University of Illinois plans memorial to fallen soldier

URBANA — The University of Illinois plans to dedicate a new memorial to an Illinois National Guard soldier and university student killed in the Iraq War.

The National Guard says the university will dedicate a memorial to Sgt. Shawna Morrison on Sunday. She was the first female Illinois National Guard soldier to be killed in Iraq.

Morrison died on Sept. 5, 2004. She was a member of the guard’s Paris-based 1544th Transportation Company.

She was also a psychology student at Illinois.

The memorial will be in the north courtyard of Lincoln Hall on campus.