Military Celebrations

Enjoyed reading your comment about reunions after deployment. I’ve never seen one of those except for the awkward staged ones where Dad is dressed like a Ninja Turtle and reveals himself to his daughter in some auditorium at school. Why I’m so fond of the candid clips of dogs swarming a returning service member at the front door. (Yes, one dog can swarm a loved one.) My Dad was shocked when after three years in the Army Air Corps his Boston terrier leaped from the floor into his arms to greet his return. Also why I got the idea I posted about on FB.

I have seen a few happy military occasions however. For more than two decades, my wife managed documentation of the software developed by Computer Sciences Corporation for the Navy’s AEGIS destroyers. After we were married, I was privileged to attend the launching of an AEGIS destroyer in Philadelphia.

A brief record of the day for posterity’s sake.

Obviously, no cameras were permitted during the guided tour of the new ship’s innards, but it was a quietly festive occasion nonetheless. Standouts from other public events that impressed me were 1) No littering by anyone in attendance, and 2) When the tour guide said, “Don’t touch anything,” no one touched anything. I won’t mention anything technological but, you know, wow.

We also had occasion to attend the Millville Air Show in 2007. Millville’s an out-of-the-way airfield whose claim to fame was serving as a training base for P-47 fighter pilots in WWII. Since then it has been a private airfield and home to aircraft related businesses, as well as an annual air show.

The show was much more of an event than I anticipated. I wrote about it for my old Instapunk blog, and the post is still there with its photographs, at the end of a week including posts on other subjects. If you don’t mind scrolling down to find “Blue State Blasphemies,” you’ll find a description of the special sense of community Americans can feel around their military.

That’s all. Just thought I’d share and congratulate you on your daughter’s service.