Piestewa family to visit President and First Lady

[thedrifter]

May 21, 2003

Piestewa family to visit President and First Lady

Associated Press


PHOENIX ? Lori Piestewa?s family is expected to meet President Bush and the First Lady as part of Memorial Day ceremonies to honor fallen soldiers.
?I will confirm to you that the Piestewa family has been invited to attend the Memorial Day event at the White House on Monday,? said White House spokesman Taylor Gross.

Gross did not immediately know how many other families of fallen soldiers will also be visiting the White House.

Piestewa?s parents, Priscilla and Terry and the woman?s two children, Brandon, 5, and Carla, 3, are among the family expected to make the trip.

A 23-year-old Tuba City native, Piestewa is believed to be the first Native American woman killed in combat while serving in the U.S. military, and the only American female soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

She was a member of the 507th Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas, which was ambushed March 23 near the southern Iraq riverfront city of Nasiriyah.

The family also is to take part in the premiere of an exhibit honoring Piestewa and five other Native American women at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.

There also are efforts to arrange a private meeting between the Piestewas and Jessica Lynch.

Lynch and Piestewa served in the same unit and were roommates in Texas.

Lynch survived the March ambush and was rescued from an Iraqi hospital. She has been recovering from her injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

TriWest Healthcare Alliance has been helping to arrange the Piestewas? trip to the capital.

Along with helping to coordinate the Piestewa?s travel, TriWest also is the sponsor of the new exhibit at the military women memorial, titled ?Voices: Native American Women U.S. Armed Forces,? which will honor Piestewa and five other women.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.


Sempers,

Roger

[judyvillecco]

I feel so sad for her children