CAMP PENDLETON —— Navy Lt. Cmdr. Patricia Hasen conducted six high-risk, at-sea rescues in the Indian Ocean, including one where she almost lost her life. View the Women of Merit page

Retired Navy nurse Sandy Holmes cared for Vietnam War amputees, inspiring one man who lost both his legs to find to a reason stay alive.

On Friday afternoon, their toughness almost gave way to a flood of tears as they and eight others were honored as the North County Times' Military Women of Merit.

Declaring that it's "really awesome" to serve in the military, Hasen told the crowd that she would keep her speech short because she was afraid she would cry. After three sentences, the Naval Medical Center San Diego nurse was in tears.

She wasn't the only one.

Her voice breaking, fellow award-winner Holmes told the crowd, "I'm very grateful to be here today and I'm very honored to be in the company of these other women."

North County Times Editor Kent Davy said those witnessing the ceremony also felt close to tears just listening to the tales of the women's determination and bravery. This is the 12th year the newspaper has hosted the event, but the first year it has had a military theme.

Some 170 people attended Friday's ceremony at the San Luis Rey Officer's Club on Camp Pendleton.

In addition to Hasen and Holmes, the 10 award winners were:

• Retired Marine Lt. Col. Lillian Hagener Bell, who had a record-setting, 36-year career with the U.S. Marines. Bell now is active in Oceanside promotion, working as a city greeter and a Chamber of Commerce ambassador. At Friday's event, she thanked organizers for allowing an "old Marine" to "come back into the spotlight one more time."

• Navy Lt. Natalie Hill, a flight surgeon and medical department head for the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 who provided casualty evacuation support in Iraq for seven months. Hill was caring for an ill family member this week and couldn't attend Friday's event. Her commanding officer, Major Edwin Scoggin, accepted the award for her and praised her for improving evacuation-care standards.

• Mary Ann Hillery, wife of a retired U.S. Marine colonel and an avid volunteer for miliary assistance programs. Hillery has been involved with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Toys for Tots and Operation Homefront. During the recognition event, she said she had moved 17 times in 30 years and that "wherever we went I always wanted to be a part of the community, and I always felt a part of the community."

• Marine 1st Lt. Erin Kilroy, a logistics officer with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Pendleton. She was the only female member of her unit to plan and execute numerous amphibious deliveries of equipment in Kuwait and Iraq. She told the crowd her mother is incredibly proud of her military service, saying she has "at least eight 'We Support the Troops' ribbons" on her vehicle.

• Marine Capt. Jessica Moore, one of the few women in the world flying the Cobra helicopters. A Poway resident, Moore was deployed to Iraq last month and couldn't attend Friday's ceremony. Her mother, Pam, accepted her award and said her daughter praised the fighting forces on the ground, adding that "without them it would be a lonely little pilot up there."

• Marine Sgt. Kathleen Ocampo, a mechanic operator who was praised for her "uncanny" mechanical aptitude In Iraq. She covered more than 2,400 miles caring for transport vehicles in dangerous conditions. She was keen to avoid the spotlight Friday, giving six quick words of thanks at the podium —— "Thank you, thank you very much" —— before rushing back to her seat.

• Joan Pollard, the wife of a man who spent six years in Vietnam as a prisoner of war. She was one of the leaders in a national campaign to bring war prisoners home. At the awards ceremony, Pollard drew a round of enthusiastic applause when she recited what once had been written on a wall in the Vietnamese jail, "Freedom has a taste to those who fight and almost die that the protected will never know."

• Retired Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Peggy Reiber, who served from 1973 to 1996. She was the first woman in several of the positions where she served, including at the Marine Barracks in Alameda. She is now the executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Vista. With both her and her husband in active duty military, their two children didn't have a "normal" childhood, but "they had a lot of fun," she told the crowd Friday.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.