Honorees

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Year Honored
2008
Honoree
Deanna Palmer
Agency
Southwest Med Evac
Agency City
Las Cruces
Agency State
NM
Last Call
8/5/07
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
When you die living your dream and helping others in the process, there is no greater ending to your life story. "I was with Deanna when she took her first flight in the helicopter. Elation doesn't even begin to describe her in that moment," stated a Greg Beaty," base coordinator for Southwest Medevac. Deanna loved helping people, she loved her job, but she absolutely adored her three daughters who were the light of her life.<br /> <br /> Deanna Palmer, 40, of Prescott Valley, Arizona, was killed in the line of duty on August 5, 2007. She was one of a three-person team aboard a medical plane that departed from Sierra Blanca Regional Airport conducting a patient transport. The air ambulance crashed in the rugged mountainous terrain in Devil's Canyon, located in Lincoln National Forest. There were no survivors.<br /> <br /> Deanna worked for Southwest Medevac located in Fair Acres, New Mexico. Previously she had served in the Army, Marine Corps and the National Guard. While in the Army she served as a medic. She was a firefighter in Idaho for a short time.<br /> <br /> "I never saw her without a smile on her face. She always greeted you with a huge hug, and she had a great sense of humor," stated Scott Moore, a paramedic who worked with Deanna from Prescott Valley, Arizona. Her presence at the Blackfoot Fire Department opened the way for other paramedics," stated Dell Mangam, Fire Marshall Retired, Blackfoot, Idaho.<br /> <br /> "You could not be around Deanna without hearing about her three daughters she was so proud of. She was moving to New Mexico so they could all be together more," stated a co-worker. You know those girls will always have her to be proud of, she is their hero, and one of ours.<br /> <br /> Honored 2008