Chavez, 27, was co-pilot of the MC-130H transport aircraft, which was destroyed when it crashed in mountains during poor weather on a training exercise in Puerto Rico. Capt. Chavez was the daughter of Tom Chavez, director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was a graduate of Albuquerque H.S. and the Air Force Academy, Class of '98.
Navy Medicine's Commander Laurel Salton Clark lifted off Jan. 16 on shuttle mission STS-107.
On Feb 1st she gave her life in service to her country in the horrific destruction of STS-107.
Commander Clark's biography may be found at Commander Laurel Salton Clark
Operation Iraq
Army PFC Lori Piestewa,23, was the first Native American
woman killed by enemy action in our nation's wars.
...more.Sgt. Melissa Valles, 26, of Eagle Pass, Texas, died on July 9
in Balad, Iraq as a result of non-combat injuries.Staff Sgt. Kimberly A. Voelz, 27, of Carlisle, Pa. was killed Sunday, 14 Dec, in Iskandariyah, Iraq, as her unit was responding to an explosive ordinance disposal call.
Army Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson, 27, died Sep 14 from what was described as a "non-combat weapons discharge." Pfc. Analaura Esparza Gutierrez, 21, of Houston, Texas, was killed on Oct. 1 in Tikrit, Iraq. Pfc.Esparza Gutierrez was in a convoy that was hit by rocket propelled grenades. Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, 19, was killed Sunday Oct 26th during a mortar attack in Baghdad. Pfc. Bosveld, a member of the 527th Military Police, is from Waupun, Wisconsin. Pfc. Karina S. Lau, 20, Livingston, California ,was killed in the helicopter crash in Iraq.
Spc. Frances M. Vega,20, of Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Vega assigned to the 151st Adjutant General Postal Detachment 3, Fort Hood, Texas, was killed in the helicopter crash. Chief Warrant Officer (CW5) Sharon T. Swartworth , 43, of Virginia was killed when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down Nov. 7, 2003, in Tikrit, Iraq. CWO Swartworth was the regimental warrant officer for the Judge Advocate General Office, based at Headquarters Department of the Army, Pentagon.
Capt. Kimberly N. Hampton, 27, of Easley, S.C., was killed on Jan. 2, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq. Capt. Hampton, was the pilot on a Kiowa, OH-58, Observation Helicopter when it was shot down by enemy ground fire and crashed. She was assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27, of Citrus Heights, Calif., died on Jan. 14 when she was struck by a vehicle on Mosul Airfield in Mosul, Iraq. Hines was assigned to the 108th Military Police, Combat Support Co., Fort Bragg, N.C.
SPC Rachel Lacy, 22, died in 2003 after receiving a series of shots in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. She became ill right after the inoculations, Two independent panels of medical experts found that the vaccinations may have triggered the illness that killed Spc. Rachel Lacy the Defense Department said. Helicopter crew chief instructor Staff Sgt. Lori Anne Privette, 27 died when a UH-1N Huey helicopter crashed during a training flight. SSgt. Privette joined the Marine Corps in August 1994 and just returned from serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Army Spc. Tamarra J. Ramos, 24, of Quakertown, Pa., died Oct. 1, 2003, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D.C. Ramos died of non-combat related injuries. She was assigned to the 3rd Armor Medical Company, Medical Troop Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Army Pfc. Holly J. McGeogh, 19, of Taylor, Michigan was among three soldiers killed when a homemade bomb exploded Jan. 31 along a road near Kirkuk, Iraq, as their convoy passed by. She and the two other soldiers were assigned to Company A, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas.
Pfc. Nichole M. Frye, 19, of Lena, Wis., died Feb. 16 in Baqubah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device struck her convoy. Frye was assigned to Company A, 415th Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Kalamazoo, Mich. Department of Defense announced the death of, 41 year-old Capt. Gussie M. Jones, 41. in Iraq. Captain Jones was a surgical nurse assigned to the 31st Combat Support Hospital from Fort Bliss. Her death was as a result of a non-combat cause, possibly a heart attack. Captain Jones served in the military for 15 years rising from the ranks to become an Army nurse in 1998.
