Sergeant Mary Herrara

Sergeant Mary Herrara of the 855th Military Police Company of the Arizona National Guard, was wounded on November 8, 2003 near Fallujah. Herrera was the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon gunner for the lead Humvee in the platoon when her convoy was ambushed by rifle fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mines. She was struck by two AK-47 bullets in the ambush. Her platoon was on a trainee transportation mission to Abu Ghraib Prison near Ramadi, Iraq.

Upon entering a safer area, where each of the convoy vehicles provided reports of what happened, Herrera started to feel disoriented and noticed a loss of sensation in her right arm. It was later found that Herrera had been hit after firing about 10 rounds of ammunition.

Herrera attempted to let another soldier know that she had been hit, but she maintained positive control of her weapon to help protect her fellow members during the final moments of the ambush.

The convoy rushed Herrera to the nearest emergency medical service facility, which was about five miles away. She spent about 25 minutes in the emergency room, where doctors discovered she was hit by the two AK-47 rounds that broke two bones in her forearm and pierced her biceps. Once pins and rods were placed in her forearm and she was stabilized, she was flown by helicopter to Fallujah, Iraq, where doctors seemed certain that she was going to lose her arm.

According to Maj. Gen. David Rataczak, of the Arizona National Guard, Herrera is the bravest person he has ever seen. Herrara did not complain or cry even though she received no painkiller for more than 30 minutes after she was shot. Rataczak refers to Herrera as a true example of a modern citizen-soldier.

After returning to the United States, Mary Herrera was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of enemy or hostile action. Herrera did not lose her arm due to extraordinary surgical efforts, and she received numerous surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Doctors do not believe Herrera will regain full use of her arm, and she will not be able to continue serving as a military police specialist

Herrera is currently attending college, with a major in social work, while selecting criminal psychology as a minor. Due to her story and her example, the state of Arizona has recently passed a bill in her name that will authorize tuition waiver scholarships to National Guardsmen and women who received a Purple Heart or were medically discharged due to injuries while serving in the military after Sept. 11, 2001. The bill is affectionately known as the Mary Herrera Bill.

All information provided by: http://www.buildinghomesforheroes.org/hero-stories/mary-herrera.htm