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Norfolk area trip


willysmb44
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A good friend of mine took command of a destroyer last week, so I went out to see it. Hes a 28 year man, going for as long as the Navy will have him around.

Along with that, I tried to hit every museum in the area I could.

On Thursday, I got off the plane, got the rental car and hotel squared away, then immediately headed for Ft Eustis, the northern most point I was looking to hit. I saw a good railroad collection along with plenty of wheeled vehicles. Ive been wanting to see that museum for a very long time. Then, I went to the Virginia air museum which has Apollo 12s capsule on display (but was sort of a bust otherwise). Then, to the museum that housed the artifacts from the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia. After that, I scooted to Norfolk to see the Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin. Its the only one from that class Id never seen before and was the last to be decommissioned a final time. So that makes her the final US battleship. I knew what I wanted to see in each case, so I pressed hard and saw stuff at a walking pace for the most part. It was the only way Id be able to see it all. Plenty of other museums in the area I just didnt have time for, sadly. That evening, I hung out with my friends family, and theyre all a good bunch of people.

Friday was amazing. The change of command went really well that morning, and they did all kinds of stuff Id never heard of before. Their events are fear more formal than I ever saw in the Army. We also got a tour of the entire ship except for the engine room. I was quite impressed, and the Ensign conducting the tour was initially surprised at some of my questions (such as how theyd decontaminate the ship if they got hit with a chemical weapon or how badly the launchers are damaged when they launch a tomahawk missile) until I told him of my own background. I then found out one of the duties of a ships captain is to incur a lot of personal expense for VIPs. He had a bunch of VIP ship caps made up (with the ships name, its crest and a special set of scrambled eggs on the bill), which each member of his family got one (though I got the distinctive impression he understood that I probably understood and appreciated the significance of that more than many of the others). He also gave me a ships coin. I deeply appreciated it but could only think of how much all that had to have cost him. After all that was over, I drove all around the base looking before I left and saw a lot of really neat stuff (including three aircraft carriers, the Washington, Truman, and the Gerald Ford which was coming in after its very first sea trials, which I guess I saw a moment in history as the very first of a new class of ship came into port for the very first time: http://navaltoday.com/2017/04/17/uss-gerald-r-ford-starts-preparations-for-acceptance-trials/

I then went back to his place for a big cookout. I only had to buy food on the first day and at airports. His wife really went all out! His parents and brother were there, which was nice as theyre the only ones I knew beforehand, but the rest of his family welcomed me as one of their own and I really liked all of them.

Saturday, there are an official cookout for his crew and family, which wasnt until 1PM. So, I got up not-so-early (I was exhausted from the previous two days) and hit the Virginia War Memorial in Hampton. Its a small museum but had a very impressive collection. I had enough time to see the Douglas MacArthur memorial and museum in downtown Norfolk as well. I was never a fan of Dugout Doug but the collection there was very impressive as they had all his stuff and all the captured stuff from high-ranking Japanese officials during the occupation. I bet the Japanese government would love to get Tojos samurai sword and personal pistol back, but I doubt theyll ever get them! I then went to his place and hung out with his family until I needed to get back to the hotel to pack and try to get some sleep.

I got up very early Sunday, packed and left. The flights went okay, and I was on my way home soon after noon in Portland.

But most of all, in spite of all the cool stuff I got to see, it was great seeing an old friend of mine again. Im at a point in my life where Im making a point to value the few good friends I really have. Ive known him since my Freshman year in High School. We graduated 30 years ago, this June.

I'll post more photos once I upload them from my good camera...

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Sounds like you had a great visit!! I am glad you had a great time with you old friend. I am in Tidewater and there is really a lot of things to see in this area.

 

Best regards,

Chris

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Great pictures, really like the Nitze's Bridge and helm station pictures!! The worn look of the helm station is really neat to see.

 

Chris

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Great pictures, really like the Nitze's Bridge and helm station pictures!! The worn look of the helm station is really neat to see.

The Nitze isn't that old of a ship, having been commissioned in 2005, but that's all the wear you need as she's been heavily used since then.

Frankly, I was disappointed (though not at all surprised) that we wouldnt be seeing the engine room, but I got why that was. We did get a good look at the combat control area but I didnt take any photos (though they clearly expected we might, as I could tell stuff was covered up) as Ive always had a healthy respect for COMSEC.

The bridge, I must admit, was pretty cool. The funny part was when they were splitting up the guests for the tour, I made a point to hang with the group that included the Captains daughter and parents. No way was I going to get lost of shafted with that group, I reasoned!

Im former Army and have never spent much time on any Navy ships other than museum ships (I had just walked the teak decks of the battleship Wisconsin less than 24 hours before the Nitze photos were taken) so I was clearly out of my element. But I was heavily impressed with the ship and her crew.

I can sleep easy knowing these people, and countless like them, are out there and I doubt Ill ever talk much smack about the Navy after getting such a good look at what theyre up to.

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