An Illinois Army National Guard soldier and student at the University of Illinois was recently interred at Arlington National Cemetery, the first U of I student killed in overseas combat operations to earn that honor in over a half century.
Sgt. Shawna Morrison was an LAS student majoring in psychology in 2003 when her unit, the 1544th Transportation Company, was activated and deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 1544th delivered supplies to U.S. forces in combat zones.
On Sept. 5, 2004, Morrison was killed in a mortar attack in Baghdad. She was 26 years old. At the time of her death, Morrison had served in the National Guard for nine years.
Morrison was the first enrolled U of I student to be killed in action since World War II. She was also the first female member of the Illinois National Guard to die in overseas combat. She was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Friends and family remember her as a sensitive soul yet remarkably strong. “She wore her heart on her sleeve a lot,” her mother, Cynthia Morrison, said in an LAS video tribute created when a memorial to Morrison was placed in the north courtyard of Lincoln Hall. “She was very empathetic toward other people, other things. I was proud of her. I was proud of the way she grew up, because she always had a good attitude about life.”
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, is the largest military cemetery in the United States, containing the Tomb of the Unknown Solder along with graves from conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War. It is a significant site to honor those who have served in uniform.
Family spokesman A. Mark Neuman (BS, ’85, economics) told news reporters that the move to Arlington was an “honor and reassurance” to her family.
Previously laid to rest in her hometown of Paris, Ill., Morrison was interred into Arlington National Cemetery on August 11.
