Lori Ann Piestewa

The tragic story of Lori Ann begins with her birth on December 14th, 1979 in Tuba City Arizona. Of Native American descent, Lori was part Hopi and part Mexican. Following in the tradition of her father and his father, Lori enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight for her country.

Lori was a trademark American soldier and expressed her concern with the Conflict in Iraq, but was more than willing to give her life for her country. She was shipped off to the Middle East in late 2004 to serve her tour of duty. Being a woman, and a single mother of two children, Lori also had a “safety comes first attitude”. She was assigned as a driver of an armored Humvee transport unit in the 507th Maintenance Company.

In route with the rest of her company to Iraq, their convoy was ambushed. Surrounded by the enemy on all sides, the young soldier was not left with many options. Knowing that the safety of her fellow soldiers was in grave jeopardy, Piestewa was forced to make an instant decision. With complete disregard for her own safety she barreled her hummer through the ambush, and almost made it out safely but a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) disabled her vehicle.

Severely injured from the shrapnel, Lori and her fellow soldier, Jessica Lynch were both take captive by the Iraqi military. Due to the extent of her injuries Lori passed away not long after being captured. After a full investigation of the incident was conducted, the United States Government honored her with The Prisoner of War, and Purple Heart medals.

Labels: Lori Ann Piestewa, Prisoner of War, Purple Heart, War in Iraq