Photo By Sgt. Amy Urbina | Judy Adank, United Service Organization volunteer, wears her Navy Veteran pin while...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. – For Judy Adank, serving Soldiers is personal. She has volunteered with United Service Organizations, (USO), since 2017 and said she loves what she does.
“I’m here a lot. You sit and listen to stories,” said Adank, who is prior service. “I can relate to what they are going through: long days, no sleep.”
“I was in the Navy for 12 years … loved every bit of it. I was on three different ships,” Adank mentioned.
“My role as a radioman was to make sure all communications were up,” Adank said. She explained how communicating with aircraft, ships and even submarines, was important for successful operations to her mission during the Gulf War.
Adank said she enjoys hearing deployment stories from troops who stop by the USO, and likes to share her own memories from life at sea. One memory Adank enjoys reflecting on is spending Christmas eve in Rome.
Adank planned to retire from the Navy, but her career ended early when she was medically discharged due to an injury.
She moved back to her home state of Wisconsin to be near her family and started volunteering at the USO in 2017.
“I don’t ask for anything in return … I just love volunteering,” said Adank. “That's my life, volunteering, and my family.”
Her father was an Army Veteran who fought in the Korean War. “I think he was proud of me,” she said, adding that she was the only woman in her immediate family to join the military.
Her father passed away two years ago and she still struggles with the loss. “There’s good days and bad days,” she said.
Adank got emotional when she talked about how the military honored her father with a 21-gun salute at his memorial service. “Two Soldiers presented my mother with the flag. That was really hard,” she shared as she fought back tears.
She said volunteering helps her keep a connection with her dad. “I think being here helps a lot. He was in the Army, now I’m giving back to the Army,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2019 09:40 |
| Story ID: | 332508 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Hometown: | EAU CLAIRE, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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