Cpl. Jessica Ellis died in Iraq helping others. Her father remembers his daughter and the "ultimate sacrifices" military women make on Memorial Day.
CBSN
The knock at the door came at nighttime on Mother's Day 2008 in Oregon, where Jessica Ellis' parents lived. It was around 9:20 p.m. and his wife, Linda, was already in bed; her father Steve Ellis told CBS News, that he thought someone let their animals out — but two soldiers in Class A uniforms were standing at the door.
"You know why they're there. I mean, they don't have to say a thing," Steve Ellis said.
Ellis, a combat medic assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, had volunteered a second time for a mission to clear a route. It was her second deployment to the region. She primarily accompanied combat engineers on clearance missions to look for roadside bombs, but this time, their vehicle was hit by three projectiles. Everyone had to exit through a back door. Ellis didn't make it. She was 24 years old.
