Shawna Marie Morrison was born July 3rd, 1978 and attended Paris High School in Paris, Illinois. She joined the Illinois Army National Guard when she was 17. She then enrolled at the University of Illinois to study psychology.
In 2003, Sergeant Morrison was deployed to Iraq with the 1544th Transportation Company and supported communications. According to Pamela Crews, who once worked with Sergeant Morrison, “When she was told of her unit’s activation, she faced it with characteristic honesty. Though she was afraid of being killed in action, she told me that it would be an honor to die while protecting our freedoms.”
In Iraq, members of Sergeant Morrison’s unit regarded her as “someone who was easy to confide in and was always understanding,” according to The Prairie Press. She was known as “a wonderful person and a dedicated soldier.” She loved coffee and treasured a mug she had with her brother’s face printed on it. She was very proud of her brother and spoke of him frequently.
On September 5th, 2004, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sergeant Morrison was killed in a mortar attack. She was the first woman Illinois National Guard member to be killed in combat in Iraq. She was 26. She was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Specialist Charles Lamb was also killed in the attack. Morrison was survived by her parents, her brother, and her grandmothers.
Sergeant Morrison was known as a great listener and a sensitive soul. Sergeant Morrison’s mother Cynthia said of her, “She wore her heart on her sleeve a lot…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.”
Sergeant Shawna Marie Morrison was originally buried at Edgar Cemetery in Paris, Illinois, but on August 11th, 2025, she was transferred to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. According to family spokesman A. Mark Neuman, the reinterment was an “honor and reassurance” for Sergeant Morrison’s family.
Sources:
https://prairiepress.net/stories/shawna-morrison-remembering-a-legacy-20-years-later,79059
https://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=570
https://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/profiles/morrisonshawnam.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11217011/shawna_marie-morrison
https://las.illinois.edu/news/2025-11-10/fallen-las-student-moved-arlington-national-cemetery
https://thefallen.militarytimes.com/army-sgt-shawna-m-morrison/345356
https://uiaa.org/veterans/shawna-marie-morrison/
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