Genie Camacho was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1943. Soon after, her family moved to New York to leave the segregated South. Both her parents were from Alabama, and her father served in World War II as a sergeant in the European Theater. Genie is the older sister of Mary and Carol.

Her family first moved to East Harlem, then south Bronx, and eventually settled in Queens, New York. Genie moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1990, where she resides in the Glenbrook neighborhood of Stamford in the same house for 34 years. She attended James Monroe High School in the Bronx, graduating in 1963. She attended The City College of New York and graduated as a registered nurse after 3 years of study. She then worked for Mount Sinai Hospital for two years before joining the Air Force. She was inspired by her supervisor, who was also in the service. 

Though initially wanting to join the Navy, she decided to follow her interest in flying and in 1968 commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force to pursue a career as a flight nurse. Refusing to return to Alabama for assignment there, she was ordered to Griffiss Air Force Base near Rome, New York, and assigned to the 72nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (AES) with the Mobility Airlift Command, flying the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter. Genie was quickly sent to the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, for eight tough weeks of training. Genie trained on emergency procedures, water survival, and the high-altitude chamber. She received further training in Rhine-Main, Germany, to qualify as a Flight Nurse in the C-141. During her training, the squadron moved from Griffiss to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, and later in her career to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, where the squadron was redesigned as the 714th AES. 

While on active duty, Genie and the aeromedical evacuation squadron would fly to locations around the world to pick up and transport service members and their families to locations where they could get proper medical care. Genie’s mission was to give medical care to the patients while they were on board the aircraft. Genie and her squadron deployed all over the world, including the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. She assisted in the evacuation of patients to such countries as Vietnam, Panama, Ethiopia, Iran, and Iraq, and remote locations such as Lajes Azores, Thule Greenland, Keflavik Iceland, Wake Island, and Guam. 

Early in her career, her squadron was deployed to the Philippines in support of combat operations in Vietnam during the time of the Tet Offensive. Her squadron flew missions to Cam Ranh Bay to pick up injured and wounded service members for transportation back to the United States for further medical care. It was after this deployment where Genie decided to remain in the Air Force and transferred to the Air Force Reserve. As a reservist with a "go bag” always in hand, she not only attended her regular drills but continued to deploy around the world. In 1991, she participated in Desert Storm with deployments to Saudi Arabia and Rota, Spain, in support of aeromedical evacuation missions during combat operations in Kuwait and Iraq.

Genie continued to rank up and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and retired in 1998 after 30 years of service.

 

Throughout her military career, she continued to hone her specialty as a flight nurse and was both an instructor and examiner who qualified aircrew to fly in various aircraft. She herself was qualified not only in the C-141 but also in the C-9A Nightingale, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. As she deployed to dangerous and combat zones, she qualified to shoot and is a self-assessed "Annie Oakley.” She served in a time when women were few in the military and restricted in what they could do. Genie never backed down and always succeeded, as evident in her military career.

While serving in the reserves, Genie continued to work as a nurse in civilian life. She worked with the New York State Office of Mental Health at Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in Queens, where she specialized in addiction medicine and rehabilitation. When she moved to Stamford, she continued to work as a Nurse Addition Specialist at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan until 2020. 

Genie’s awards include: Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w/4 Devices, Combat readiness Medal w/8 Devices, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal w/1 Devices, Air Force Longevity Service Award w/3 devices, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Small Arms Marksmanship Ribbon, Air Force Training Ribbon, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation w/Device, Connecticut Wartime Service Medal. Honored Veteran at Stamford Citizen of the Year.

Genie married an Army veteran and social worker in 1973. She has one daughter, Belen, who is the director of the catheterization laboratory at the Stamford Hospital and holds a Doctorate of Nursing from Fairfield University. Genie’s grandson, Orlando, is an Eagle Scout with Troop 9 in Stamford and was recognized by the city of Stamford for his project to help veterans. Now fully retired from the military and civilian employment, she volunteers at the Stamford Senior Center, Stamford Veterans Resource Center, planning Black History Month events, and helps with reading proficiency at Stamford’s elementary schools.

Genie’s greatest accomplishment is that in all her aeromedical evacuations spanning an Air Force career of 30 years, she never lost a patient aboard any of her aircraft. We salute Lt Col Genie Camacho for her military service and service to her community and honor her as the 2024 Stamford Veterans Day Parade Grand Marshal.