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US Army SSG Vanessa Schieber, of Northampton County, PA, was name among the Patriot Project's honorees for 2023. The Purple Heart Patriot Project is a program of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission.
Schieber, 37, enlisted in the Army in April 2007 and served for 11 years a member of the 101st Airborne Division, and later the 1st Armor Division. Her first deployment came in 2008, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In September 2008, while working with a Service and Recovery Team, Schieber was traveling along the road as part of a convoy through Mosul, when the convoy was ambushed, and she was shot in her upper torso, causing several rib fractures and a collapsed lung.
After an initial scare when Iraqi Nationals started dragging her away, she discovered they were friendly and rendered her with first aid. Schieber was subsequently flown to Landstuhl, Germany, for surgery and recovery. She deployed to Iraq again in 2010.
In December 2016, Schieber was deployed to Asadabad, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Freedom Sentinel. On Dec. 30, 2016, the convoy she was traveling struck an IED, and the vehicle Schieber was in flipped on its side — the driver and Schieber crushed in the cabin.
Schieber was again flown to Germany, this time with injuries to her spine. Schieber had nine broken vertebrae that had to be stabilized by 10 screws, plates, two rods, spacers, and bone cement. It took over a year for her to recover to a point where she could walk and function again. Schieber was medically retired and honorably discharged on July 18, 2018.
“Vanessa and her fellow Patriot Project honorees represent the best of the best our country has to offer,” said Richie Lay, a Purple Heart recipient and Chairman of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. “America’s Purple Heart veterans have given so much to defend freedom and that sacrifice must always be remembered. These brave men and women are true American heroes. We were privileged to be able to provide this unique salute to service for our Purple Heart heroes.”
This year’s Purple Heart Patriot Project Mission was held from Sept. 18 to 22. Patriot Project honorees included men and women Purple Heart recipients from World War II, the Vietnam War, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and other conflicts, representing all branches of the service and ranging from 37 to 100 years old.
Asked what she would want others to know about her service, Schieber said: “I see my whole Army career as a personal achievement. The public needs to know about our dedication, fear, loss, trauma, and missing families. But also, the camaraderie, pride and feeling of accomplishment."
Along with her two Purple Hearts, Schieber was awarded numerous medals and commendations during her service, including the Combat Action Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign medal with Campaign Star, Iraq Campaign Medal w/2 Campaign stars, and more.
Following her honorable discharge, Schieber obtained her Ph.D. in English and education, and now teaches English and German at a New Jersey high school.
Married to her husband, Jeremy, Vanessa is a proud mother who describes her son as her “personal hero that got me through all the pain and dark places.”
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