MCALLEN, Texas —
In a small, green-pastured yard enclosed by barbed wire in Tamaulipas, Mexico, just three hours south of the Texas-Mexico border, 6-year-old Liliana Chavez marveled at the sight of cropdusters flying over her home and dreamed that one day she, too, could fly.
Eighteen years later, Army 2nd Lt. Liliana Chavez smiled as she recalled the memory that propelled her forward.
“I grew up in a rural area where we didn't have running water — we had wells,” Chavez said. “We had outhouses, so no toilets. And, the first time I saw a shower I was in second or third grade. I grew up in the projects.”
Chavez, 24, is an aeromedical evacuation officer who flies UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72A Lakota helicopters for the Texas Army National Guard‘s 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment. She said her accomplishments are far beyond what her 6-year-old self could have imagined.
Ambition to Fly
“I have been wanting to fly since the first time I saw an airplane, but I kind of put that dream aside, since I thought it was very competitive,” Chavez said. “It was like dreaming to be a movie star; you put it aside because you think it will never happen.”
Despite the obstacles that Chavez and her family endured as immigrants during their journey, Chavez realized her dreams were more of a reality than she thought.
“I came…
