Chapter 15 - Setting Sail
The morning of the deployment arrived with a heavy gray mist rolling off the Elizabeth River, shrouding the Norfolk naval yards in a veil of industrial silver.
Thousands of sailors in dress whites and service uniforms lined the piers, surrounded by families waving flags, holding signs, and wiping away tears of parting.
I stood on the weather deck of the USS Vicksburg, my hands resting calmly on the polished brass railing as the ship’s loudhailers echoed across the deck, calling out final line-handling instructions.
Down on the pier, amidst the sea of families, stood Dad. He wasn't holding a sign, but he wore his old Navy veteran cap, his hand raised high in a proud salute that cut straight through the fog.
I raised my right hand, executing a crisp, perfect salute back to him across the widening strip of dark water.
The ship’s massive diesel engines roared to life, sending a deep, resonant tremor through the steel deck plates. Lines were cast off. Tugs nudged the gray hull away from the pier.
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As the Vicksburg slowly glided down the channel toward the open Atlantic, I looked out past the harbor toward the vast, untamed horizon. The wind caught my hair, tasting sharply of salt and open ocean.
The storm was behind us. The anchor was secure. And the sea ahead was wide open.
