March 27, 2009 Navy Lieut. Florence Bacong Choe was exercising at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan with three other Sailors, including fellow Medical Corps officer, Lieut. j.g. Francis Toner, when an Afghan Army soldier opened fire on them, immediately killing Choe and wounding another Sailor. Toner confronted the soldier before being shot dead. 
Choe’s father is a naturalized Filipino immigrant and retired Navy Mess Management Specialist. She was born at Navy Medical Center San Diego. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Public Health and Health Care Administration from UC San Diego. 
After 9/11 she signed up for the Navy and was assigned to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Where there she met her husband, Jay Choe, a Naval Academy graduate training to become a doctor. She was commissioned a Medical Corps Service Officer February 21, 2002.
After the wedding they were assigned to Okinawa, where their daughter, Kristen, was born.
They were then sent to Naval Medical Center San Diego – the same hospital Florence was born. Jay worked as a urology resident. 
Florence then volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Assigned to Camp Mike Spann to set up a medical station, she also set up a library and camp’s United Through Reading program. The program allowed troops to read a book on video and then send the video with the book home. Then the child could read the book along with their parent. 
Capt. Anne Diggs who served with Choe in Bethesda said, “It was never about Florence. It was about how she could make things better for other people.”
Navy Lieut. Florence Choe is interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. She was 35. 

An airplane on tarmac, casket is lowered, 6 Sailors stand by it one watches further away.

Memorial day article in the Santa Fe New Mexican. The Choe/Bacong family places flowers at Choe's grave at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Choe's mom and sister are to the left, daughter and husband right. Her father is farter back.

FLORENCE BACONG CHOE

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