Sergeant Jessica Cawvey, 21, of Normal, Ill., was assigned to the 1544th Transportation Company of the Illinois Army National Guard. She died October 6, 2004, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq.

SGT Cawvey graduated from Mahomet-Seymour High School in 2001 and earned her associate degree in accounting from Parkland College in 2003. She was also pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Illinois State University to provide for her daughter. To fund her educational, she joined the U.S. Army National Guard in the spring of 2001. SGT Cawvey was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal, in addition to promoting her from Specialist to Sergeant.

“She was an excellent battle buddy,” said one of Sgt. Cawvey’s fellow soldiers. “I will always remember her incredible laugh that would get everyone around her laughing. She knew the extent of the dangers that would await us every night out there on the road. She had been through ambushes, she had IEDs go off near her, yet she did not hesitate to volunteer for any mission.”

SGT Cawvey is survived by her daughter, Sierra.