Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Yudy A Palacios | 250720-N-AA383-1064 Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuels) 1st Class Kathleen E. Case...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — On a quiet day that would impact her life forever, Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuels) 1st Class Kathleen E. Case discovered her father unresponsive and not breathing. At that moment, her military training took over. Without hesitation, she administered CPR on the
man who had raised her with Marine discipline and steadfast values. Case fought to keep her father's heart beating and her efforts were enough to grant her family time to say goodbye with dignity before he passed away that evening.
“We are trained to react, not think, so we are quick to respond,” reflected Case. “Once we’re trained on it, it's like second nature, like riding a bike.”
Her training has been put to the test repeatedly. Case has been recognized with six Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for various reasons, including responding to medical emergencies.
Born in Utah to a Marine father, she moved frequently before they settled primarily in Wyoming. The values instilled by her parents became her foundation.
“My parents really stressed honesty and integrity, which is obviously in our core values,” she noted. “I never saw them fight; they always handled everything as a team. Growing up in that structured household with that team mentality, I could relate it directly to the military and the Navy's brotherhood and sisterhood.”
With over a hundred veterans in her family spanning both maternal and paternal sides, Case was driven by tradition.
“I kind of felt like I had to do it,” she said. “My great-grandfather and my grandpa were pilots, and with my brothers unable to join due to medical disqualifications, I was passionate about serving, but I also felt the weight of continuing our family's legacy.”
After a year at the University of Wyoming, Case enlisted in the Navy as an active-duty Sailor with FBI aspirations, knowing they prioritized military backgrounds. Her active duty career spanned six and a half years, with five and a half spent stationed at Sasebo, Japan; an assignment
that would transform her perspective and define her service.
“My grandfather was shot down in Japan and he was captured by the Japanese,” said Case. “He was a prisoner of war for a while. I had this kind of animosity against Japan. I was scared and nervous when I got orders there.”
However, in the end Japan truly became her second home and Case lost her apprehension while stationed there.
“The people that I met over there, and the brothers and the sisters that I accumulated throughout those years, we still stay in contact,” she said. “That's the best thing that I've ever taken away from being there is that they are my family away from family. I would move back to Japan in a
heartbeat.”
When the 2011 tsunami struck, she took part in Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. relief mission.
The disaster was personally devastating for Case.
“Being stationed at Sasebo, that became your second home, your home away from home,” she recalled. “Just seeing it in ruins, the way that it was and the amount of deaths; it was so heartbreaking. But the best thing out of that destruction was that I think it brought Japan and the United States closer together.”
Case considers Operation Tomodachi and the bonds she built there among the most memorable parts of her service. For her, such connections are fundamental to service.
“The military gives you that brotherhood, that sisterhood, that camaraderie,” she reflected. “Growing up with that team structure in my household, I was already prepared for what the Navy could offer.”
Her transition from active duty to the Reserves came when her father's declining health called her home.
“I was able to come home once a year, and I could see this man slowly wither away,” she recalled with emotion. “I knew deep down he wasn't doing very well, so I asked if I could get out. I paid back my bonus and was able to fulfill that contract in the Reserves.”
The transition also offered better balance for the family life she envisioned when it came to motherhood.
“The Reserves give me the opportunity to take my kids to different places and see the world the way I see it,” she said. “It gives my children more of a mindset of what the military does as a whole. On active duty, kids just know mommy and daddy are going to be gone for a while, they
don't know where or why. But in the Reserves, I'm able to take them with me sometimes, and they get to see it and understand it. I think that's a blessing in itself.”
Today, Case works as a lab technician at a coal power plant in Wyoming, where her aviation fuel expertise translates directly to her civilian role. The work, she notes, reminds her of shipboard life with its boilers and complex systems.
“I use some of the same titrations as I would test with JP-5 fuel,” she noted. “We have the same valves; glow valves, gate valves that we utilize on ship. So I can correlate my civilian job to my fuels job, especially when it comes to testing.”
Her community involvement extends beyond work. For eight years, she has volunteered with Cheyenne Frontier Days, coaches girls' softball and basketball, leads co-ed soccer teams and serves as a Girl Scout troop leader. But it's her continued readiness to save lives that truly sets
her apart.
Whether responding to a woman having a seizure in the park, helping someone choking on food, assisting an overheated concertgoer, or aiding a Fort Riley soldier during a medical emergency, Case consistently applies her military training to civilian crises. She credits the comprehensive
unit training she has received for her readiness as a responder in crisis.
Among her awards for those efforts, none holds more meaning than the one recognizing her funeral honors service. This solemn duty represents what she considers her most important contribution to naval service, particularly for Vietnam veterans like her father, who endured a
painful and unwelcoming return home after the war.
“The most gratifying thing about funeral honors is that we're getting to the ages of the last World War II veterans, but more so the Korean and Vietnam War veterans,” she stated with emotion. “My father said when he came home, veterans were not welcomed back. So doing these funerals
for our Vietnam veterans has given me such a humbling experience because it's the last honor that they never got to receive when they came home.”
While honoring past service members remains meaningful, Case is also preparing for her next chapter of supporting current service members. With a master's degree in data analytics and a bachelor's in forensic science with a minor in criminology, she plans to pursue a Reserve officer
commission, possibly in public affairs.
“My children and my husband have been my biggest supporters,” she said. “They push me to thrive and I want to show them, my girls and my sons, to chase the things that you are passionate about and love. I love the military. I'm from a very patriotic family. If I can show them to be the
best and chase those goals, but not just achieve those goals, but set more goals on top of those goals and just keep thriving, I think that's the best thing I could do.”
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2025 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 547021 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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