Senior Airman Diane Lopes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In a ceremony on Friday, September 28, 2007, Lt Gen John A Bradley, Chief of Air Force Reserves, HQ United States Air Force, The Pentagon Washington DC, presented Senior Airman Diane Lopes with a Purple Heart ribbon. Holding the Purple Heart Citation in the photo (left) along with Diane, Lt Gen Bradley made the presentation during her recovery at Walter Reed Army Regional Medical Center in Washington DC.
Injured by a mortar blast that occurred right after she had turned her weapon in at the armory, Diane was on her way back to her billet when the explosion occurred. Fortunately, Diane was still wearing her personal protection equipment which limited her from receiving more extensive injuries. Details of the incident or other information leading to her injuries were not known at this time.
Brigadier General Mary K. Hertog, Director
Security Forces, HQ U. S. Air Force, attended the ceremony. General Hertog
is shown in the photo (center) holding the Purple Heart Citation with Senior
Airman Lopes (at left), and Lt Gen Bradley at far right.
We have more photos that will be added once we obtain more information.
"Diane Lopes thought she was on fire. Then she tasted blood"
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE - .One month after being deployed to Iraq from Patrick Air Force Base, the senior airman was wounded in a rocket attack [a mortar attack has been confirmed] last week on her base.
On Thursday, she underwent surgery to her hand and began therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for multiple injuries.
Lopes, a security forces airman who deployed Aug. 20 with 12 other airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing, suffered severed tendons in her right hand, broken bones in her left foot, a broken rib and shrapnel wounds.
Lopes was feeling good enough Thursday to recount the incident to 920th Rescue Wing Capt. Cathleen Snow.
"I heard it coming and remember turning towards it," Snow said Lopes told her. "I heard the boom and felt the compression wave go right through me. Initially, I thought I was on fire. I dropped to the ground and thought I might have to put myself out. Then I tasted blood in my mouth."
Lopes, who is expected to recover fully, will be awarded the Purple Heart today at Walter Reed.
Lopes was off duty, walking to the dining hall at Kirkuk Air Base when a rocket hit nearby, injuring her and two others. The conditions of the others, who are from other units, were unknown. Lopes was taken to Balad, Iraq, then to Landstuhl, Germany, before being flown to Walter Reed in Washington.
"It bothers me that someone may have to go through this," Lopes said. "I'm lucky to be alive."
Lopes, 37, an Air Force reservist, recently completed police officer field training. She was ready to start work for the Tampa Police Department when her deployment orders arrived. She previously worked as a corrections officer.
Being called up was nerve-wracking at first, Lopes said at the time, but her stress waned after she began deployment training with the other airmen.
"I had anxiety," she said before deploying. "What's going to happen to me over there? Am I going to get shot? Am I going to get killed? Am I going to come back in one piece?"
Several 920th Rescue Wing personnel and high-ranking Air Force commanders visited Lopes at Walter Reed.
Col. Steven Kirkpatrick, the 920th Rescue Wing commander, said his thoughts and prayers were with Lopes.
"I will make sure she gets the best of care to pull through this," Kirkpatrick said. "I'm relieved that her prognosis it good. You care about your people. They're like family. I feel confident the 920th support team will take care of her and her family."
Click on the image above to see more on Diane at the Patrick AFB web site.
We recently expanded the AFSPA Proud Warrior Program for critically injured Security Force Airmen who are medically evacuated from Iraq or Afghanistan to other military hospitals in the continental US. With that expansion, we are no longer exclusively responding only to SF Warriors who were medically sent to Walter Reed. We have begun to make contact with all SF Airmen at other locations through a process that includes HQ USAF. Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) John Monaccio is our lead for this effort. Chief Monaccio is a former HQ USAF Security Forces Career Field Manager.
