The Retirement Ceremony

Ahh finally, it's done. And it was beautiful. Rob did an awesome job with the planning and the ceremony was wonderful. Shortly before the ceremony started, I was able to reveal one of the surprises that we had in store for Bill. Senior Chief Joe Gross, who was in Bill's first squadron when he was an airman, was able to make the ceremony. The look on his face was priceless, he was so shocked and surprised that Joe was there, someone he hadn't seen in about 17 years or so.

I was escorted to my seat and we waited for the ceremony to begin. Bill arrived and took his seat on the stage, along with MCDCM Dave Armer, who flew out from Pax River, MD to be the guest speaker; LCDR Scott Brunson who was his retiring officer; and ENS Mike Mueller, who was to read the invocation and benediction that my daddy wrote(Bill wanted Reverend Bob to be there, but work kept him away). AWFC Rob Anglesea was a fantastic master of ceremonies-and he was a huge help to me in the planning of the other surprises I had been working on for Bill, and helped me incorporate them into the ceremony.



The ceremony proceeded through all the normal steps. LCDR Brunson and Dave spoke, then awards portion of the ceremony proceeded. Bill was awarded his 8th Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, received his letter from the president, etc. Then Rob began to read this:

The standard Navy Award for a job well done is the byproduct of a handful of individuals, someone to nominate you, someone to write it up, someone to shred the first write up, and one or or two individuals to omni omni approve it. All in all not a bad way to recognize the culmination of years on constant vigilant guard again the enemy foreign and domestic. A nice "Atta boy" for all those birthdays and holidays spent in harm's way and not in the arms of your family. Well today, we strive for more than an "atta boy" from a handful of sailors. Over the last 20 years the Navy has sent you haze gray and underway and to the far corners of the glove. On those far-reaching traverses, you have found friends, mentors and brother/sisters in arms. Today your colleagues here and afar salute you and send their wishes for your continued success and happiness.

As Rob was reading that, Mike was pulling back the curtain to reveal the quilt that I have been working on for the past 6 months. I have been mailing out pieces of fabric all over the world. I have been stalking and harassing people to get them back to me. The quilt is a reflection of the kind of man, sailor and Chief that Bill is. It covers his entire 20 years in the Navy...from people he was an airman with, to people that were his supervisors and chiefs as that young airman, to his brothers and sisters in the mess now as well as those junior sailors that has influenced as he has progressed up the rank ladder. There is everything from a simple 'hey congrats', to a Top 5 list, to slightly questionable stories(thankfully, I knew them all already...lol), and some extremely heartfelt things that damn near made me cry as I read them when they arrived to me. I think Bill was shocked and blown away by the mere presence of the quilt, and will be even more so when he actually has time to sit down and read what is written on it. The quilt is as travelled as he is, with squares being returned from all over the country, the desert, Japan and Cuba. I would like to thank everyone who sent me squares-and apologize for slightly stalkerish tendencies in getting them back...lol. I also have to give huge thanks to Rob who helped me with the local people a lot; as well as making sure it was incorporated into the ceremony.

After the quilt was presented, our current CMC, Rob Lemons, presented Bill with a cutlass and his shadow box on behalf of the VQ-2 Chief's Mess. Needless to say, between the quilt, the shadow box, and the painting I had done(that we forgot to reveal till after the ceremony**), in addition to his already accumulated 'love me' stuff, he'll need an entire room/office to display his swag.

Once all the awards were presented, Bill got up to give his speech. He had told me the a few weeks that he didn't know how long the ceremony would be as he knew he could get long winded-he had lots of practice with that when he was on instructor duty...lol. In a nutshell(I'll have to see if I can get a copy of his speech), he thanked me and credited me for his career. He talked about the first time he saw me, sitting on the bleachers at a softball game, and being beside him all these years. I do so greatly appreciate what he said, but I feel the need to disagree slightly. I credit him with his career. Granted, at the time, it was mostly fueled by lust...lol, but I married an amazing man-I wouldn't settle for anything less. I have watched him grow from the young drunken airman that I first met almost 20 years ago, to a phenomenol Chief Petty Officer.

The ceremony ended with him being piped ashore, he then came and got me and escorted me off as Brice followed(carrying my flowers...lol). And thus ended a huge chapter in our lives.

**The painting. I found a graphic the man loved, it was a skull and crossbones of sorts, except it was wearing the Chief's big hat, and had crossed cutlasses under it. I asked a friend if I could commission a painting of it. He said sure, he'd love to do that for me, but wanted to know if he could make it his own, and asked if I had anything else I wanted him to incorporate. I sent him so much stuff...pics of the aircraft that Bill has worked on, squadron logos, rating insignia, etc. And what he turned out was just amazing. It will look wonderful displayed in our home(most likely, in an office that will house all of Bill's Navy stuff, the quilt and shadow box among all the other awards and pictures from his career). Thank you, Barney.