Dennis Hollingsworth

Sailor Story

Once upon a time, I was a sailor in the Seventh Fleet. Once in a while (long whiles, three, in my time), we were called in to make a resue. In those times, everybody's attitude changed from a generally nonchalant professionalism into a joy in being serious, getting the job done smartly.

...somebody needs your help.

These guys must be having a blast right now.

A sailor writes home:
(PowerLine exerpts an email from the USS Abraham Lincoln)

As is always the case, it is the personal contact that you have with the people you see in these situations that leave the biggest impression, and I will relate three events from my flight today. ?I was leading a flight of two helicopters that each had 2,000 pounds worth of chocolate milk on board. This cargo was going to an orphanage in the town of Lamno, about 25 miles southeast of Banda Aceh. ?As we landed, the children poured out of the orphanage and lined the soccer field that we landed on. ?The teachers from the orphanage immediately formed a line to help us offload our cargo. ?Once the offload was complete and we began to take off, several of the children rushed under the helos in order to have the rotor wash send them tumbling along the ground. ?The joy on their faces at such a simple pleasure after what they had just endured brought a smile to my face, and I was happy if, even for a moment, I was able to make them forget the catastrophe they had witnessed... ?

This wouldn't be complete without me saying a word about the dedication of the service members from not only the US, but from all over the area who are working to alleviate the suffering. ?Every morning we take 80 volunteers from the carrier to stand all day at the soccer field next to the airport in Banda Aceh that we are using as a landing field and load helicopters. ?The heat and humidity can be stunning, but they labor all day and not only do not complain, but seem to be almost joyous as they work. ?Today I saw not only our sailors, but also soldiers from the Australian Army labor all day to ensure that the work gets done. ?Additionally, the Aussies have sent a team of air traffic controllers to the airport at Banda Aceh, bringing a bit of order to the chaos that had existed previously and would undoubtedly have led to an aircraft mishap.