Spc. Tyanna S. Felder, 22, of Bridgeport, Conn., died April 7, in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained on April 4 in Mosul when her convoy vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device. Spc. Felder was assigned to the Army’s 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Witmer family Web site
Pvt. Michelle Witmer, 20, died Friday when her Humvee came under attack. She had been stationed in Baghdad since March 2003 with the 32nd Military Police Company of the Wisconsin National Guard. Her sister, Rachel, 24, is with the same unit, which had been expected to prepare within days to leave Iraq. Charity Witmer, Michelle's twin sister, was sent to Iraq late last year as a medic with Company B of the Wisconsin Guard's 118th Medical Battalion.
Please Note: There is no such thing as the "Sullivan Act" however there are policies in place. Department of Defense Policy allows military family members of a service member killed in a combat zone to request an exemption from returning to that hostile action zone. The service member, not the family, must request it, and they would be allowed to fulfill their military tour in the U.S. or other non-hostile areas.
Army Spc. Tamarra J. Ramos, 24, of Quakertown, Pa., died Oct. 1, 2003, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Washington D.C. Ramos died of non-combat related injuries. She was assigned to the 3rd Armor Medical Company, Medical Troop Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Army Sgt. Linda C. Jimenez, 39, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died Nov. 8, 2003, at WRAMC. On Oct. 31, 2003, Jimenez fell and was injured. She was taken to the 28th Combat Support Hospital and later evacuated to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center. Subsequently, she was moved to WRAMC where she later died. Jimenez was assigned to the 2nd Squadron Combat Support Aviation (Maintenance), 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, La.
Spc. Isela Rubalcava, 25, of El Paso, Texas, died May 8 in Mosul, Iraq, when a mortar round hit near her. Spc. Rubalcava was assigned to the 296th Combat Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.
Pfc. Leslie D. Jackson, 18, of Richmond, Va., died May 20, in Baghdad, Iraq, when her military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, as she was returning to Camp Eagle. Pfc. Jackson was assigned to A Company, 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Ft. Hood, Texas. Pfc. Melissa J. Hobart, 22, of Ladson, S.C., died June 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, after collapsing while on guard duty. Hobart was assigned to Company E, 215th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Sgt. 1st Class Linda Ann Tarango-Griess, 33, of Sutton, Nebraska, died July 11 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy vehicle. Sgt. Tarango-Griess was assigned to the 267th Ordnance Company, Nebraska National Guard, Lincoln, Neb. Sgt. Tatjana Reed, 34, of Fort Campbell, K.Y., died July 22 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy vehicle. Sgt. Reed was assigned to the 66th Transportation Company from Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Sgt. Shawna M. Morrison, 26, of Champaign, Ill. died Sept. 5 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds sustained during a mortar attack. Sgt Morrison, who handled computer and satellite communications for her unit was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1544th Transportation Company, Paris, Ill.
Sgt. Pamela G. Osbourne, 38, was killed Sunday October 11 in Baghdad, Iraq, when two rockets impacted the camp where she served as a Supply Sergeant.
Sgt Osbourne was assigned to the Army's Division Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.Spc. Jessica L. Cawvey, 21, of Normal, Ill., died Oct. 6 in Fallujah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy vehicle.
Spc. Cawvey was assigned to the Army’s National Guard’s 1544th Transportation Company, Paris, Ill.
Sgt. Cari A. Gasiewicz, 28, of Depew, N.Y., died Dec. 4 in Baqubah, Iraq. She was killed when two improvised explosive devices detonated near her convoy. Depew is a suburb of Buffalo, NY. Sgt. Gasiewicz was assigned to the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Gordon, Ga. Sgt. Tina S. Time, 22, from Tucson, Ariz., died Dec. 13 near Cedar, Iraq, when she was involved in a vehicle accident. Sgt. Time was assigned to the Army Reserve's 208th Transportation Company, Tucson, Ariz. Sgt. Tina S. Time, is the first American Samoan woman and the first female soldier from Tucson to die in the war. 
