Enlisting during the height of the Vietnam War, Patrick Maloy joined the Navy admittedly because he was a "self-preservist."
"I wanted to learn something, and I was afraid of going to Vietnam and getting killed," said Maloy, 64, now living in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania.
In the Navy, he learned medical skills that enabled him to help others. He later turned those skills into a career after his time in the military.
Growing up in West Mifflin and Baldwin, Maloy graduated from Serra High School in 1969.
He joined the Naval Reserve on April 28, 1970, and went into active duty on May 17, 1971.
After two weeks of boot camp at the U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois, Maloy spent two weeks on the USS Hank DD-702 reserve training ship.
Entering active duty on May 17, 1971, he served at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as a hospital corpsman.
He then was assigned to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia for two weeks before being transferred to South Weymouth, Massachusetts, serving in the general assignment corps. Maloy also started X-ray school in November 1974 and completed the program a year later.
While in X-ray school, Maloy received an associate degree in radiology at George Washington University.
His next assignment was at Naval Air Station Willow Grove, located just north of Philadelphia. Assigned as a hospital corpsman, Maloy operated a single X-ray machine for physicals for ROTC servicemen and trained others to use the X-ray equipment. He served there until May 1979.
Maloy recalled one of his biggest assignments at that time. During the bicentennial on July 4, 1976, he was with Central Command for the East Coast celebration.
"I volunteered for senior watch," Maloy said.
During the three-day weekend, which culminated with July 4, Maloy was the communications coordinator standalone for medical and major patrols.
"There was a lot of chatter on the phone," Maloy said. "The big event was scheduled for Sunday on the tarmac."
He recalled that the temperature on the tarmac was 120 degrees at noon, but a major rain squall dropped the temperature 40 degrees within two hours.
Maloy coordinated medevac helicopters for four medical emergencies, including three who suffered heart attacks and another person who broke a leg.
Looking back on his service during and shortly after the Vietnam era, Maloy said military personnel were not very appreciated at the time.
"I did not wear my uniform off-base," Maloy said. "We had a good camaraderie among the active-duty guys. I wish I could see them more."
Right after his active-duty service ended, Maloy worked for a short time as a radiology tech at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in West Virginia.
He then worked at South Side Hospital in Pittsburgh and later Presbyterian Hospital, then later as weekend supervisor. During that time, he attended the University of Pittsburgh, receiving a bachelor of science degree in health-related professions and an associate's degree in secondary education.
He moved to Maryland, working at Frederick Memorial Hospital and then for 21 years at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.
Although he retired, Maloy recently took a job operating a C-arm fluoroscope at Spartan Health Surgicenter in Carroll.
Maloy has four children, Shannon Aitken, Patrick Maloy, Desiree Maloy and Riley Maloy.
A member of St. Damian Church in Monongahela, he is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Mid-Mon Valley Shipmates.
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