Navajo Nation mourning after death of 20-year-old soldier from Arizona
Jul 8, 2021, 2:00 PM | Updated: 9:05 pm
Army Pvt. Marriah Pouncy (Photo via Navajo Nation)
(Photo via Navajo Nation)
PHOENIX – Navajo Nation is mourning the loss of a 20-year-old soldier from Arizona who died at a Texas Army base last month.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer issued a proclamation calling for reservation flags to be flown at half-staff on Friday in honor of Pvt. Marriah Alice Shirley Pouncy, a Chinle native.
Pouncy was found unresponsive in her Fort Bliss barracks room on June 21 and pronounced dead later that day, according to U.S. military news outlet Stars & Stripes.
The cause of her death remains under investigation, according to a Thursday Navajo Nation press release. Stars & Stripes reported that foul play was not suspected.
“We offer our thoughts and prayers for her family and friends, and we also recognize and thank her family for everything they have given as well,” Nez said in the release.
“We ask our creator to bless them with strength and comfort as they seek answers and grieve for their daughter, granddaughter and sister. We will continue to support the family as they seek closure and answers in relation to her untimely passing.”
Pouncy, who graduated from Chinle High School in 2018 before enlisting and has been stationed at Fort Bliss since 2019, was a niece to Arizona state Rep. Myron Tsosie.
“The state of Arizona, our country and the Navajo Nation she called home, and our family are joined together in mourning for the loss of U.S. Army Pvt. Marriah Alice Shirley Pouncy,” Tsosie said in a statement. “Pvt. Pouncy dedicated her life to serving and protecting our country and the Navajo Nation.”
A funeral service for Pouncy will be held at Potter’s House Chinle Christian Center at 9 a.m. Friday. Afterward, she’ll be laid to rest privately in a family plot.
Pouncy is survived by parents Anita Mae and James Pouncy; brothers James Begay Jr., Kristopher Pouncy, Aslan Pouncy and Ashriel Pouncy; sisters Robin Howard, Joanita Begay and Nizhoni Pouncy; nieces Shalisa and Johannah Mitchell; and nephew Dushaun Weible.
