Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution proudly honors Patriot of the Month May 2023, Patricia LeComte, United States Army National Guard, sponsored by the Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter, NSDAR.
Patricia Henke Lecomte from Taos graduated high school in 1973. Upon her graduation, she laid the groundwork for her career in the military when accepting a civilian job as a personnel clerk at the HQ Missouri National Guard. It was during this time frame that many military personnel whom she worked with provided the initial encouragement for her to enlist, thus becoming the first step in a three-decade military career.
Patricia joined the National Guard on the buddy system with a friend from high school, went to Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for eight weeks and graduated in 1975. After basic training, she was sent to Lowry AFB in Aurora, Colorado, to start a 32 week Advanced Individual Training (AIT). At the time when Women's Army Corps was fading from existence and women were integrated in the regular U.S. Army, she returned to Missouri in the summer 1976 and began drilling with her unit HQ 35th RAOC.
The following year in 1977, Patricia went back to Colorado and joined the Army National Guard in Denver, where she was hired as a personnel clerk to the Chief of Staff for the Colorado National Guard. A year later, she was hired at an AGR (Active Guard Reserve) job with the 14th Med Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, as a fulltime Training NCO. She planned and executed training for a 100 bed hospital I unit. During this time, Patricia attended school at Fort Sam Houston to receive training as a combat medic.
In the late 1970s, she met her husband Tom LeComte, a Vietnam Veteran who was also serving in the Colorado Army National Guard as a maintenance officer in an aviation unit. They married in 1980, and in 1981, both transferred to the Iowa Army National Guard, Tom as a facility commander and Patty as a training NCO of a 45 personnel detachment, 296th Medical Detachment (Dispensary). This unit was a field hospital unit and spent many weeks and weekends in a field environment setting up a medical dispensary for the many soldiers participating in the Field Training Exercises.
In 1996 Patty was promoted to Master Sergeant. For the rest of her career, she worked and drilled in the Jefferson City area. Patty retired from fulltime military duty in May 2005, then after six months went back to work as a civilian for the Missouri National Guard, working in the Family Program with the Gl personnel office, and recruiting office.
Patty's awards are: Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (two awards), Army Achievement Medal (two awards), Army Good Conduct Medal (five awards), Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (five awards), National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (two awards), Non Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon.