AN ENCOURAGING WORD
Below is an e-mail from a young ensign aboard the USS Winston Churchill
to his parents. (Churchill is an Arleigh Burke-class AEGIS guided-missile
destroyer, commissioned March 10, 2001, and is the only active U.S. Navy
warship named after a foreign national.)
"Dear Dad,
"We are still at sea. The remainder of our port visits have all been
cancelled. We have spent every day since the attacks going back and forth
within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing high-security watches,
and trying to make the best of it. We have seen the articles and the
photographs, and they are sickening. Being isolated, I don't think we
appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are
definitely feeling the effects.
"About two hours ago, we were hailed by a German Navy destroyer, Lutjens,
requesting permission to pass close by our port side. Strange, since
we're in the middle of an empty ocean, but the captain acquiesced and we
prepared to render them honors from our bridgewing. As they were making
their
approach, our conning officer used binoculars and announced that Lutjens
was flying not the German, but the American flag. As she came alongside
us, we saw the American flag flying half-mast and her entire crew topside
standing at silent, rigid attention in their dress uniforms.
"They had made a sign that was displayed on her side that read, "We Stand
By You." There was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside
us for a few minutes and saluted. It was the most powerful thing I have seen
in my life. The German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it
has truly been the highest point in the days since the attacks. It's
amazing to think that only half-century ago things were quite different.
"After Lutjens pulled away, the Officer of the Deck, who had been planning
to get out later this year, turned to me and said, 'I'm staying Navy.'
"I'll write you when I know more about when I'll be home, but this is it
for now.
"Love you guys."
And here's a picture of what that scene looked like:
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