My old Navy buddy Pres sent this to me. And remember, the only difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is that the fairy tale starts off "Once upon a time...". The sea story starts off, "This ain't no shit...".
Here's a picture of the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN72
being maneuvered into Pearl Harbor en route to
their home port in Everett Washington. They were met by a number of wives & relatives after their extended tour in the Gulf...
The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln was finally inching up to the pier at Pearl Harbor when the Captain of the ship noticed a sailor on the flight deck gesturing wildly with semaphore flags. He then noticed an attractive young woman standing on top of a station wagon, also waving semaphore flags.
Always concerned about security and never having seen
something like this, the Captain barked at his Bridge
Signalman, "What message are those two people sending?"
The Signalman concentrated intently and soon reported,
"Sir, he is sending FOXTROT-FOXTROT and she is sending
ECHO-FOXTROT."
Not having any clue as to what these messages could mean, the Captain dispatched an armed Marine to escort the sailor back to the Bridge.
The sailor arrived, out of breath from running up the many ladders to the bridge, and saluted smartly.
"Seaman Endicott reporting as ordered, sir!"
"Seaman", shouted the Captain, "Who is that woman on the pier and why are you exchanging signals FF and EF?"
"Sir, that's my wife, Sir, and she wants to eat first!"
Wasn't the Lincoln the carrier that stood off Sumatra to aid in the tsunami disaster?
Posted by: Roy on March 16, 2005 09:25 PMRoy You are correct. Here's the link to the Navy sight that has that story.
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=16942
Posted by: Pres on March 17, 2005 02:24 AMGreat story, great photo!
Today is my son's one year mark being in the Navy.
A round of Paddy O'Lanterns to everyone from this Proud Mom! The boy-oh will be off to the Sub Fleet in just a few weeks.
You didn't see a French aircraft carrier providing tsunami relief did you? That's because their carrier never leaves port.
Posted by: denny on March 17, 2005 11:44 AMAfter the 'Lincoln' left, another Navy ship, the USNS 'Mercy,' arrived to provide medical assistance at Aceh. A friend of mine was onboard. I know she wanted to go -- she dropped her civilian job and volunteered. I just kinda wonder what sort of reception she got:
From a 'Newsday' article:
"'The emergency was over by the time they got here,' says Dr. Sabine Roquefort of Doctors Without Borders, an organization that rejects working alongside any armed force." ['Medicins Sans Frontieres' is French, need I say?]
And of course, we were careful not to offend anyone by being -- well, too visible:
"The Mercy kept a careful distance. It remained out of sight off Banda Aceh, which had absorbed some of the tsunami's strongest blows. Except for a public health team that stayed ashore to spray at dawn and dusk against mosquito-borne malaria, medical personnel were shuttled into Banda Aceh for only brief visits, with most patients ferried to the ship by helicopter for treatment."
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mercy16mar16,0,4724679.story