Our Own Hometown Hero:Judy Jenkins-Gaudino

Exiting the Summit Train Station on Railroad Avenue, across from the Village Green, the first Hometown Hero banner you see features a familiar face. Judy Jenkins Gaudino served with the Department of Defense - Army Special Services in Viet Nam from September 1967 to August 1970 — just 22 years old, fresh out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Social Work. A mentor at her university, impressed by Judy's creativity with delinquent teens, urged her to volunteer for overseas service. "I signed up for Germany, thinking I could ski in Switzerland on weekends. But the only option was Viet Nam."

So Judy went to Viet Nam. As a Recreation Specialist, she and her colleagues gave young soldiers books, writing materials for letters home, and — often — a caring ear for whatever trauma they carried. She'd signed up for one year, but a visit home left her feeling she had nothing in common with her peers in the States. So she went back for two more years, where "I felt I was needed."

When her service ended, Judy earned a Master's in Social Work from Rutgers, specializing in post-traumatic stress, and spent the next ten years counseling Viet Nam vets and their families. Recently, a friend who knew her story urged her to submit it to the Summit Hometown Heroes Committee: "We need more women to be recognized for their service!"

The banners will be on display through August 15 — VJ Day. To hear more of Judy's moving story, watch the video above from the Union County Office of Women's Women Making History quarterly video series.