Since 2021, Lilly Broadcasting has honored local veterans and their families. Every Thursday on Erie News Now at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. we are telling the emotional stories of service and sacrifice, this week it's the story of Erie native Andrea Place.

Not long after graduating from then Erie Central High School, Andrea Place signed up with the U.S. Navy and she was off to basic training.

"Boot camp is rough, but once you're done you're done with boot camp," said Place. "That was quite an experience I will say. It was still a very male dominated job, you just have to be tougher and you can work with the guys. I was an electronic warfare technician and I got to go to a tech school as well which was even more rare for a female." 

For 12 years, 2001-2013 the Navy turned out to be the place to be for Andrea. 

"It was something I wanted to do, I had a Girl Scout counselor when I was about 12 who was in the Army, and I was like 'oh wow girls can be in the military'," said Place. "From there I always wanted to do it. I had some classmates who told me 'no you want to go Navy.' I'm so glad I did. Just the experience of being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, no moon, no top headlight, you just see billions upon billions of of stars, and it's so quiet. You can't match that anywhere."  

She spends a lot of her time these days volunteering and driving veterans to and from the Erie V.A. Medical Center.

"I love meeting the older veterans and hearing their stories, and some of them I talk to are like 'oh there weren't women on ships when I was in,'" said Place. "I've met World War || Veterans, I love hearing all of their stories and they've heard some of mine. That's the greatest thing about being a veteran, camaraderie."

To U.S. Navy veteran Andrea Place, than you for your service.