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| On the USS Midway at night |
When my son's Cub Scout Pack said they were going to visit
the USS Midway, I got very excited. I like all things military. I served in the
US Army from 1986-1997, and I got to see places I would never have if I didn't
serve.
I signed up the family right away, ironed all our uniforms,
and waited impatiently for the day to arrive. Mind you, I don't know anything about the Navy, so I was
looking forward to visiting the Midway and discovering a lot. Did I!
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| Planes on the flight deck |
The trip down to San Diego took us 3 ½ hours with traffic
and we made it with just a couple of minutes to spare. At 5 pm, we lined up and
went into the enclosed hanger bay where we received a safety briefing, had a
fire drill, and met our staff for our overnight stay. I'd guess there were
about 75 of us total and we all wore our uniforms.
We received our sleeping quarters in the enlisted berthing
area and I was shocked at how small they were. It was like a tin can with just
enough room to move around.
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| Sleeping in the tin can |
The staff was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and eager.
They were very appreciative of us veterans, reminding everyone that freedom is
not free and that veterans have paid for everyone's freedom. They acknowledged
us in a ceremony that was quite nice, but there was only a handful of us.
We ate dinner on the ship in the gallery downstairs. Chow
was lasagna and very tasty. Afterwards, we went on a scavenger hunt and learned
what life was like for the officers and pilots on the ship.
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| Learning about the anchors |
We learned what an air boss was, and how aircraft catapult
off an aircraft carrier and how they land using a tail hook. The cables used
for the tail hooks are heavy and thick. After 100 times, the cables were
considered used up and thrown into the ocean.
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| On the bridge |
So where do you think
they threw leftover food and other waste?
We went to bed at 1030 pm and after all that climbing and
walking, we were so pooped that sleeping in a tin can wasn't a big deal.
The next morning we had breakfast – tasty for Navy chow, but
I kept it light. During our free time the boys used the simulators and we saw
all the planes on the flight deck.
We got our souvenirs, said goodbye to the staff, and headed
out.
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| A plane with the tail hook |
The Midway and its story fascinated me. The ship was
constructed during World War II and was originally a straight landing strip
aircraft carrier. It entered service in September 1945, just missing the war by
a month! Believe it or not, it was built ON TIME and IN BUDGET!!
It spent time in the Mediterranean Sea in the late 1940's.
Unfortunately it's too wide to go through the Panama Canal. In the early
1950's, it went to the Pacific. From 1955-57, it was retrofitted and updated,
acquiring its angled flight deck.
It conducted combat missions in Vietnam and got another
retrofit in the 1960's. In 1975, Yokosuma, Japan was named the Midway's homeport.
Midway served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and helped
evacuate Clark Air Base when Mt. Pinatubo blew. In 1992, it was decommissioned. After sitting in a shipyard
up in Washington State, it was brought down to San Diego and made into a museum
in 2004.
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| Giving the "go" for Catapult |
The USS Midway served 47 years. Amazing for a ship. It
wasn't run on nuclear power, but steam. My thanks go out to the Midway and it's
sailors for serving our country.
Anyone visit the Midway or have a Navy adventure they'd like
to share with us? For those
reading my blog who have served in the Armed Forces of your country or have
relatives serving: thank you.
