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Florence Choe

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Florence B. Choe
A Filipino American woman sitting down wearing a United States Navy uniform in front of a flag of the United States and a flag of the United States Navy.
Florence B. Choe navy biography portrait
Born
Florence Bacong

(1973-11-26)November 26, 1973
Naval Medical Center San Diego
DiedMarch 27, 2009(2009-03-27) (aged 35)
Camp Shaheen, Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan
Cause of death
Killed in action
Burial place
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California
32°41′11″N 117°14′42″W / 32.68651°N 117.24513°W / 32.68651; -117.24513
EducationUniversity of California, San Diego
San Diego State University
SpouseChong "Jay" Choe
Children1
Military career
Branch
United States Navy
Service years
2001-2009
Rank
Lieutenant (O-3)
NicknameFlo[1]
UnitCombined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan
AwardsBronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal

Florence Choe, (born Florence Bacong, 26 November 1973 - 27 March 2009) was an American naval officer who was killed in action at Camp Shaheen during a green on blue attack. Choe, a Filipino American was born in San Diego, followed her father in serving in the United States Navy after the September 11th Attacks, and died while deployed to Afghanistan.

Early life

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Choe was born to parents from the Philippines, with her dad being a United States Navy cook.[2][a] Choe was born at Naval Medical Center San Diego.[5] Choe went to elementary school in Spring Valley;[6] then graduated from Monte Vista High School.[5][7] Choe earned an associate's degree at Cuyamaca Community College in 1994.[6] She went on to earn a bachelor's degree from University of California, San Diego in 1997, and a master's degree in public health from San Diego State University in 2001.[3]

Military career

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Choe joined the Navy, after the September 11th Attacks, walking into a recruiting office with her father on 13 September 2001.[2] She was commissioned into the Navy Medical Service Corps on 21 February 2002.[8] While stationed at National Naval Medical Center, she met her future husband Chong "Jay" Choe, another naval officer and a doctor;[2] on 21 June 2004, they married.[9][10] While both of them were stationed on Okinawa, Choe gave birth to their daughter; they would later have a change of station to Naval Medical Center San Diego, where her husband would have his residency.[2] While at Naval Medical Center San Diego, Choe was its governing board's executive assistant.[11] In May 2008, Choe voluntarily deployed to Afghanistan.[2][5]

While deployed to Afghanistan, with encouragement from a San Diego-based nonprofit United Through Reading, Choe began to record herself reading books for her daughter, and sent them home for her daughter to watch.[2] In doing so, she maintained the bond with her daughter, making a reunion while on leave from deployment a painless one.[2] Other servicemembers were able to utilize the recording facilities that Choe created to also make recordings for their children.[3][4] In March 2009, an Afghan shot and killed Choe, Lieutenant (junior grade) Francis Toner,[b] and injured Captain Kim Lebel, before turning the weapon onto himself and taking his own life.[2][14][c]

Legacy

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Florence Bacong Choe's headstone at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Choe was survived by her husband, daughter, parents, and two brothers.[6][d] Choe's death made her husband one of a few dozen gold star widowers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.[4] Choe was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, and is buried nearby Michael Monsoor.[3][e]

In November 2009, Choe's husband received an award from United Through Reading on her behalf.[10] Lebel listed both Choe and Toner into the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.[18] Choe's daughter is a recipient of a scholarship from Folds of Honor.[19] In 2013, a quilt was made to honor Choe and several other San Diego County fallen servicemembers, and was displayed during a quilt show.[20] On Memorial Day 2017, an individual involved with the Truman National Security Project placed a rose at Choe's gravesite.[21] On Memorial Day 2018, Choe's service was memorialized at an event in Bremerton, Washington.[22]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Choe's parents were Rufino and Francisca Bacong.[3] Rufino was a career sailor.[4]
  2. ↑ Toner was posthumously awarded a Silver Star Medal for attempting to stop the Afghan.[12] It was initially awarded as a Bronze Star Medal with Valor; a bridge aboard Naval Station Newport was named for Toner.[13]
  3. ↑ Sources conflict as to whether the Afghan shooter was a Afghan National Army soldier, or an insurgent pretending to be one.[2][5] Later investigation revealed that the shooter was shot three times, calling to question whether the shooter died by suicide.[15]
  4. ↑ One of her brothers, Ron, would later credit her for getting him to resume his advancement in education.[16]
  5. ↑ At the time of her death Choe's hometown was listed as El Cajon.[17]

References

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  1. ↑ "4 Standing Ovations at 4th Tribute to Military Families". United Through Reading. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Miller, Kenneth (March 2017). "A Soldier's Last Bedtime Story". Reader's Digest. Trust Media Brands. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
    Miller, Kenneth (March 2017). "Final Gift". San Diego: United Through Reading. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Perry, Tony (31 May 2010). "Remembering Florence". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Drash, Wayne (8 May 2011). "Moving on when mom is killed at war". CNN. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
    "'The thing about remembering is that you don't forget'". WTVR. Richmond, Virginia: Scripps News Group. CNN Wire. 27 May 2018 [27 May 2012].
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hughes, H. (31 March 2009). "Local Navy Officer Killed in Brazen Attack". KNSD. San Diego: NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Powell, Ronald W. (29 August 2009) [30 March 2009]. "Navy lieutenant, mom admired by everyone". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Florence B. Choe, 35". Los Angeles Times. 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "For Those Who Gave All". The Daily Review. Towanda, Pennsylvania. 24 June 2009. p. A2. Retrieved 25 September 2026 – via Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ 2009 Congressional Record, Vol. 155, Page E2830 (19 November 2009)
  10. 1 2 Dipping, Caroline (29 August 2016) [November 8, 2009]. "A sailor's stories". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Perry, Tony; Zavis, Alexandra (5 April 2009). "2 Navy officers are killed by Afghan soldier". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 October 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Afghanistan - Silver Star Presented to Lt. (jg) Francis L. Toner IV". Naval History and Heritage Command. United States Navy. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Rama, Lisa (25 March 2011). "NAVSTA to dedicate new bridge". Newport Navalog. Newport, Rhode Island. p. 2. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
    Rama, Lisa (7 October 2011). "Lt. Toner, for whom NAVSTA brdige is named, gets Silver Star posthumously". Newport Navalog. Newport, Rhode Island. p. 2. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "Hometown Hero: Retired Navy Capt. Kim LeBel". Baltimore Ravens. 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Chivers, C.J. (23 September 2018). "During an Insider Attack, Their Son Sacrificed His Life to Save Others". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  16. ↑ "MILITARY: Man's graduation a tribute to sister killed in action". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2 September 2016 [29 April 2011]. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe". Honor the Fallen. Sightline Media Group. 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Bedrossian, Peter (21 May 2024). "Honoring Asian-American and Pacific Islander Purple Heart Recipients". Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. State of New York. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Soldier Honored: Florence B. Choe". The Patriot All-American. 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  20. ↑ Pearlman, Karen (4 September 2016) [14 February 2013]. "Quilt honoring fallen soldiers coming to Lakeside". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  21. ↑ VanDiver, Shawn (31 May 2017). "#TruMemorial: Servant Leadership on Display". Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "Navy Nurse Keynote Speaker for Memorial Day Delivers Message of Remembrance and Hope" (PDF). Navy Corps News. Vol. 12, no. 3. United States Navy. 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2026 – via Wikimedia Commons.
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florence_Choe&oldid=1378074638"