Debra Lopez Fix

Debra Lopez Fix
Born
Elgin, Texas
SpouseCol. Robert Fix
Children2
Military career
Branch
United States Army
Service years
1981-2011
Rank
Colonel
Known forFirst Hispanic American woman to graduate from West Point
AwardsPurple Heart

Debra Lopez Fix was the first Hispanic American woman to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1981.

Military career

Debra Lopez was born in Elgin, Texas and entered West Point in 1977 in the second ever class to allow female cadets. After graduating she became both airborne and air assault qualified and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky with the 101st Airborne Division.

She was at the Pentagon during 9/11 attacks serving with the 30th Adjutant General Battalion. Lt. Col. Fix was wounded in the attack and was awarded the Purple Heart medal.

Afterward, Fix would serve in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command.

Fix retired after 30 years of service in 2011 as a Colonel.

She married fellow soldier Col. Robert Fix (West Point Class of 1981) and they have two sons Joe and Bobby, both officers in the U.S. Army.

References

  1. 1 2 "Army Women in History – Army Women's Foundation". Retrieved 2026-10-27.
  2. ↑ "Debra (Lopez) Fix U.S. Army, 1981-2001". mwm.omeka.net. Retrieved 2026-10-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 writer, Amanda Dolasinski Staff. "Fix family's Army service spans a century, four generations". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2026-10-27.
  4. 1 2 "The Flagpole e-Newsletter". U.S. Army Women's Foundation. Retrieved 2026-10-27.
  5. ↑ "Reception battalion dedicates new complex". www.army.mil. 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2026-10-27.