According to the United States Department of Defense, Media Contact (Army
Public Affairs) on August 15, 2005, the Department of Defense announced
death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“Specialist Toccara R. Green, 23, of Rosedale, Maryland, died on August 14,
2005, in Al Asad, Iraq, where multiple improvised explosive devices
detonated near her unit during convoy operations. Green was assigned the
Army’s 57th Transportation Company, 548th Corps Support Battalion, Fort
Drum, New York.” According to the DoD Press Release, Specialist (E-5)
Toccara R. Green, is the first female soldier from Maryland to die in the
Operation Iraqi Freedom Campaign, and the 26th service member from the
state, to die in Iraq since U.S. forces invaded the country more than two
years ago, according to announcements from the Pentagon.
Specialist Green was killed in an ambush in Iraq, when several bombs
detonated near her unit during convoy operations in Al Asad. Specialist
Green was assigned to the Army’s 57th Transportation Company, 548th Corps
Support Battalion, Fort Drum, New York. She worked in transport operations,
escorting and driving in convoys, and was on her second deployment when she
was killed.
According to one account, Specialist Green (a motor and transport operator)
was driving a Humvee, and serval other trucks carrying supplies when her
convoy stopped to refuel. Several of the drivers climbed out of the
Humvees, and suddenly explosives began going off. Specialist Green was
discovered lying in a puddle of blood, recognizable by the scarf she wore on
her head, and someone was performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation however
she succumbed to her wounds before the medevac unit arrived.
After high school, Specialist Green attended Norfolk State College, and then
worked for a medical insurance firm in Howard County. Her hobbies included
roller skate, hanging with family and friends, and spending time with her
father, a Baltimore City Police Detective.
The last time Army Specialist Toccara Renee Green (affectionately known as
“Tee” or “Baby Girl Green”) was home in Rosedale, she told her brother,
“Just don’t let them forget about me.”