VIDEO: Faith, Duty, Service Shaped Vietnam Veteran Joan Furey’s Life
SAYVILLE — Growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Joan Furey admired the men and women in uniform who marched in the neighborhood’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades. Years later, that admiration would inspire her to serve her country as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War.
Furey said her sense of duty was shaped by both her upbringing and her Catholic faith. Her family attended Mass every Sunday at Holy Cross Church in Brooklyn, where she said the values instilled by her parents and religion helped guide her decisions.
At just 22 years old, shortly after graduating from college, Furey joined the U.S. Army. As a nurse, she was determined to serve in Vietnam.
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“I said, well, I’m a nurse and I want to go to Vietnam,” Furey recalled.
She said she never questioned whether military service was her responsibility.
“I always thought that I have as much of a duty to serve this country as any man does,” she said.
Furey was deployed to Vietnam in January 1969, where she cared for wounded service members amid the dangers of war. The experience exposed her to traumatic scenes, including attacks that forced medical staff to take extraordinary measures to protect their patients.
“When there was an attack, we’d put on a flak vest and helmets, and we’d run around and put the mattresses over the patients,” she said.
Furey returned home in 1970, but adjusting to life after the war was difficult.
“It was difficult, the transition,” she said.
Rather than leave those experiences behind, Furey channeled them into a lifelong commitment to helping fellow veterans.
She helped pioneer veterans’ health care initiatives, including training medical staff to recognize signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. She also helped establish programs specifically designed to address the needs of women veterans.
Her work helped bring greater attention to the experiences and challenges faced by those who served, particularly women whose contributions were not always recognized.
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Looking back, Furey said she has no regrets about choosing a career in military service. She continues to believe in the importance of honoring veterans and supporting those who have sacrificed for their country.
“It’s been a very, very rewarding life and experience,” she said.