http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/ar...2115605,00.htmlThere is a picture in the article.
Role model, friend, soldier laid to restSecond U.S. female fighter to die in Iraq remembered fondlyBy Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News
July 17, 2003
FORT CARSON - Sgt. Melissa "Melly" Valles was remembered as a role model and friend Wednesday by fellow soldiers and family members.
"A soldier's life epitomizes sacrifice," said Sgt. 1st Class Lewis Polk.
"But only a few like Sergeant Valles stepped up and made a difference."
Nearly 100 people, most of them in green Army fatigues, attended Valles' memorial service Wednesday at the post's Soldier's Memorial Chapel.
Valles, 26, of Eagle Pass, Texas, died July 9 in Balad, Iraq, from what the Defense Department called noncombat injuries.
The circumstances surrounding her death are still being investigated but she had a gunshot wound in the abdomen.
She will be buried in her hometown this week.
Valles, a member of the headquarters detachment of the 64th Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Company B, was the second female U.S. soldier to die in the war in Iraq, and Fort Carson's 12th fatality.
Fellow soldiers remembered her as the consummate professional, who pushed herself and her squad to meet high standards.
"She always worked to better herself and went to extra schooling and did everything to keep her technically and tactically better," said Lt. Col. John Powledge.
"Her soldiers speak of her as tough and strict and she wouldn't let anyone get away with anything less than their best."
But Valles was also a compassionate leader and friend.
Spc. Melinda Taylor, 24, of Sacramento, Calif., remembered Valles comforting her after Taylor lost her grandfather last September.
"She was telling me to pray and pray," Taylor said.
"She would always tell me to stay strong."
Taylor, who was not deployed in Iraq, called Valles a great squad leader, and a role model for other female soldiers.
"She was real prepared and she set a great example," she said.
"She was so motivated, and always strong for the battalion."
Sgt. Jessica Nunez, 24, who accompanied Valles' body back from Iraq to Dover, Del., called her "my co-worker, my battle buddy and my friend."
"She was the strongest person I've ever met," Nunez said.
"She did everything by the book. She was, is, a role model."
Nunez said just knowing Valles made her a better soldier.
"There are no words that can make the pain of losing her any better," she said.
"Sergeant Valles, I love you. I miss you, and may you rest in peace with God."
Valles' 27-year-old brother, Jesus Alberto Valles, remembered her as a sports fan who loved playing volleyball and basketball.
He had talked to her July 8, just days before she died.
"She was so happy," he said. "There was a rumor that they were coming home in October."
Another relative, whom Melissa Valles called "aunt," said her family was proud of her and what she was trying to do in Iraq.
"She said she was not afraid to go, she was not afraid to die," said Maria Ramirez, 47, of Brighton.
"She wanted to do what she had to do for her country."