Local veteran Navy nurse honored on special journey
By Ashley Shah
DJ Lavoie of Scripps Ranch is a U.S. Navy nurse veteran who served during the Vietnam War. Last month, she was honored by the San Diego branch of the Honor Flight organization.
Honor Flight is a nationwide non-profit organization that aims to honor veterans from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It has around 130 branches across the country.
“Honor Flight is an all expenses (paid) three day trip to Washington, D.C., for veterans to visit memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice,” Lavoie said. “The organization is sponsored by people and companies who believe in the philosophy.”
She was part of a group of 90 veterans. There were five women, including Lavoie, and 85 men. The group consisted of veterans who served from one of the following wars: the Vietnam War, WWII, and the Korean War.
The first day of their trip consisted of traveling to Washington, D.C., and settling in. Each veteran was accompanied by a “guardian” who assisted the veteran with any needs.
The second day the group was able to visit several memorials.
“We were able to visit the WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials,” Lavoie said. “The whole time we were there, we were all so honored. We were honored by each other and the people at the memorials. The people at the memorials were thanking us for our service and saying, ‘God bless you.’”
Lavoie and the four other women were able to visit the Military Women’s Memorial.
“They had a special ceremony for us at the Military Women’s Memorial. The ceremony was very special for us. The memorial is located at the Arlington cemetery,” she said.
She visited the Vietnam Women’s Memorial as well.
“It was very touching for us who were in service at the time to see the statue of three uniformed women with a wounded soldier. We were honored at this memorial as well. They gave each one of us a military folded U.S. flag,” Lavoie said. “Being honored there was very emotional and healing in terms of being with other veterans in my era.”
The third day of their trip involved coming back home.
“This trip was all encompassing. We were truly recognized and honored for what we did at the time we did it,” Lavoie said. “When we came back from the war, we were not welcomed. This trip was a thank you and a welcome home.”
Lavoie described what felt like the cherry on top of a fabulous trip.
“When we got off the flight, the military was there saluting us. When we got to the baggage claim area, there were over 800 members of the community there to greet us, some from the Navy Nurse Corps Association (NNCA), and some who just wanted to support us. It was overwhelming in the best way possible,” she said.
Lavoie explained how she was selected for this trip.
“The NNCA has a luncheon about four times a year. Around three years ago a speaker from Honor Flight San Diego came in and passed out registration forms. I filled it out and forgot about it,” she said. “I got the call a few months ago that they wanted to invite me. I could not believe it. I told them of course I wanted to go.”
Lavoie’s start in the Navy was influenced by her uncle.
“My uncle was in the Navy. He was my favorite uncle. He always thought that I should become a Navy nurse. At some point when I was in high school, he was stationed in Bethesda (Maryland). I went to see him and met some Navy nurses. Meeting them was a cool experience. At that point, I had known I wanted to be a nurse for some time,” Lavoie said.
She attended the School of Nursing at the University of Connecticut.
“A recruiter had come in to speak to us about the Navy while I was at the University of Connecticut. I signed up,” she said.
When Lavoie graduated in 1963 from the University of Connecticut, she was stationed at the Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park, San Diego, later that year.
Additionally, during her six years of active duty, she was stationed in the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam and finished her service at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts.
As a veteran, Lavoie still aims to contribute to the history of this country.
“When I came back to San Diego in 2011, shortly after, I joined the Navy Nurse Corps Association of Southern California,” she said. “A few years into my involvement with the NNCA, myself and three other nurses started a project called the Veteran History Project. We started doing interviews of Navy nurses in the area from any war. The criteria that we used for the interviews was the same one that the U.S. Library of Congress uses for their veteran project.”
To this date, they have done about 150 interviews. These interviews can be viewed at the Library of Congress or at NNCA.org.
“I loved what I did. It was an honor to serve as a Navy nurse,” Lavoie said.
For more information about Honor Flight San Diego, visit www.honorflightsandiego.org.
