NEW ORLEANS– Joseph Dufrene served in the U.S. Navy from 1986 to 1996. He’s a Veteran of Operation Desert Storm and was stationed on an amphibious assault ship called the “Saipan.”
“I was on a ship and I was the medical department representative on the flight deck, so that meant a lot of flight operations at all hours of the morning,” he said.
He’s proud of the work he did in Operation Desert Storm.
“The entire time I was on the “Saipan” which was about 4 years there was zero flight accidents,” he said.
Although it didn’t last long he feels they accomplished an important mission.
“Helping the people of Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The skills Joseph learned in the Navy is now his life work. He’s a medical laboratory technician for The Blood Center of New Orleans. He’s also the Commander for the VFW Post 8973 in New Orleans. To this day, he still lives by the motto on the ship in his Navy days, “Omni Facsimus,” which translates to “We do it all.” And Joseph did give it his all.
“I don’t consider myself a hero at all. I volunteered and I gladly volunteered and I’d do it all over again,” he said.