Tyanna S. Avery-Felder
Profile
Age: 22
From: Bridgeport, Conn.
Assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Incident: Army Spc. Tyanna S. Avery-Felder died April 7 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained April 4 when her convoy vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device in Balad, Iraq.
Died: April 07, 2004
First Connecticut woman killed in Iraq is laid to rest
By Laura Walsh
Associated Press
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Army Spc. Tyanna Avery-Felder, the first woman from Connecticut killed during the war in Iraq, was remembered as a fighter, a friend and a hero.
“Although we are sad at her passing, we are exceptionally proud of her and of her service,” Gov. John G. Rowland told those gathered for her funeral inside Mount Aery Baptist Church. “Our world is a better and safer place because of individuals like Tyanna. We are forever in her debt.”
Family, friends and clergy members filled every pew at the church. The soldier’s parents, Ray and Ilene Avery, and husband, Army Spc. Adrian Felder, sat quietly in the front pew and listened as mourners spoke of her strength, infectious smile and kind heart.
“Tyanna was my soldier and I knew her very well,” said Sgt. Thomas Smith Jr., who was stationed with Avery-Felder at...