Former Air Force Captain Barbara Heald who worked for the Army's Project and Contracting Office, was killed Jan. 29, on the eve of the Iraqi national elections, when a mortar round crashed through the roof of the Republican National Palace in Baghdad's Green Zone.
Sgt. Jessica M. Housby, 23, of Rock Island, Ill., died Feb. 9 in Route Golden, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy. Sgt. Housby was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1644th Transportation Company, Rock Falls, Ill. Spc. Katrina L. Bell-Johnson, 32, of Orangeburg, S.C., died Feb. 16 in Ba'qubah, Iraq, when she was involved in a vehicle accident. Spc. Bell-Johnson was assigned to the Army's 418th Transportation Company, 180th Transportation Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.
Spc. Lizbeth Robles, 31, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, died at the 228th Command Support Hospital in Tikirt, Iraq, on March 1. Spc. Robles died from injuries sustained in a military vehicle accident that occurred Feb. 28 in Bayji, Iraq. She was assigned to the Army's 360th Transportation Company, 68th Corps Support Battalion, 43rd Area Support Group, Fort Carson, Colorado. Spc. Adriana N. Salem, 21, of Elk Grove Village, Ill., died Mar. 4 in Remagen, Iraq when her military vehicle rolled over. Spc. Salem was assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, Division Support Command, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Spc. Chrystal G. Stout, 23, of Travelers Rest, S.C., assigned to the Army National Guard's 228th Signal Brigade in Spartanburg, was among the soldiers killed when a CH-47 helicopter crashed April 6 in a sandstorm in Ghanzi, Afghanistan. Sgt. Maj. Barbaralien Banks, 41, of Harvey, La., assigned to Division Artillery, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii was also killed in the CH-47 helicopter crash.
Pfc. Sam W. Huff, 18, died April 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle. Pfc.Huff was assigned to the 170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash. She is from Tucson, Arizona. Spc. Aleina Ramirez-Gonzalez, 33, of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, died April 15 in Tikrit, Iraq, when a mortar struck her forward operating base. Ramirezgonzalez was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Troop Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Spc. Carrie L.French, 19, of Caldwell , Idaho, died June 5th in Kirkuk, Iraq when an improvised exposive device hit the front of her convoy vehicle. Spc. Fench was assigned to the Army National Guard 145th Support Battalion, Boise, Idaho. Lance Cpl. Holly A. Charette, 21, from Cranston, R.I., died June 23 from wounds sustained when a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device struck her vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq. She was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Cpl. Ramona M. Valdez, 20, of Bronx, N.Y., died June 23 while traveling in a convoy that was attacked by a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device in Fallujah, Iraq. She was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Petty Officer 1st Class Regina R. Clark, 43, of Centralia, Wash., died June 23 in a convoy that was attacked by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Fallujah. She was a culinary specialist deployed with Naval Construction Region Detachment 30, Port Hueneme, Calif., and was temporarily assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, of Omaha, Neb., died on July 14 in Trebil, Iraq. SSgt. Jameson, a health care specialist was responding to a casualty incident when a secondary improvised explosive device detonated near her location. She was assigned to 313th Medical Company, Army National Guard, Lincoln, Neb. Pvt. Lavena L. Johnson, of Florissant, Mo., died Tuesday near Balad, Iraq. She was assigned to the 129th Corps Support Battalion.
