There’s power in a name, a lesson no one knows better than Mary Catherine “Cathy” Repko.
Repko, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who hails from Lorain, recently was bestowed the honor of having a future veteran service dog named after her through the Warrior Canine Connection.
“It is just an absolute honor,” said Repko’s sister, Sue Repko-Wargo. “There are hundreds of thousands of veterans, and so to have a sister who is one honored like this, is amazing.”
Repko said she first got her interest in the military at a young age.
Leaving high school and entering nursing school, Repko joined the U.S. Army.
“I just wanted to take care of patients and serve my country,” Repko said.
The then 21-year-old Repko soon found herself on her first assignment with the 24th EVAC in Long Bihn, Vietnam.
She said she quickly began learning to function in several disciplines, including surgical intensive care, recovery room and the burn unit.
“At the 24th EVAC, us staff cared for numerous military injured in the line of duty, in addition to Vietnamese nationals,” Repko said. “We worked on everything from treating head wounds to burns, orthopedic, gunshot and land mine injuries.”
Following her tour in Vietnam, Repko returned to Lorain where she worked many hours a day in a busy emergency room.
But, she said something was missing.
“I returned to the military for the Air Force a few years later where I worked at Andrews Air Force Base,” she said. “This brought me on missions, including going to the Philippines to care for active duty members and their families.”
After retiring from the military, Repko learned of the Warrior Canine Connection.
“The Warrior Canine Connection is a pioneering organization that utilizes a Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) model to help recovering warriors reconnect with life, their families, their community and each other,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director for the group. “Part of that mission is finding names for our service dogs that will go on to work with our veterans.”
For Yount, by naming the dogs after veterans, it is a way to honor them and their families as well as keep their stories alive.
“We are very happy to be able to have a dog named after our Cathy,” Repko-Wargo said. “After all, when a veteran’s name is spoken, it is another way to honor and remember them.”
