A local Medical Service Corps Officer, 35 year-old Lt. Florence Choe, was gunned down and killed during an attack in Afghanistan.
Her loving family is still in shock, but remembering a woman who was dedicated to serving her country.
Choe was mother to Kristin, 3, and was married to Lt. Commander Chong "Jay" Choe.
Last July, Choe volunteered to go to Afghanistan, where she worked as a mentor in an Afghan hospital. But Friday afternoon while out conducting physical training, she was shot to death by an insurgent posing as an Afghan National Army soldier who had slipped by U.S. security forces.
One more servicemember was killed and another injured before the insurgent turned the gun on himself.
Lt. Choe's family says that she was a true San Diegan. She was born at Naval Medical Center San Diego, graduated from Monte Vista High School and got her masters at San Diego State. Choe joined the Navy in 2002 and eventually returned to the Naval Medical Center, where she and her husband both worked.
"She was respected and admired by everyone that knew her and certainly our condolences go out to the family," said Naval Medical Center spokeswoman Sonja Hanson. "It's a great loss."
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Friends at the Center say a memorial is being planned in Lt. Choe's honor.
