Debra (Lopez) Fix
U.S. Army, 1981-2001

Debra (Lopez) Fix
U.S. Army, 1981-2001

Debra (Lopez) Fix, from Elgin, Texas, entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1977. In 1981, she became the first Hispanic woman to graduate from the Academy. She went on to serve in several demanding assignments. While serving at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Fix’s team took the brunt of the terrorist attack that killed 26 of her comrades. Wounded in the attack, she earned the Purple Heart and was credited by a fellow lieutenant colonel with saving that officer's life. After September 11, the Army promoted her to colonel, and she went on to hold leadership positions in the Department of the Army. Fix has said of her service, “I have seen through the eyes of many young Soldiers. They are the same eyes on their way to Vietnam in 1966 and the same eyes that would go to war after 9/11.”