Cpl. Jessica Ellis died in Iraq helping others. Her father remembers his daughter and the “ultimate sacrifices” military women make on Memorial Day.

The knock on the door came at night on Mother’s Day 2008 in Oregon, where Jessica Ellis’ parents lived. It was around 9:20 pm and his wife, Linda, was already in bed; Her father, Steve Ellis, told CBS News that he thought someone had let their animals out—but two soldiers in Class A uniforms were standing in the doorway.

“You know why they are there. I mean, they don’t have to say anything,” Steve Ellis said.

Elis, a combat medic assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, had volunteered for a second time for a route opening mission. It was his second deployment in the region. She mostly accompanied combat engineers on clearing missions looking for roadside bombs, but this time their vehicle was hit by three projectiles. Everyone had to leave through the back door. Ellis did not survive. She was 24 years old.

“None of us imagined losing a daughter in combat,” said the father. “Life will never be the same after this.”

Growing number of women in the military, rising deaths

Women represent around 16% of the nation’s armed forces – the highest percentage in American history, partially fueled by the opportunity to serve in all positions, including combat. But as the number of women serving in the military grew, so did the number of deaths.

Since the global war on terrorism started in 2001179 military women have been killed in combat – surpassing other US wars or engagements. Eight military women were killed in Vietnam.

“The Department of Defense is proud of the bravery and sacrifice made by all service members who gave their lives in defense of our nation,” a spokesperson told CBS News.

Still, said Marilla J. Cushman, senior adviser to the president at Military Women’s Memorial, A DC-based organization that tells the collective story of women’s service, women have made great strides and now serve at all levels in the military.

She said women are “driving tanks, commanding thousands of people and flying fighter planes,” something that wasn’t possible when she served in the Army for 25 years.

“I would be proud to stand next to any of these women,” Cushman said.

The final sacrifice

Ellis’ parents met with their daughter’s classmates at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, so they could learn more about what happened that night.

“She was a very happy child, had a warm personality and lifted her unit – we were welcomed by hundreds of men and women there,” Steve said.

Her father said they gave her the nickname “Doc Ellis.” He said her friends told them that even after she left, “she continued to save lives.” They explained to her parents that she trained them all to stop the bleeding and they used her technique often after she left.

Just weeks before she was killed in action, her father said she had gone on a similar mission. Her vehicle was hit and she called her parents, her father recalled.

“She said her vehicle burned and her aid bag burned,” Steve said. “We told her to be careful. But that was the last time we talked to her… about three weeks later, she was killed.”

Their colleagues helped them figure out what happened. Ellis borrowed an aid bag and offered to come back again. Last April, one of her doctor friends told her parents that Ellis’ injuries from the first explosion were worse than they imagined. One of her legs became infected from the burn, he said, the friend told them. But she didn’t want to disappoint her friends, Ellis said.

“Talk about courage, she went back there, she offered to return to our mission. There were 21 guys and she, she volunteered to go out again with burns on her leg,” Steve said.

Ellis was emblematic of a fighting army that sacrifices so much to safeguard our freedoms, he said. These women, he said, were dedicated in their service, in their sacrifice and, for some, “the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”