ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –New Mexico veteran Diana Wong has found a new way to serve her county and help the men and women who proudly defend it. You can almost always find Wong helping someone somewhere in the Raymond G Murphy Veteran Affairs Medical Center.
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Wong, a veteran herself, always wanted to serve her country. After joining the United States Air Force in 1982, she served for eight years. “I had to get out because coming out of “Desert Storm” I went to an airbase in Ft Dixon, New Jersey, and I passed out in the field one day. They brought me to the hospital and found out I had malignant tumors in my intestinal tract in my colon,” said Wong.
Wong’s Air Force career was over. She spent a lot of time going through treatment at the VA. “So I thought maybe God was trying to tell me something,” said Wong.
Angry and lost, the message was unclear until she got sick again. She says it was the second time she was sick that his message came through.
From that day forward, Wong has been volunteering at the hospital. She wears many hats, and one of her jobs is collecting donations for the volunteer service popcorn program. The VA isn’t the only place she volunteers.
Wong is an active member of many veteran organizations, including the American Legion, the DAV, and the Women Veteran Warriors.
On top of that, she’s also DJ’d for the American Cancer Society. Wong’s original plan might not have worked out, but she found a way to serve the community she loves.
Wong has been recognized a dozen times for her volunteer work. She is the only volunteer at the New Mexico VA Hospital to revive the National Volunteer of the Year Award.
