United States Army 2Lt. 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.

Perez was born into a military family in Heidelberg, Germany, and moved to Fort Washington in 1998. A woman repeatedly described as focused, tenacious and passionate, she was an avid reader from a young age and eventually finished near the top of her class at Oxon Hill High School. From early on, she wanted to be a soldier, her friends recalled, and she became wing commander of Junior ROTC at Oxon Hill.

She has been laid to rest high on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River at the prestigious West Point Academy, where she was the highest ranking minority female in the history of the institution. May God grant the beautiful young heroine everlasting peace.

Emily Perez will NEVER be forgotten, because she is an American Heroine!

In Remembrance