United States Military Academy graduate 2nd Lt. Emily Perez (`05), who made the ultimate sacrifice when she was killed in action Sept. 12, 2006, was honored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association when she posthumously received the Award of Valor during the NCAA Annual Convention.
Perez was much more than a standout on the track and field team at Army. She was a Brigade Command Sergeant Major, the second highest rank in her senior class, was active in the schools gospel choir, helped her fellow students as a tutor, set track records and was the driving force behind a dance squad for football and basketball games.
During the Honors Celebration portion of the Convention Sunday afternoon, the family of Perez was presented with the Award of Valor. The NCAA Award of Valor may be presented to a coach or administrator currently associated with intercollegiate athletics, or to a current or former varsity letter-winner at an NCAA institution who, when confronted with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery. For a member of the armed forces confronted with a duty-connected situation to be eligible for the Award of Valor, the action must be clearly above and beyond the call of duty and so recognized by the appropriate military command.
Perez, who branched Medical Services Corps, was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom when a makeshift bomb exploded near her Humvee during combat operations as she led her platoon in a convoy. She was serving with the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, and was laid to rest at West Point Cemetery.
"People often say only good things about someone after they've died, but none of this is hyperbole," Morten Ender, her faculty advisor in the Sociology Program at West Point told Time magazine. "Emily was amazing."
Perez had her sights on attending the U.S. Military Academy, according to Army track and field coach Jerry Quiller.
She called us and might have been our easiest recruit, said Quiller. She was coming to West Point and wanted to meet the coaches and see about competing for the team. We looked up some of her records and talked to her coaches and were quite impressed.
Perez was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll her first year, the first of many academic honors. She was also won the 200-meter dash at the Post Penn Relays in her first season running collegiate track. She finished fourth at the Patriot League Championships in the 60-meter dash as a junior.
She was a gung-ho leader who was very excited about the opportunity to serve her country, Quiller said. She worked her way up the ladder through the Cadet Change of Command and loved it. When she was chosen as Brigade Command Sergeant Major, we worried she might not be so interested in track. She looked at it as another challenge and something else to challenge herself with and was very successful in both roles.
Quiller knew he had a strong team Perezs senior year but he needed another athlete to compete in the triple jump. It was no surprise to Quiller that Perez volunteered for the new event and succeeded. Despite her limited experience in the event, she finished second at the league championships with a leap of 38-feet, Πinches. She also ran on the winning 4x100 relay team, earned a bronze in the 100-meter dash and was sixth in the 200 meters.
A one-hour broadcast of the Honors Celebration is scheduled to air February 2 at noon on ESPN.
|
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - The first member of West Point's "Class of 9-11" to die in combat was buried at the military academy Tuesday, two weeks after she was killed by a bomb at the head of a convoy in Iraq. 2nd Lt. Emily Perez, 23, was leading a platoon when a roadside bomb exploded Sept. 12 south of Baghdad. She was the first female West Point graduate to die in Iraq and the highest-ranking black and Hispanic woman cadet in the school's history.