Combatant: Luann Van Peursem

Keeper (Noun): One that keeps: such as a protector; with respect to how easy it is to care for

What is a combat veteran? One may automatically think of a man on the front lines running with an AK-47, ducking and dodging bullets, taking control of the enemy like in the beginning of Major Payne. However, I challenge you to think of a woman to come to mind.

Our next Combatant is retired Master Sergeant, Luann Van Peursem. Luann hails from Rochester, New York and served as paramedic with Monroe Ambulance and served in the U.S. Air Force for 33 years. Over the course of her 3 decades of service, she has been stationed all across the globe serving at duty stations in places such as Las Vegas, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Niagara Falls to name a few. When she retired she described it as a yin and yang feeling. She loved the excitement of the military from the constant traveling to meeting great people she served with. However, she also was ready to retire because she missed a lot of life events and did not like being pulled from her family, especially from her two sons, Phillip John and Kyle.

Her career started in logistics, specializing in transportation, as a “Loadmaster” loading and off-loading C-130 aircrafts. She easily became an NCOIC for her exemplary leadership and organizational skills. As her military career was coming towards its last years, Luann was called to serve on a deployment to Iraq. She was sent to Sather Air Base in Baghdad, which at that time was considered one of the “safest” bases in Iraq. Unfortunately, that only was true for so long. On June 20, 2007, there was a rocket attack on the base. She recalls sitting at her desk and when the blast went off, she saw a trailer not too far from her burst and shrapnel whizzed right by her face. She was alerted by an Airman that two of her Airmen were injured. She instructed him to call 9-1-1 for on-base medical assistance, while she immediately went to triage the first injured Airman. The Airman sustained critical injuries to the loss of the lower half of his face. Her focus was to keep his airways open and get him stable enough until other medics could assist. She then heard cries coming from another Airman impacted by the blast. She waved him down to get to their bunker, but he was not stable enough to do so. Another blast came and she ran out to get him, and fireman carried him to safety. His only words to her were “Please… don’t let me die.” As she went to triage this Airman by opening his jacket, she recalls it “looking like Swiss cheese in his chest.” He had holes in his lungs and had jugular vein distention and the air was not escaping his chest cavity. She took an ink pen and knife and opened his chest so he could breathe. Both men eventually went on to Bahlad to be stabilized, then flown to Germany, then lastly onto Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland. 

After the attack, she was alerted that a 4-Star General was attending their base for an “All Call,” but was working on tying up loose ends in her shop. As she is in “All Call”, her name was called to receive a Medal of Valor for her heroic actions during combat in saving those 2 Airmen and leading the others around her. She was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster with Valor). At the time, she felt she did not deserve this award because “I feel that anybody under those circumstances would have done the same thing. That’s just what you do. That’s what you're trained to do.”

Her actions in combat came with a price by impacting her retirement pension and benefits. Did you know in 2007, during OIF/OEF, women were sent to war, but were not considered combat veterans? Which later impacted those who had to choose between getting their retirement pensions OR the disability benefits? They denied her pension because she was a female and “combat” was not listed on her DD214, even with this distinguished award that says she was in combat. Women were later recognized in combat in 2013 by Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. Today, she is fighting an uphill battle with New York State trying to get her DD214 amended to acknowledge that she is a combat veteran, which in turn allows her to receive her disability pay AND her U.S. Air Force pension. She was told it had to be an “act from Congress” to get it amended. Not only would getting this rectified impact her financially, but also it acknowledges the legacy of her service on a larger scale for women Airmen to come after her.

"Combat veteran means another level of selfless acts for the good of your country and mankind."- Luann Van Peursem

Today, Luann is enjoying retirement back in Rochester, NY. She is finding her purpose, working on staying goal-oriented, and giving herself time to share herself through volunteering. Her counselor at the VA suggested that she try therapeutic horsemanship working with wild mustangs at the Equicenter. She recalls seeing how scared and traumatized these horses were and saw herself in their demeanor. She is also a part of the veteran agriculture program where she is the "Queen Bee" of beekeeping! The program expanded into the apiary, where the bees enhance the productivity of their crops. The veterans plant seeds, harvest, and bring those crops into the kitchen- farm to table at its best! She stays fit and active by participating in the Golden Age Games, which is like a yearly Olympics for veterans ages 55 and older. 

I asked Luann what do you want the women behind you to learn from her story. She replied, “Be proactive for themselves. Lead with your heart.”  For her, leading with her heart has allowed her to have a deeper and better understanding for not just women in the military, but for the men, the women, and the families they leave behind. As for advice for her younger self based on her service she says, “Don't get married!” Just kidding! 😉 “Continue to be proactive and stay fit! If your body is healthy, it also affects your mind and vice versa. If you’re healthy, you're able to take care of yourself and you’re the number 1 person you have to look out for! Yourself first!” I couldn’t agree with her more.