Lt. Col. Franketta R. Zalaznik
Branch of Service: Army
Military Occupation: US Army Nurse Corps
Years of Service: 1969-2002
Award: Legion of Merit
Franketta Zalaznik served in the Army Nurse Corps for over forty years. In 1971 she was sent to the Central Highlands in Vietnam, serving in Pleiku and Da Nang. She participated in partnership missions on Barbodos, in Guatemala, and in Ecuador. In 1980, she joined the Kentucky National Guard and was ordered to active duty for Operation Desert Shield. In August 2002, Zalzanik retired from the military. She was a flight nurse for UK hospital as well.
She is a charter member of Women in Military Service for America/Women’s War Memorial and helped organize the attendance of 60 women veterans at the dedication of this memorial in 1997. She sends care packages to soldiers deployed overseas, escorts veterans to medical appointments, and provides first responder care at LZ Bluegrass in Frankfort. Zalaznik is a member of the Wellness and Recovery Group, the Lexington VA Medical Center, Leestown, and is past secretary of the Mental Health Council at the VA Center.