My Veteran

This is my veteran.
Rich joined the navy in 1973.
We got married in 1974 after he was stationed in Guam on the subtender Proteus. Sandy was born there.
In 1976 he entered NESEP (Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program). He went to the University of Washington and graduated in 1979 with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronomical Engineering and was commissioned as an Ensign. David and Kelly were born during this time. During the summers he went on these practice cruizes and left me with little kids at home. I was being prepared for the DEPLOYMENTS.

Our first duty station was Brunswick, Maine with VP26. He left me there in a little cabin in Cundy's Harbour and went on deployment. Let me tell you, I had to grow up fast. I moved us into Navy Housing alone. I got Sandy to school alone. I went to church and wive's clubs meetings to make friends and get support. But I missed him and was mad at him for leaving me and was always so glad to have him come home.

I was especially glad there was no war.


These pictures are from the Iceland deployment-his second. I was more prepared for this one-I knew the "ins" and "outs"-

• how to start a huge project the day he left so I wouldn't cry all day (once, I refinished and recovered a living room chair).


• how not to blame him for everything (except when the washer broke down)


• how to make it fun for the kids (when he was gone we would have homemade bread and icecream for dinner).


• how to keep a list by the phone of things to talk about when he made his once a month phone call (boy, they have it easy now with email and cell phones).


• how to go to bed every night and hope he wasn't having too much fun without me (and I prayed for him too).
  

He's the one under the arrow. It's hard to tell them all apart.



He went on a lot of deployments in the 16 years he was on active duty. But he always made it home for Christmas and he stayed true to me and the kids.

His last duty station was aboard the USS Enterprise (he was there when they filmed "Top Gun"). He was discharged in 1990. He went on to serve in the reserves until he retired in 1999.

I know he misses flying and the guys he flew with. I don't know if he misses the deployments (I don't).

I'm glad he's home and didn't have to serve during a war.

Yesterday I was busy shopping with my girls (enjoying the day off). That's why I'm writing this today. Rich wore his flight jacket with all the patches on it from all the places he's been and stuff he did while in the navy and went to Applebee's with Harry and had dinner for free (Yay! Applebee's).



Rich is my veteran. I'm proud of him and I love him.