C3 | www.flagshipnews.com | The Flagship | 11.12.2020
nominee
Christianne Nesbitt Branch: U.S. Army, U.S. Navy Rank: e4, 04 Years of Service: Army 3 years, Navy 9 years Why did you decide to stay in Hampton Roads? I married a fellow Navy Nurse Corps officer in 1983 and he was a proud member of the Hampton Roads community. He grew up in Suffolk, and when he retired from the Navy, our family moved here. It is a great location in the mid-Atlantic area. I grew up in Texas but felt very much at home here in this corner of Virginia.
Advice for other veterans: Just like any job, the military is not all good or all bad. Take the good from the experience and use it to move forward. I have always felt a kinship to other veterans in my travels through life. Serving our country was and is a valuable and worthwhile endeavor.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” Maya Angelou
Why did you decide to participate in your organization(s)? I have been involved in different organizations in the community and have supported the Western Tidewater Medical Reserve Corps since it started in the early 2000s. I am an active member of the local Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners and have been an educator at ODU School of Nursing since 2009. I also continue to practice with the Glennan Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where I work as a nurse practitioner in a facility specializing in the care of older adults with dementia What are your achievements or fond memories outside the military? There are many. My family is the primary achievement of course — I have two daughters and one son, all born either while I was in the military or during the time my husband was in the military. I am happy to look back at a long nursing career and remember many of the patients and families I have cared for, many of them veterans. I do care very much for the population living with dementia and have done some small research studies to
look at ways to help this population and their caregivers. I hope my contributions to educating nurses, patients, families and other health care team members have made a difference. Describe some of your military highlights. I served in the U.S. Army because I wanted to follow my family members’ footsteps. My father was in the Army during WWII and my brother was in the Army and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. My time was considered Vietnam-era service, and after the troops were mostly withdrawn from Vietnam, being on active duty was not looked upon very highly by many in our society. This was especially magnified for women who chose to serve during this time. Even though there were periods of significant hardship, I did enjoy my time in the Army and met some wonderful people, some of whom I am still in touch with. My time in the Navy was very different. I was commissioned as an ensign in April of 1982 and traveled to Newport, R.I., for officer training. It was there that I met my future husband and we both were then stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The unit was very busy; often we had members of Congress as our patients. I completed my time on active duty then moved into active reserve status. We moved to Suffolk and my husband was stationed at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center while I was in the hospital reserve unit. During Desert Storm in 1990-91, I was recalled to active duty and worked in the coronary care unit at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center to fill the positions of the active duty members who were sent to Saudi Arabia.
nominee
Dr. Basil Struthers Branch: U.S. Navy Rank: CMDr Years of Service: 21 Why did you decide to stay in Hampton Roads? Actually, after retiring from the Navy in 1976 I moved to Columbia, S.C., where I taught at Columbia International University from 1976 until I retired from there in 1994. My wife is originally from Norfolk (Maury H.S.) and we returned to Hampton Roads in 1994 to co-found Faith Bible College in 1995. My sister, Helena Garrick, also lived in Norfolk until her death. Why did you decide to participate in your organization(s)? U.S. Navy: My heart has always gone out to young people, as they are the future of our nation. As a chaplain, my duty was to assist personnel in their relationship with God and their fellow service people. I initially planned on staying for three to four years but soon found the ministry so challenging and satisfying that I stayed for 21 years. Teaching at Columbia International University and Faith Bible College: I was challenged by the opportunity to invest in young people’s lives as well as older students who were called to invest their lives in others. I have been in active ministry for over 70 years. At present, I am teaching a class via Zoom with students from two cities in India, one in Peru, two in Florida, two in Illinois and one here in Norfolk. What a privilege and honor it has been in helping others to know God. What are your achievements or fond memories outside the military? In addition to teaching here in the U.S, I have had the privilege of
teaching and preaching overseas in over 35 countries. Among the highlights of this opportunity was the privilege of annually teaching 40-50 ministers from the western area of Russia, including Uzbekistan, who came to South Korea for theological training. Likewise, the training of pastors in Africa, Europe, South America, India, the Philippines, Russia, Belarus, etc. has afforded a rich opportunity to invest in people’s lives. Describe some of your military highlights. The highlight and most rewarding experience was my year with the Marines on the ground in Vietnam in 1968-69. The Tet offensive was just over but the scars, fears, anxieties and challenges continued. Unforgettable experiences included ministering to the wounded, holding a Marine as he died of a selfinflicted wound from his own M-16 rifle, holding memorial services for those lost in battle, counseling husbands who received letters from wives who had met someone else while they were in Vietnam, comforting those concerning the death of a parent, wife, child or other family member, as well as countless other life-changing experiences for which men came to see their chaplain. Another unforgettable occasion was landing in a Navy seaplane in the lagoon of an atoll north of Truk Island to bring groceries and medical supplies to a missionary family. Another memorable experience was taking the teenage young people from our chapel on Guam on swimming outings to Talofofo Falls in 1964-65. We found out years later that a Japanese soldier holdout was hiding in a dugout cave within 100-plus yards of the swimming pool beneath the falls.
Advice for other veterans: My advice to myself and to other veterans: put God first on our agenda and invest our lives in people — our families first, then others. We need in our graying years even more to trust God and continue to serve others always remembering: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” God bless you!
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16.