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Video by Stephanie Abdullah

246th Army Birthday Message: MEDCOM 2LT Emily Perez

U.S. Army Medical Command

June 12, 2021 | 2:51

2nd Lt. Emily Perez was a cadet Brigade Command Sgt. Major of West Point. A feisty, 5-foot, 3-inch cadet, nicknamed Taz because her fellow cadets said she was like the Tasmanian Devil, she was both feared and revered for her leadership, conviction and heart. Emily became a Medical Service Corps officer and volunteered to go on convoy on Sept. 12, 2006, taking the place of an inexperienced leader while deployed with the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in Iraq. On that day, she paid the ultimate sacrifice when an improvised explosive device exploded under her Humvee.