SPC Frances M. Vega (September 2, 1983 – November 2, 2003) was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated from Antilles High School. Her grandfather, father and uncle had served in the U.S. military. Vega was deployed to Iraq in what is known as the War on Terrorism, and became the first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone when on November 2, 2003, a surface-to-air missile was fired by insurgents in Al Fallujah and hit the U.S. transport helicopter (Chinook) she was in.
SPC Frances M. Vega (September 2, 1983 – November 2, 2003) was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated from Antilles High School. Her grandfather, father and uncle had served in the U.S. military. Vega was deployed to Iraq in what is known as the War on Terrorism, and became the first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone when on November 2, 2003, a surface-to-air missile was fired by insurgents in Al Fallujah and hit the U.S. transport helicopter (Chinook) she was in.