Latest news with #AirForceAchievementMedal
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Beautiful inside and out: Air Force vet who donated two organs poses for pin-up calendar
She's got a heart — and other organs — of gold. Air Force veteran Lindsay Gutierrez, aka Miss March in the 2026 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar, went from the military to modeling — and in between, became a double organ donor, a title only 280 people in the US can claim. The 42-year-old Oklahoma native spent six years in the military, was deployed to Qatar and Djibouti, earned an Air Force Achievement Medal and was crowned Miss Veteran America in 2017. Advertisement After being honorably discharged, she saw an ad for the nonprofit Donor Outreach for Veterans and decided to continue her service. In 2022 she gave a kidney to a fellow vet at Mount Sinai Hospital on Memorial Day Weekend. 'They allowed me the opportunity to choose the date that I wanted to donate. And because I was donating to a veteran, I wanted it to be around a memorable holiday,' Gutierrez, now a social worker at the Department of Defense, told The Post. 5 Air Force veteran Lindsay Gutierrez is featured as Miss March in the 2026 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar. Shane Karns Photography/ Pin-Ups For Vets Advertisement 'Funny enough, I kind of selfishly got on the Yankees' schedule just to see whenever they had a home game and it happened to be around the same time as Memorial Day weekend and I was like, 'Well, that's perfect.'' A week after the surgery, she met her kidney's recipient, Army vet Reggie Robinson, and his wife. 5 The Oklahoma native said it was 'so inspiring and empowering to be around other women veterans.' Pin-Ups For Vets 'I gained a new family. It's just been a fantastic reunion once we were able to finally meet each other,' said Gutierrez, who lives in Maryland while pursuing a doctorate in social work. Advertisement Last year, she donated 40% of her liver to an anonymous recipient, who recently surprised her by sending a thank you letter. 5 Gutierrez met the recipient of her kidney, Reggie Robinson. Courtesy of Lindsay Gutierrez 'It's the very first communication we've had in 15 months. I'm writing her back and I hope one day we can meet,' she said. Gutierrez, who hiked Mount Kilimanjaro in 2023, less than a year after her kidney donation, said she is 'completely healthy' after her double donation. Advertisement 'I'm 100 percent back to normal. There's nothing that I can't do. There's no medicine I have to take. I really just watch what I eat and stay hydrated more,' she said. 5 In 2024, she donated 40% of her liver, and has a 10-inch scar from the surgery. Courtesy of Lindsay Gutierrez The brunette beauty felt this year was the right time to pose for the nonprofit Pin-Ups For Vets, whose '40s pin-up calendar, which raises money for veteran and troop initiatives, features 13 vets with a combined 118 years of serving the country. 'It felt like I have a great platform and story to be able to share about why I should be a part of this,' she said. She was also thrilled to meet the other calendar girls at the photoshoot, which was held at Galleano Winery in Mira Loma, CA. 'It's just so inspiring and empowering to be around other women veterans.' 5 Gutierrez met her husband, Anthony, when they were both stationed in England. Courtesy of Lindsay Gutierrez Advertisement Gutierrez, who met her husband, Anthony, who is on active duty in the Air Force, through her service, said her other half approved of her pin-up pics. 'He loves it. He was so supportive. He was so excited when I told him what I was I doing.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tunnel to Towers gives mortgage-free home to fallen Air Force veteran's family in Fort Walton Beach
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (WKRG) — The family of Air Force Master Sergeant Chrystal Stuckey, who died in 2017 from a service-connected illness, can now live with a roof — not a mortgage — over their head. Mobile firefighters respond to morning blaze; children among those treated Massive bull shark caught outside mouth of Mobile Bay The Tunnel to Towers Foundation provided the family with a mortgage-free home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in honor of Memorial Day, according to a Tunnel to Towers news release. The home is one of 25 that the foundation will be giving out to Gold Star families nationwide this holiday. MSgt. Stuckey came from a military family and followed her father's footsteps, enlisting in the Air Force in 1998. She served in the Air Force for nearly two decades before her death, the release said. While stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, she met her husband, Deverris. 'We shared the same work ethic, values and morals,' Deverris said of his wife. 'Chrystal was the best wife, mother and friend any man or child could have.' MSgt. Stuckey was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Air Force Achievement Medal during her service, the release said. 'In tribute to her service, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation ensures that Deverris and their four children now have a forever home that is a testament to MSgt Stuckey's legacy,' the release said. Truck and dump truck crash head-on in Mobile; man critically injured The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Gold Star Family Home Program honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by providing the spouses and young children left behind with mortgage-free homes or paying off their mortgages, the release said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
