TUBA CITY, Ariz. April 5 —
News of the death of the first American woman soldier killed in
the Iraq war hit hard in this community on the Navajo Reservation,
not far from Hopi land.
The Pentagon identified Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, one of the few
American Indian women in the military, as one of eight soldiers
found dead during the rescue of POW Jessica Lynch.
"Our family is proud of her. She is our hero," her brother
Wayland said to reporters outside the family's home Saturday. "We
are going to hold that in our hearts. She will not be forgotten. It
gives us comfort to know that she is at peace right now."
Piestewa, 23, was the mother of a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old
girl and a source of pride in her Hopi community.
Her brother said relatives didn't wish to speak further with
reporters for now.
Behind him, family members and friends gathered on the porch of
the family's trailer. A low chain-link fence was adorned with yellow
ribbons, a red-white-and-blue heart and a sign with a picture of
Lori Piestewa, the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center
towers.
"The tragedy has rocked the very foundation of the Hopi
reservation since many of us have been continually praying with the
Piestewa family for Lori's safe return," Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne
Taylor.
Many of Tuba City's 8,200 residents have left yellow balloons and
signs with uplifting messages outside her parents' home, and
officials from the Navajo and Hopi tribes have attended prayer
services in honor of her and other military personnel. Hopi
officials said that 56 Hopis are currently serving in the U.S.
military, 48 of them in Iraq.
The bodies of Piestewa and the seven other soldiers were found
when U.S. troops raided the hospital where Pfc. Jessica Lynch was
being held captive, the Pentagon said.
Seven were members of Lynch's unit, the Fort Bliss, Texas-based
507th Maintenance Company, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on
March 23. The other, Sgt. George E. Buggs, 31, of Barnwell, S.C.,
was a member of the 3rd Division Support Battalion of Fort Stewart,
Ga.
"We hate it, but there ain't nothing we can do about it," Buggs'
grandfather, George Buggs, 83, said Saturday after learning of his
grandson's death. The retired truck driver and his wife had raised
the soldier.
The others were identified as Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of
Cleveland; Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso, Texas; Spc.
James M. Kiehl, 22, of Comfort, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer Johnny
Villareal Mata, 35, of Amarillo, Texas; Pvt. Brandon U. Sloan, 19,
of Cleveland, and Sgt. Donald R. Walters, 33, of Kansas City,
Mo.
A chaplain informed Kiehl's parents of their son's death Friday
evening.
"We just want everyone to know we support the president and the
troops, and we believe in what James went over there for," his
mother, Janie Kiehl said in a telephone interview Friday night.
Kiehl's pregnant wife, Jill, in Des Moines, Iowa, has declined to
talk to the media.
Walters' younger sister, Kimberly Cieslak, said the family
received the news from the Oregon National Guard on Friday. Their
father is an Air Force veteran, and Walters had been surrounded by
the military while growing up in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"I guess he was following in my footsteps," said his father,
Norman Walters. "He was a patriotic guy. He felt it was his duty to
serve his country."
The Pentagon announcement reached the Ohio home of the Rev. Tandy
Sloan a few hours after 200 worshippers gathered to light candles
and pray for his son and for Dowdy, also from Ohio. Sloan's father
declined to comment Saturday.
"The entire Fort Bliss community expresses their heartfelt
condolences to all the families during their time of sorrow," Fort
Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said in a statement from the base.
photo credit
and caption:
The uncle of Pfc. Lori Piestewa,
left, facing camera, hugs an unidentified family friend
outside the Piestewa family home on the Navajo Reservation in
Tuba City, Ariz., Saturday, April 5, 2003. The Army notified
the family Friday, April 4, 2003, that they had recovered
Lori's remains after rescuing Jessica Lynch, who was in
Piestewa's company in Iraq, earlier this week. (AP Photo/Tom
Hood)
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