Local Air Force veteran shares her voice with America

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — A local Air Force veteran received national attention during a trip to New York City.

Air Force Veteran Felita LaRock says while attending a veterans event at Wright State University, she received the invitation of a lifetime — to sing the national anthem at Lincoln Center in New York City. Little did she know, this trip would give her more than one way to show off her voice.

Standing center stage at Lincoln Center, LaRock says this was a performance she could not pass up.

"I was in uniform and I sang the anthem. And it was a big event. The Bob Woodruff Foundation, it was Stand Up for Heroes," said LaRock.

This year, the 18th Annual Stand Up for Heroes in New York raised over $29 million to support veterans, service members and their families through the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Even after the excitement of the evening in New York, Felita and her husband, Ken, got up early to head to the TODAY Show plaza with a sign in hand. "I sang the anthem at the Lincoln Center for Vets Day!" the sign read.

Her sign caught the attention of a TODAY Show producer. Next thing she knew, she was getting another moment to share her skills.

"Here comes Savannah, and Al, and Craig, and there's Hoda. She starts opening a little bit of the news and she goes, 'But before we start,' and she comes right over to me," said LaRock.

Hearing about LaRock's exciting night, TODAY Show host Hoda Kotb asked LaRock if she could sing for her.

"And I was like, okay, this is happening," recounted LaRock. "And I was trying to think of some song that's kind of peppy. And so I picked 'I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.'"

Performing live is familiar territory for this retired Air Force Technical Sergeant. In 1994, LaRock auditioned for the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

"My vocation, my job, my title — vocalist. So I came in as a singer," said LaRock. "And the rest is Air Force history."

LaRock served two decades in the Air Force, completing three deployments that took her singing voice all over the world.

"I've seen a lot of places. We've gone from India, Indonesia. We've been to Dubai. We've been to Africa. We've been to Afghanistan. We've been to Iraq. You name it, we've been there," said LaRock.

LaRock retired from the Air Force as a lead vocalist in 2014, but she isn't walking away from music any time soon.

"Music is, it gives me life and I love it. I guess it's just a part of me," said LaRock.

And her impromptu performances didn't stop after the TODAY Show. LaRock says she and her husband also received VIP tickets to the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where during intermission she sang "At Last" alongside Fallon's house band, The Roots.