FIVE ELVES OF INTEREST
The VETS AIDE
BY GREG GARDNER
Whether he is saving the lives of shunned Romanian
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gypsies or carrying veterans on and off a bus
during Honor Flights to Washington D.C., Dr. Andrew
D’Errico does it with unbridled enthusiasm.
“He’s all in, and there’s nobody more dedicated,” says Michael
Roberts, executive director for Southeast Honor Flight.
After nine flights the Port St. Lucie podiatrist is now the staff
doctor as World War II veterans are flown to Washington to
see the memorial in their honor. “It’s unbelievable what he
does,” says Roberts. “He brings his staff and pays their way.
It’s become a passion, and I couldn’t do it without him. He is
the boots-on-the-ground doctor we need.”
Built as if he just burst out of a linebacker’s uniform,
D’Errico puts his physical strength to use, and the veterans
are surprised to learn that the jovial guy who carried them on
and off the bus is their doctor. Marjorie Ellison, an 88-yearold
former Marine Reserve corporal, didn’t learn until the
end of her Honor Flight that D’Errico was the flight’s doctor.
They became fast friends, and she is now the grandmother he
never had.
“I like him very much,” Ellison says. “He is very humble
and he is always willing to help anyone at anytime.”
D’Errico’s Port St. Lucie office has become a gallery of
GREG GARDNER
photos from Honor Flights as former soldiers allow their war
images to be copied and framed. One examination room is
covered to the ceiling and another is a work in progress. The
hallway will be next.
There are 400 veterans on the waiting list and when they
recently called the first 100, organizers found 30 had died.
“Our list is shrinking, but we are adding names to it,” says
D’Errico. “I wouldn’t miss it. I’m absolutely hooked. And
now I have a grandmother. That’s cool.”
A radio show brought Harbor Place general manager John
Miller and D’Errico together, and Miller knew he had to
get involved with Honor Flight. Events at the Port St.Lucie
assisted and independent living facility where D’Errico’s
parents live have raised more than $5,000.
“He visits patients here and he is always upbeat,” says
Miller. “He smiles, hugs them, shakes hands. And he is a doting
son for his mother and father. He sees them three or four
times a week.”
As if he doesn’t have enough activity on his schedule,
D’Errico buys food and drives it each weekend to the food
bank in Fort Pierce. He also serves on the boards of the St.
Lucie County Cancer Society and Honor Flight.
While he was humbled to be named the 2011 South Florida
Jefferson Award finalist for his work with Honor Flight,
D’Errico is most proud of his three trips to treat Romanian
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Dr. Andrew D’Errico of Port St. Lucie brings a passion to whatever he does whether it’s helping veterans or Romanian gypsies.
A SEASON OF CELEBRATION