Handmade in my Home A Ship for Grandpa

Last week in this post  I started a series about the handmade things the surround me everyday in my house. All of them, like all handmade things, have stories. Stories about where they came from, who chose them, who made them and what they mean to me when seeing them each day.

Today the item was made by grandkids with some help from mom and dad. It was a gift to my husband who spent 20 years, 3 months and 1 day in the United States Navy. He keeps it in his office where he can see it all the time. I mostly just dust it but I am glad the ship and Jim are here.

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My Veteran

My husband is a Navy veteran. His career spanned 20 years from 1973 to 1993. That career brought out the best in him and helped shape who he is today. I am going to share with you the ships he served on. All the images link to a Wikipedia article about the ship if you are interested. He also had shore duty tours at the Technical Library, Naval Station San Diego, Fleet Training Group, San Diego and Naval Reserve Center, Salt Lake City.

Some days when he thinks about each and every one of them no longer in service it makes him feel old. Even his rate of BT (boiler technician) no longer exists.

First is the USS Proteus. He was part if Operation New Life while stationed on this ship in the 1970's.



Next is the Norton Sound. This was the ship he was serving on when we met.



When Jim was serving on the USS Pyro we went through our first WestPac. A WestPac is an extended cruise of the Western Pacific that lasts about 8 months give or take a bit. My brothers joined him for a tiger cruise from Hawaii to California.



Below is the McKee. Jim is or was a plank owner of this ship. That means he was a member on the original crew. He became a chief while serving here.



Jim served on the Henry B. Wilson in the 1980's. I got to go on a one day dependents cruise on this ship and even sit in the captain's chair on the bridge for awhile at the captain's invitation. I guess that chair is kind of a sacred place so the invitation was unusual.



The last ship in Jim's career was the Duluth. Our son was able to join his dad on a tiger cruise on this ship. Jim served as Command Master Chief and he retired from the Navy in a ceremony on her deck after 20 years, 3 months and 1 day.



To my husband and hero, thank you for your service. To all who have served or are serving in any branch thank you.

My Veteran

I am married to a Navy veteran and have been for 32 years. He served for 20 years, 3 months and 1 day before retiring in 1993. Every November he jokingly reminds me of this and says I should be nice to him because he is a veteran. Most days to me he is just Jim, the husband, the father and the grandfather.

There is something in him however that him that made him a sailor. He loved his ships and being at sea in a way few people probably understand. I learned early not to take this love for the sea as something that took away from love for home and family but rather enhanced it by a call to service that protected those things even when it meant sacrificing time spent at home. His first ship was the USS Proteus and you see it here in the top photograph. This was a subtender that was home ported on Guam. While serving aboard her he became a BT (boiler technician) and learned the skills needed to do the job well.

The career he started on the Proteus as a young kid ended 20 years later on the USS Duluth which is the second ship pictured. In between there were others ships and shore duty assignments. He was serving on the USS Norton Sound in Port Hueneme, CA when we met. After we married he did a second tour on the Proteus that let us have our first home on Guam. Following that we spent several years in San Diego and then ended up in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jim was made a chief (E-7) after 12 years of service and master chief (E-9) after 17 years and most will tell you that the speed of that advancement is a tribute to an outstanding sailor. He wanted to end his career on a ship and he did. While I stayed behind with the kids in Salt Lake he did his final sea tour aboard the Duluth. He was the command master chief aboard this ship and his retirement ceremony was held on her decks.

He has been retired 15 years now and every once in awhile I ask him if he misses being at sea and the pride of serving in the Navy. The answer is always yes.

Glad I am not.....

Glad I am not moving anytime soon. I have moved a couple times with full service when Jim was in the Navy. No packing, no driving a truck and getting it delivered and set in place for you at the new home. I am very glad as well that we did not have to pay for it because moving services are very expensive and one of our moves was from Guam back to the United States and involved bringing home a car. Every once in awhile we talk about moving on from here in Phoenix but the next place is going to have to be very special to go through the moving process again.