Army Capt. Maria I. Ortiz

Died July 10, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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40, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico; assigned to Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; died July 10 in Baghdad of wounds sustained from enemy indirect fire.

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Army nurse killed in Iraq had ties to Md., N.J.

By Jason Laughlin

The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier Post

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — An Army nurse based in Aberdeen, Md., who died in Iraq this week had roots in southern New Jersey, officials said.

Capt. Maria I. Ortiz, 40, was killed Tuesday by enemy mortar fire in Baghdad, the Defense Department said.

Army officials identified Ortiz’s hometown as Bayamon, Puerto Rico. But a military spokesman said the nurse’s mother, who was not named, lives in Pennsauken.

Ortiz reportedly was born in Pennsauken, but it was not clear how long she lived in this area.

She was assigned to the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

“She was very popular and very highly thought of,” said George Mercer, a spokesman at the Maryland base. “It’s just a terrible loss.”

Ortiz was the 79th service member and third woman with ties to New Jersey to die in Iraq.

Ortiz graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1990 and joined the Army Reserves in Puerto Rico the next year, said Mercer.

Two years later she went on active duty in a career that took her to Honduras, South Korea and Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

At Kirk, Ortiz was the chief nurse of general medicine for 18 months. She left in September 2005 for Iraq, where she served with the 28th Combat Support Hospital, 3rd Medical Command.

Ortiz earned a number of commendations, including the Bronze Star, Mercer said.

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Soldier assigned to Aberdeen dies in Iraq

The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — A nurse assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground was killed this week in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced.

Capt. Maria I. Ortiz, 40, died July 10 in Baghdad of wounds inflicted by a mortar attack, Aberdeen Proving Ground spokeswoman Pat McClung said July 13.

According to the Defense Department, Ortiz is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. However, records kept by Aberdeen indicate that Ortiz is from New Jersey.

Ortiz enlisted in 1991, at the age of 24. She got her degree in nursing in 1999 from the University of Puerto Rico and her master’s degree in quality management from the Massachusetts National Graduate School in 2004.

While she was assigned to Aberdeen, Ortiz served as the chief nurse of general medicine at the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic. She has also been stationed in Puerto Rico, Korea and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. July 18 at Aberdeen’s chapel.

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Memorial service held for nurse killed in Iraq

By Karissa Marcum

The Associated Press

ABERDEEN, Md. — Family and friends, co-workers and admirers came to Aberdeen Proving Ground on July 18 to remember Capt. Maria Ines Ortiz, killed during a mortar attack on Baghdad’s Green Zone on July 10, the first Army nurse killed by hostile fire since the Vietnam War. The attack killed two other people and wounded 18 more.

About 200 people crammed into the chapel at Aberdeen. A pair of combat boots, a helmet and Ortiz’s dog tags were displayed at the chapel’s altar.

Before the ceremony ended, about two dozen veterans proceeded to the altar and saluted the display created in her honor.

Ortiz’s sister, Maria Luisa Medina, a first-grade bilingual teacher from Camden, N.J., said, “She’s the person that I want to be like, not because she was a soldier or a nurse but because she accomplished her purpose in life and she did everything for the Lord.”

Ortiz, 40, worked as chief nurse of general medicine at the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic on base.

Her father, Jorge Ortiz, said she was off-duty and returning from a workout when the attack occurred.

Jorge Ortiz also served in the Army and said he is proud of his daughter’s sacrifice.

Her father said Ortiz spent much of her time studying, “She was precious. She was a beautiful girl,” Ortiz said in Spanish.

Ortiz said he talked to his daughter a month before she died, “I think I’m going to miss everything about my daughter.”

Ortiz was born in New Jersey, but grew up in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

She enlisted in 1991, at the age of 24. She got her degree in nursing in 1999 from the University of Puerto Rico and her master’s degree in quality management from the Massachusetts National Graduate School in 2004.

She has also been stationed in Puerto Rico, Korea and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Ortiz is survived by her father, her mother, Iris Santiago, four sisters and her fiance, Juan Casiano.

Her father said Ortiz will be buried Aug. 9 at Arlington National Cemetery.