A University of Pennsylvania surgeon has been killed in Iraq. John P. "JP" Pryor, MD, 42, was felled by enemy fire on Christmas Day. Major Pryor was serving as an Army trauma surgeon.

"John was an exceptional human being who truly lived his values every day. He felt a special obligation to use his skills to help those serving our country and the many innocent victims of war. Sadly, this admirable trait put him in harm's way one last time," read the medical school's notice.

Pryor came to the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 after completing his surgical training at the State University of New York in Buffalo. After his Fellowship in trauma surgery and critical care he joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery and was most recently serving as the Trauma Program Director for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pryor also came to the aid of victims of the 9/11/01 attacks in New York. He was an accomplished writer and commentator who equated the carnage from urban gangs in Philadelphia to the loss of life in combat. "The wounds and nationalities of the patients are different, but the feelings of helplessness, despair and loss are the same," he wrote in the Washington Post in 2007.

He also served at the combat hospital in Abu Ghraib in 2006.

Pryor is survived by his wife Carmela V. Calvo, MD and three children. A memorial fund has been established. For details, visit
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/faculty/jpp.html

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