SGT Leigh Hester, Army, Silver Star, Iraq, Kentucky
Sgt. Hester’s squad was following a supply convoy on March 20, 2005, in Iraq when insurgents ambushed the convoy. Her squad quickly moved into position, cutting off the enemy’s escape route. Hester led her team directly into the line of fire into a flanking position, and then began an assault on a trench line. She and her squad leader cleared two trenches. When the attack was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and one was captured.
In June 2005, Hester was the first woman soldier since World War II to be awarded the Silver Star Medal.
* Home State: Kentucky
* Awarded: Silver Star