Her name was Lori Piestewa. She was Native American-- a Hopi from Arizona. She had a son and a daughter, both pre-school age. Here is an interesting piece from the Arizona Republic, found at *
http://groups.msn.com/KayentaArizona...piestewa1.msnw
Betty Reid
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 8, 2003 12:00 AM
Just hours after Pfc. Lori Piestewa's mother heard that her daughter was killed in Iraq, snow began to fall in Tuba City.
Saturday morning, grieving family members stepped from their trailer on Juniper Drive and rolled in the wet snow.
In Hopi, Piestewa is defined as the rainwater that collects on the desert floor after a heavy downpour
"She (Lori) came down in moisture and told us, 'I'm at peace with myself and I'm with the Creator,' " Lori's mother, Percy, said Monday, adding, "We knew it was her sending us a message in the snow."
The family got word of Lori's death late Friday. She had been missing since March 23, when the enemy ambushed her Army maintenance company.
Piestewa is considered the first Native American woman to die in military service for the United States.
U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle on Monday called Piestewa an ''American hero."
Two Arizona legislators are crafting memorial resolutions in her honor.
Sen. Jack Jackson Sr., and Rep. Jack Jackson Jr., both D-Window Rock, say the resolutions should appear today or Wednesday in the House and Senate.
The Piestewa family has been consoled by an outpouring of worldwide sympathy. "They feel as if Lori were their own daughter," her mother said.
Percy spoke of her youngest daughter as an "easy-go-lucky" youngster who enjoyed shrimp, lobster and Mexican food.
"She had an expensive taste for a rez child," her mother said affectionately.
After her military service, Lori, a single mother, wanted to work either as a police officer or firefighter, her mother said.
During her divorce proceedings, the soldier fought to retain her Hopi maiden name.
"I want to die a Piestewa," Percy quoted her daughter as saying.