TUBA CITY, Ariz. – The Pentagon identified Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa as one of the soldiers found dead during the rescue of an American POW in Iraq this week. News of the first American woman soldier killed in the Iraq war hit hard in her hometown on the Navajo Reservation.
Piestewa, 23, one of the few American Indian women in the military, was a member of the Hopi tribe, whose reservation is near Tuba City, and the mother of a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.
In Associated press reports, her brother Wayland spoke to reporters saying, “Our family is proud of her. She is our hero. 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.”
Wayland Piestewa also added relatives didn’t wish to speak further with reporters for now. Behind him, family members and friends gathered on the porch. The fence was adorned outside their home with yellow ribbons, red, white and blue hearts and a sign with a picture of Lori Piestewa, the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center towers.
The bodies of the eight soldiers were found when U.S. troops raided the hospital where Pfc. Jessica Lynch was being held captive, the Pentagon reported. Seven of those soldiers were members of Lynch’s unit, the Fort Bliss, Texas-based 507th Maintenance Company, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23.
Several prayer services were held in honor of the Hopi solider and other military personnel since the family received news of Piestewa’s disappearance weeks ago. Hopi officials said that 56 Hopis are currently serving in the U.S. military, 48 of whom are in Iraq.
In a statement on April 4, Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor said, “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.”
