Fallen Hero: Major John Pryor, M.D.

I found this post on BlackFive which I have copied in part here.

The story of Major Pryor deserves telling as often as possible.

Major John P. Pryor was killed by enemy fire on Christmas.

Major Pryor was a surgeon, and not just any surgeon.
He was the leader of the University of Pennsylvania's trauma team, arguably one of the best in the nation, and was a combat surgeon who operated with frontline units. On September 11, 2001 he raced to Ground Zero to volunteer his services.

From the Washington Post:
Despite what he acknowledged in an undated document left with family was the high personal cost of going to serve, for he felt that family and others did not fully support his decision, he went anyway as he felt it was the right thing to do. This time, he was with the 1st Medical Detachment, Forward Surgical Team in Mosul, Iraq when killed by shrapnel from a mortar round.

In an August 2007 article published in The Washington Post, Pryor wrote:

"In Iraq, soldiers die for freedom, for honor, for their country and for their buddies. Here in Philadelphia, they die without honor, without purpose, for no country, for no one."

Requiescat In Pace, Major