1st Lt. Laura M. Walker, 24, of Texas was killed August 18, 2005, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath her HMMWV during ground assault convoy operations. Lt Walker was assigned to the Army's 864th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (Provisional), Fort Lewis, Wash. Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 21, of Riviera Beach, Fla., died Sept. 28 near Camp Bucca, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy vehicle. Airman Jacobson was assigned to the 17th Security Forces Squadron, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. Spc. Toccara R. Green, 23, of Rosedale, Md., died on Aug. 14, 2005, in Al Asad, Iraq, where multiple improvised explosive devices detonated near her unit during convoy operations. Spc. Green was assigned the Army's 57th Transportation Company, 548th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Drum, N.Y.
 | Sgt. Julia V. Atkins, 22, of Bossier City, La., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 10, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV during patrol operations. Sgt. Atkins was assigned to the 64th Military Police Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. |  | Sgt. Regina C. Reali 25, of Freso, Calif. died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV. Sgt. Reali assigned to the Army Reserve's 351st Civil Affairs Command, Mountain View, Calif. |  | Sgt. Myla L. Maravillosa , 24, of Wahiawa, Hawaii, died in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Dec. 24, of injuries sustained earlier that day in Al Hawijah, Iraq, when her HMMWV was attacked by enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenades. Sgt. Maravillosa was assigned to the Army Reserve's 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. |
 | Air Force Senior Airman Alecia S. Good, 23, Broadview Heights Ohio, was one of two airmen to die when two helicopters crashed into the Gulf of Aden in the vicinity of Ras Siyyan, Northern Djibouti, Africa, Airman Good was assigned to the 92nd Communications Squadron, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The helicopters were flying a training mission in the Godoria Range area. All of the service members killed were deployed to Djibouti as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. |  | First Lt. Jaime L. Campbell was among the 12 Americans who died in Iraq when the UH-60 Black Hawk wend down near Tal Afar. Lt Campbell, 25, and an accompished pilot, was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment in Anchorage, Alaska. |
 | Pfc. Tina M. Priest, 20, of Austin, Texas, died in Taji, Iraq on March 1, from non-combat related injury. Pfc. Priest was assigned to the 4th Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Divison, Fort Hood, Texas. |  | Sgt. Amanda N. Pinson,21, of St. Louis, Mo. was killed in Tikrit, Iraq, on Mar. 16, when a mortar round detonated. Sgt Pinson was assigned to the 101st Military Intelligence Detachment, 501st Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. | Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen, 19, of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 11, from a non-combat related injury. Pfc. Duerksen was assigned to the 4th Combat Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. |  | Lance Cpl. Juana NavarroArellano, 24, of Ceres, Calif., died April 8 from wounds received while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar, Iraq. She was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. |  |
 Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime S. Jaenke, 29, of Bay City, Wis., died June 5 as a result of enemy action when her HMMWV was struck by an improvised explosive device in Al Anbar province, Iraq. She was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25, Fort McCoy, Wis. |  Pennsylvania National Guard member, Spc. Kirsten Fike, died a day after collapsing in 104-degree heat near Yuma, Ariz., at a border patrol surveillance outpost in the desert. Spc. Kirsten Fike, 36, was in the initial stage of a two-week deployment for Operation Jump Start, She had also served for five years in the Air Force, where she had been a family support technician. |
 Lt. Jessica Hill, 30, of St. Augustine, Fla., assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, died in a diving accident during a science mission in the Arctic Ocean. |  Army Sgt. Wakkuna A. Jackson, 21, of Jacksonville, Florida, was killed in Kunar, Afghanistan, Aug. 19 when an IED detonated near her convoy vehicle. Sgt. Jackson was assigned to the 710th Combat Support Battalion, Fort Drum, N.Y. |  Sgt. Jennifer M. Hartman, 21, of New Ringgold, Pa.died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 14 of injuries suffered when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of a West Baghdad Substation. Hartman was assigned to the 4th Support Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. |
 Army Pfc. Hannah Leah McKinney, 20, of Redlands, Calif., died on Sept. 4 in Taji, Iraq, from injuries suffered when she was struck by a vehicle. Pfc. McKinney was assigned to the 542nd Maintenance Company, 44th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Lewis, Wash. |
 2nd Lt. Emily J.T. Perez, 23, of Texas, died on Sept.12 of injuries sustained in Al Kifl, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV during combat operations. Perez was assigned to the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. |
 Sgt. 1st Class Merideth L. Howard, 52, of Alameda, Calif. , was killed in Kabul when a car bomb detonated near her HMMWV. Sgt Howard was assigned to the Army Reserve's 405th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C. A resident of Waukesha, Wis., Sgt Howard entered the Army in Oakland, Calif., May 21, 1988, as a medical equipment repairer. |
 1st Lt. Ashley L. (Henderson) Huff, 23, of Belle Mead, N.J., died of injuries suffered in Mosul, Iraq, on Sept.19, when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near her mounted patrol during combat operations. Lt. Huff was assigned to the 549th Military Police Company, 385th Military Police Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga. |  Army Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman, 46, of Bayside, N.Y., died at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Oct. 1 from a non-combat related incident. Sgt. Lannaman was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1569th Transportation Company, Newburgh, N.Y. and was on her second tour in the Middle East. Many thanks to Sgt. Cristina Frisby for the above photo. |
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The Pentagon announced the death of a soldier from The Bronx. Sgt. Jeannette T. Dunn, 44, succumbed in December to a noncomat-related injury. Sgt Dunn was assigned to the 15th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Maj. Gloria D. Davis, 47, of St. Louis, Mo., died Dec. 12 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the Defense Security Assistance Agency, Washington, D.C. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jane E. Lanham, 43, of Owensboro, Ky., died of natural causes Sept. 19 in Bahrain. Cmdr. Lanham was assigned to Naval Branch Health Clinic, Bahrain. Navy Seaman Sandra S. Grant, 23, of Linwood, N.C., died Dec. 31 while serving in the Arabian Sea. Seaman Grant was assigned to the USS Eisenhower. Spc. Carla J. Stewart, 37, of Sun Valley, Calif., died Jan. 28 in Tallil, Iraq, of injuries suffered when her convoy vehicle rolled over. Spc. Stewart was assigned to the 250th Transportation Company, El Monte, Calif. |
 Maj. Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Wash., died Dec. 6 while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. McClung was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, Calif. |
 Senior Airman Elizabeth A. Loncki, 23, of New Castle, Del. was killed Jan. 7 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while performing duties in the Baghdad area supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. |  Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, the first woman to obtain her rank in the Iowa Army National Guard, was killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed, killing all 12 people on board.Sgt. Major Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, was a full-time member of the Iowa National Guard and was based at Camp Dodge. |
 Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, 20, of Bel Air, Md., died Feb. 7 while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Cpl. Parcell was assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. |
 Naval Academy graduate Marine Captain Jennifer Harris, 27, was killed while piloting her CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter north of Baghdad. The helicopter was reportedly shot down by enemy fire. |
 Ashly Lynn Moyer,21, was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 3 when an improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle. Moyer was serving with the 630th MP Company, 759th MP Battalion and 89th MP Brigade. |
 Pfc. Katie M. Soenksen, 19, of Davenport, Iowa, died May 2 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near her vehicle.She was assigned to the 410th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas. |
 Spc. Karen N.Clifton, 22, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., died June 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when her vehicle was hit with a rocket propelled grenade. She was assigned to the 554th Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany. |
 Sgt. Trista L. Moretti, 27, of South Plainfield, N.J., died June 25 in Nasir Lafitah, Iraq, when her unit was attacked by insurgents using indirect fire.She was assigned to the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. |
 Spc. Michelle R. Ring, 24, of Martin, Tenn., died July 5 of wounds sustained from enemy mortar fire in Baghdad, Iraq.She was assigned to the 92d Military Police Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga. |
 Capt. Maria I. Ortiz, 40, of Pennsauken, N.J. died July 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire. She was assigned to the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. |
