Retired Air Force Maj. Evelyn Henry has been around the world as a military nurse but lives in Delray Beach and volunteers with the Boynton Woman’s Club. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Jan Engoren
Boynton Woman’s Club member Evelyn Henry, a retired nurse and major in the U.S. Air Force, took off on March 11 from Lakeland as part of the first all‑female veterans Flight to Honor from Florida.
The one‑day visit to Washington, D.C., allowed the 121 veterans to reflect on their service, visit national memorials and get recognition many never received before, similar to trips the Honor Flight organization runs.
This inaugural trip, sponsored by the Greater Florida Woman’s Clubs and its President Sara Dessureau, aimed to celebrate female veterans and break through the isolation many of them experience. A member of the Boynton Woman’s Club for 18 years and a Delray Beach resident, Henry is chair of the club’s Forgotten Soldiers Outreach Committee.
Aside from the tours, the veterans each received a certificate from Florida Sen. Ashley Moody, a letter from U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin and either a teddy bear or a quilt handmade by members of the Treasure Coast Woman’s Club.
A reception complete with cake followed the return home. The women received cards and artwork from schoolchildren.
“It was a touching ending to a lovely and memorable trip,” Henry says. “We all feel so honored.”
Henry, 75, can add it to her list of memories from around the world.
She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing from Hunter College in New York City. Before joining the Air Force, she had been working as a nurse at Kings County Hospital, where, at age 26, she was the youngest nursing supervisor.
After a breakup with her boyfriend, Henry decided she wanted to see the world and signed up with all branches of the military — but the Air Force called first, offering her a commission to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
Her father had served in the Army Air Corps (a precursor to the Air Force) during WWII, where actor Jimmy Stewart was one of the squadron commanders. The unit flew missions over Germany and Poland.
Because Henry already had a master’s degree, she entered the service as a first lieutenant.
Henry says she felt like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin. Her character asks, “Where are the condos? Where are the yachts?”
Henry was surprised by the rustic conditions on the base.
“There were buffalo and chickens in the roads, poor shantytowns, and living conditions were anything but luxurious,” she says. “If you hit a chicken with a car you’d have to pay a fine and be put in international hold.”
But with colleagues, she traveled around Asia, taking a cargo plane to Korea or Japan for $10, including a boxed lunch. She visited Singapore, Thailand, and her favorite, Hong Kong, before it reverted to Chinese rule.
She worked in the surgical unit there before transferring to Bitburg, Germany, where she worked in a multiservice unit with critical care, psychiatric and pediatric care.
Her best assignment came when she was deployed to a comprehensive medical, surgical, cardiac and intensive care unit at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
In 1991, she was deployed to Bicester, England, during Operation Desert Storm to run a USAF Contingency Hospital.
After 9/11, she was working at Dover Air Force Base, mortuary affairs, in Delaware, in charge of medical readiness education. She helped care for casualties from the Pentagon attack and from the plane that hit the Pentagon — identifying people and X‑raying victims, something she describes as “a nightmare.”
From 1996 to 2000, while at Landstuhl Army Hospital in Ramstein, Germany, Henry became a whistleblower when she called environmental health officials in Europe to report asbestos in the hospital. Henry believes her actions led to her being denied a promotion to lieutenant colonel, but she stands by her decision.
“I wasn’t afraid,” she says. “I knew I did the right thing.”
On March 11, the chartered honor flight plane contained the 121 veterans with 24 guardians and some support staff and news media. They arrived in Baltimore and took buses to the Washington Monument, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Military Women’s Memorial.
Memorable moments included watching visitors to the Vietnam Memorial search for the names of departed relatives and friends, and seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington.
A celebratory crowd greeted them when they landed back in Lakeland — fire trucks sprayed water, a large American flag waved from a crane, crowds held flags and cheered, and photographers captured the moment.
For a woman who has spent her life caring for others — including sick friends and her elderly mother — the recognition was something Henry will treasure. As a longtime member of the BWC, she will continue to serve, volunteer and give back to her community.
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