Loraine (Lori) Murphy

By Wilfred "Mac" McCarty

In 1949, at the age of 29, resident Loraine (Lori) Murphy decided she wanted to join the U.S. Air Force. She worked for the postal service in Chicago and lived in the suburbs. She was ready for a change. She loved meeting new people, traveling and seeing the culture and architecture of other countries. The Air Force seemed the perfect match. She didn't put a lot of thought into "what" she would do once she got in but she needn't worry about that anyway. Upon completion of basic training in Lackland AFB, Texas, she was asked if she wanted to be a flight attendant. The fact that she was 5'2" and under 100 pounds nor the fact that she was not a fan of aircraft or flying didn't matter, she was now a flight attendant. Most of her flights were transferring troops and their families, an occasional POW. She flew and flew and flew, in both the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions. She made Staff Sergeant in 18 months as a result of her dedicated work and many miles. Now, she laughs about her orientation flight.

"On that first flight, to see if I could do it, the pilot flew the aircraft as if it was in a storm. We were tossed all around," Lori recalled. "I got sick to my stomach and real hot all of a sudden. When we landed, as I stumbled out, everyone was laughing. The pilot had turned the heat on high trying to make me sick. I guess I passed the test," she said. Lori was a flight attendant in the Air Force for six and a half years. During that time she remembers three "close calls," involving a lightning storm, rapid free falling and a couple of extremely turbulent air pockets. Mostly though, she remembers visiting such places as Japan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Egypt, Pakistan, Calcutta, France and places beyond. Occasionally, Lori would have VIPs on board such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R-Mass.), Senator Theodore Green (D-RI), and once, the Lord High Chancellor of Britain. She saw places she only dreamed about. She saw a large part of the world, more than most people would ever see in a lifetime.

Lori, now 89 years young, has been a resident of AFRH for 19 years. She has been a volunteer at the Chaplain’s Office for the past 14 years, and also used to volunteer at Rose Chapel and in Recreation Therapy at LaGarde. She still enjoys meeting people and enjoys spending time with her family that lives in the commuting area.