This week's hero is...
Lori Piestewa
Lori Piestewa was born on December 14, 1979 in Tuba City, Arizona. She grew up on the Navajo Indian Reservation (she was of Hopi descent). Many in her family had served in the military (her father was a veteran of Vietnem). After 9/11, Lori decided to follow her family's legacy and enlisted in the US military. She was assigned to the 507th Army Maintenance Company as as a Private First Class and was deployed to Iraq in early 2003.
On March 23, 2003, Lori and the 507th were part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their mission that day was to eliminate resistance in the city of Nasiriyah. The 507th, was one of the last companies of a long column of vehicles that was patrolling the city. Unfortunately, a small part of the convoy (the 507th included) took a wrong turn and became lost in Nasiriyah. While trying to get out the convoy drove directly into a deadly ambush. Lori (who was the driver of a vehicle) attempted to drive out of the ambush zone. However, an RPG struck the vehicle and caused it to crash, knocking Lori unconscious with severe wounds to her head. Her comrades in the vehicle attempted to continue fighting but were quickly surrounded and overwhelmed. Eleven American soldiers were killed in the ambush as Nasiriyah. Lori was taken prisoner along with six others (including her close friend, Jessica Lynch).
On April 13, 2003, Coalition forces located and rescued the POWs from the 507th Company. Sadly, Pfc. Lori Piestewa had died of her wounds not long after her capture. She was 23 years old. Lori was one of the first Americans to be killed in the Invasion of Iraq and the first woman of Native descent to be KIA. She was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. In the aftermath of the ambush at Nasiriyah, most of the news media was centered on Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson (the first female African-American POW). However, very little attention was given to Lori Piestewa despite being credited as the real hero by Lynch. Even today, she has been largely forgotten by the American public.
To me, Lori Piestewa represents most of the people who have served in our military. She was a brave and strong-willed woman gave her life for her country and received very little in return. Like many before her, she has passed into history without much recognition from those she died to protect. I hope that someday, she will get the major recognition that she very much deserves.
http://www.oshadavidson.com/Piestewa.htm
https://www.army.mil/americanindians/piestewa.html
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/remembering-lori-ann-piestewa-hopi-woman-warrior/
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