Sitting at the bar at a Chili's, I exchanged stories and laughter with my colleagues. Ground school has ended and we are enjoying our last few hours with each other before our planes leave for our respective islands. It was an intense 10-day training but it was also fun. What an excellent group of people!
As we sat chatting, an elderly gentleman sat next to us and started a conversation with Aspen. They were talking about the USS Missouri museum ship at Pearl Harbor. He was stationed on that ship in the 1940s. 12 years ago, he became a volunteer to help care for it.
I asked him how it was like to be back on his old ship. With a nostalgic glint in his eyes, he told us that he thought he would never see his ship again. He never would have thought that he would be back on it 40-some odd years later. He gave us his card and asked that we call him. He was eager to give us a tour of his ship. I immediately saved his information. That is an opportunity I would gladly take. I've been on the USS Missouri a few years ago but I think a tour from a sailor who was stationed on it would be spectacular. I love old vets and their sea stories.
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