Half a World Apart: A Father and Son’s Connection

Courtesy Photo | LOS ANGELES (April 14, 2020) Seaman Apprentice Luis Librando (left) and Chief Hospital Corpsman Lawrence Librando (right), both from Murrieta, Calif. pose for a photo following Luis' graduation from boot camp in 2019. Luis followed in his father's footsteps and currently serves as a Hospitalman aboard the the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). Mercy deployed in support of the nation's COVID-19 response efforts, and will serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals. This allows shore base hospitals to focus their efforts on COVID-19 cases. One of the Department of Defense's missions is Defense Support of Civil Authorities. DoD is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, as well as state, local and public health authorities in helping protect the health and safety of the American people. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Chief Hospital Corpsman Lawrence Librando)  

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES

04.14.2020

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jacob L. Greenberg 

Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet           

LOS ANGELES - For 120 years, hospital corpsmen have served the Navy and Marine Corps in every corner of the globe, developing strong bonds with their patients.
A father and son are continuing their family, and naval, traditions half a world apart.
Hospitalman Luis Librando, from Murrieta, Calif., a Sailor assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), serving aboard USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), works as a general duty hospital corpsman in one of the ship’s 15 wards. He is helping the citizens of Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His father, Chief Hospital Corpsman Lawrence Librando, is treating patients at the primary trauma receiving and referral center for all combat casualties in southern Afghanistan while assigned to NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar.
Mercy deployed from San Diego to Los Angeles to support the nation’s COVID-19 response effort. The 1,000-bed hospital ship is treating non-COVID patients to act as a relief valve for Los Angeles-area hospitals as they focus their care on COVID-19 patients. Approximately 900 Sailors, including doctors, nurses, specialists, hospital corpsmen and administrative staff, were called to action, many given 5 days or less notice, to crew Mercy and get underway to help Southern Californians.
“I’m so proud to be a part of something bigger than myself,” said HN Librando.
This is HN Librando’s first career deployment. His first year in the Navy has been spent caring for patients at NMCSD.
“It’s really cool to be on the front lines, helping the people of Los Angeles,” said HN Librando, who humbly credits some of his success in the Navy to his father.
Both father and son communicate daily, exchanging stories and guidance.
“My dad gives me advice whenever I ask for it,” said HN Librando. “He has told me how to seek out and utilize mentors, stay safe aboard the ship and how to stay positive.”
HMC Librando, who joined the Navy in August 2000 in search of a better life for his family in the Philippines, was assigned the hospital corpsman rating while in the delayed entry program. Throughout his career, he preached the Navy’s benefits to his two children, but never forced a life in the military on either of them.
“[The Navy] provided us everything that we needed and opened a lot of doors,” said HMC Librando. “I still can’t believe my son is in the Navy, much less a corpsman. Every day is an adventure and it is wonderful to talk with my son about things I know he will understand. He now understands my language, what I do, and what it means to be a corpsman.”
HMC Librando said that he communicates with his son regularly, a testament to the Navy’s technological prowess, and provides his son with fatherly advice, but still encourages him to find his own mentors.
“Giving [Luis] advice from a chief’s perspective is the fun and tricky part,” said HMC Librando. “I always tell him to read Naval Administrative Messages, instructions and consult his mentors.”
HN Librando said that despite hearing about his father’s glory, he plans on blazing his own trail in the Navy. He has ambitions to complete his degree and join the Navy’s Nurse Corps.
In a rare glimpse of human connection during a time of global isolation, both Luis and his father Lawrence manage to maintain their familial bond, all while adding value to the Navy’s medical missions around the world.

• Date Taken: 04.14.2020
• Date Posted: 04.14.2020 18:26
• Story ID: 367385
• Location: LOS ANGELES, CA, US