Emily Perez

Emily Perez
Pictured as a USMA cadet in 2005
Birth nameEmily Jazmin Tatum Perez
Nickname(s)Taz
Born(1983-02-19)19 February 1983
Heidelberg, West Germany
Died12 September 2006(2006-09-12) (aged 23)
KIA in Al Kifl, Iraq
Cause of deathImprovised explosive device
Buried
AllegianceUnited States of America
BranchUnited States Army
Years of service2001–2006 (USMA Cadet and active duty officer)
RankSecond Lieutenant
Unit204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade
Battles / warsIraq War
AwardsBronze Star
Purple Heart
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Alma materUnited States Military Academy

Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez (19 February 1983 12 September 2006) was an American military officer. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Second Lieutenant Perez was serving in the Iraq War when she was killed in action by an improvised explosive device. She became the first black female officer in U.S. military history to die in combat and the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq.