News-Info-Alerts

Re: Posthumous Promotion for Piestewa

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: May 24, 2003

"Lori Piestewa is promoted posthumously to specialist

Report on battle due out mid-June

Billy House Republic Washington bureau

The Army on Thursday announced that Lori Piestewa has been promoted posthumously from the rank of private first class to Army specialist.
"The casualty assistance office is notifying the family today," said Jean Offutt, spokesman for Fort Bliss, where Piestewa's unit is based, in Texas.
A 23-year-old Hopi mother of two young children, Piestewa is believed to be the first Native American woman killed in combat while serving in the U.S. military and is the only American female soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
She died on March 23 in southern Iraq.

Also Thursday:

• The city of Phoenix began the process of renaming the Squaw Peak Recreation Area and two trails within the city-owned park after Piestewa.
The city Parks Board will set up a public comment procedure with the goal of having a final recommendation by June 26.

• In Washington, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said a report into what happened to the Tuba City native and other members of the 507th Maintenance Unit when it was ambushed is complete. It's expected to be released in mid-June, after Piestewa's family and the families of other unit members have had a chance to see it.

The day's developments came as Piestewa's parents, two young children and other family members were preparing to travel today to Washington, D.C., for a weekend of events honoring her.

Along with a visit to the White House and a ceremony at a servicewomen's memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, the Piestewas have arranged a private meeting with rescued prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, who also was a member of the 507th, and was Lori Piestewa's friend.

The family says it will not talk about its visit with Lynch, who is recuperating at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Piestewa's promotion lifts her to a grade of E-4. That is one grade higher than private first class, and one below a sergeant. An Army corporal also is an E-4.
The promotion would have meant an added $200 a month in pay. But it will not impact the level of the survivors' benefits for her children, Offutt said.
Offutt said Piestewa was eligible for the promotion prior to her deployment to Iraq, but that "it just had not happened."

"It's a good, kind gesture," said Franks, whose district includes the Hopi reservation in northern Arizona. "It's a recognition that she served her country honorably and sacrificed herself for all of us."

Staff reporter Tom Zoellner contributed to this article.

Copyright 2003, azcentral.com. "