Regina Reali

Army Reserve Sgt. Regina Christina "Gina" Reali was born in Berkeley CA and grew up in Fresno CA, graduating from Fresno High School in 1999. She worked at the Home Depot in Clovis CA and was a student at Fresno City College before enlisting.

Sgt. Reali joined the Army Reserve on July 28, 2000 in part to follow in the steps of her older brother, Paul, who was in the Navy. Her first and only duty station was with the 351st Civil Affairs Command, Mountain View, CA. After completion of Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, SC, she went on to study for her Advanced Individual Training as a Civil Affairs Specialist at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, NC. She was deployed to Iraq in April of 2005 and was promoted to Sergeant that November.

Sgt. Reali died from injuries she suffered when her Humvee was struck by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq on December 23, 2005, less than a week after her 25th birthday. She was scheduled to return from Iraq in May, 2006. She was the third person from Fresno - and the ninth from the central San Joaquin Valley - to die in combat in Iraq. Her brother told media covering Sgt. Reali's death that she was an "awesome, loving, caring, intelligent person - a people person. She was always energetic. She had lots of friends."

Two classes at the Alexander Hamilton K-8 school in Fresno had adopted Sgt. Reali before she was deployed and continued to write and send packages to her throughout her deployment. She sent back Iraqi candy and other souvenirs to the students, and they looked forward to meeting with their hero in person at the end of her commitment to the Army Reserve. The students sent a Christmas package to her before going on winter break in 2005. They returned to school on the day of her funeral and wrote a poem in her memory:

We sent her books and treats to lift her soul,
She leaves us cherished memories and a dark hole.
Some of us wept, some of us cried,
Some of us just felt funny inside.
You left us without ever saying goodbye.
We have great sorrow and pain.
You are our hero and you did not die in vain.

Sgt. Reali's military awards included: the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" Device, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Combat Action Badge.

Fellow Jon Arnold Garcia is completing his Fellowship in honor of Regina Reali.

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