Emily Jazmin Tatum Perez

West Point, 2005

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by SFC Tony Widemon on September 20, 2006:

2nd Lt Emily Perez Written by SFC Tony Widemon Treatment Platoon Sergeant 15 September 2006 Back in September of last year I was told by my Company Commander that I was getting a new Platoon Leader. At that time I had been without a Platoon Leader for almost a year and was getting use to the idea of running the Platoon and doing things my way. When I first met Lt Perez I didn?t know what to expect and how to read her. I brief her about myself, the soldier?s and how our platoon operated, she was very quiet and didn?t say much, so when I was asked by others about my new Lt I would tell people that she was quiet And didn?t talk much, after a couple of weeks that all changed and she was in full effect, I then realized I was totally wrong about her, she was not quiet at all. Lt. Perez was a very giving and outgoing person, always eager to help in any way possible weather it was giving advice, to going out of her way to solve others problems. I realized that she was special when she first got to our Platoon and she notified me that she was flying to Washington DC to donate bone marrow. That told me allot about her character. She was very excited and proud of being a Leader and would always talk to me about the Soldiers an things that we could do to build our team and create a family atmosphere. She was not your average 2nd Lt, she had a wealth of military knowledge. She taught me that no matter what was going on she and I always had to have a united front. Sometimes I would have to take a step back and look at her in amazement, because she was so young and hadn?t been in the Army more than a year. But that was Lt. Perez always pushing to exceed the standards while yet setting her own. For those that really knew her shared in a wonderful gift. Being around her you couldn?t help but to be touch by her vibrance and enthusiasm for what ever she was doing. For those of you that didn?t know her as well missed out on something that was really great. She was not just my Platoon Leader but was also one of my spiritual leaders. When we first got to FOB Duke she became involved with the church and approached me about coming to church and joining the choir, at first I was reserve because I had never sang in choir before and it had been years since I had been to church. She stepped up and became our choir director leading us in song, picking out songs to spiritually motivate the congregation. We as Soldiers need that to keep us moving forward. Their was times I was angry and upset with things that were going on around me, and she would give me scriptures to read that would comfort me and assist me in my decisions. I will be forever grateful for that. I will always carry in my heart her memories as my Leader, a Warrior and my friend.

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