Growing up in Nazi Germany, DeTroy learned in a painful way that if you do not speak up about injustices right away, there would come a time when you could not speak out against them. Arriving in the U.S. as a young war bride in the late 1940s, she determined that never again would she remain silent in the face of injustice. She became an outspoken advocate for peace and justice because she believes the saying, "No peace without justice, no justice without peace."DeTroy has been very active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom for over 60 years; she's participated in civil rights demonstrations in Chicago and anti-war demonstrations in Washington, D.C. She joined a local group in Brunswick, ME, Peace Works, and through them founded an annual Peace Fair in Brunswick that started in 2005 and continues today.