Army Spc.Selian A.Diaz was killed April 4,2004 when the convoy she was riding in came under attack.
Her records with the Army show she was born at Fort Buchanan,Puerto Rico,but she listed Caguas,Puerto Rico as her permanent address.
Diaz,joined the Army November 14,2001 and was assigned to the 21st Combat Support Hospital,based at Fort Hood,Texas in June of 2002.
Diaz was buried at Puerto Rico's National Cemetary in Bayamon,where she received full Military Honors,Diaz was
posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purpel Heart.
The parents of the fallen Puerto Rican soldier are retired soldiers who were in the Army at the time of her birth.
Her husband is also enlisted in the Military.
Personal information on the soldier and her family is not being released at their request.
New Building Dedicated to Fallen Soldier
Sending In The Cav: A Soldier’s Story
Spec. Rose Daniels, 1st Calvary Division Public Affairs
FORT HOOD, Texas- The new building for the personnel section on the Fort Hood, base has been completed and renamed to the Selian A. Diaz Personnel Section, just in time for what would have been the soldier’s 20th birthday. The special ceremony was held for Diaz, on Memorial Day and over 200 people gathered in her memory at the new building.
Diaz, was a Personnel Specialist from Caguas, Puerto Rico, serving with the
21st Combat Support Hospital, 13th Corps Support Command, was killed in action when the convoy she was riding in was ambushed near Baghdad, Iraq on April 4th.
“Specialist Diaz was very energetic and proud of her Puerto Rican heritage,” said Spec. Rene Torres,
A Personnel Specialist who served with Diaz. “ She was a beautiful woman.”
Torres and Diaz worked together in Fort Hood, Texas. She remembers meeting Diaz when she first arrived from Puerto Rico to the base.
“The first night she was in Fort Hood, we all welcomed her by taking her out, she was the best dancer I had ever seen, she carried an energy, she made everyone who knew her love her,”
Torres said as she wiped her eyes.
The ceremony included a special painting of Diaz, who was a model; the painting was her first professional modeling photo, which is displayed inside the new building.
“Everyone has told me how hypnotizing her big green eyes were,” said Lt. Col. Gary Fisher,
502nd Personnel Service Battalion Commander. “ You can see her beauty in the portrait.”
Diaz came from a Military Family. Her husband, Sgt. Benjamin Diaz is a member of the Army at
Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Her mother is a retired Sergeant, and her father is a retired Sergeant First Class.
Although her family was not at the ceremony close friends of Diaz called and spoke with her mother
Margie Vargas about the ceremony.
“She was overwhelmed with great pride of what her daughter’s sacrifice has become.”
The ceremony closed with the hanging of Puerto Rico’s flag over the building.
“If she were here, she would give us her bright beautiful smile and salute,” Torres said.
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