Sailors in dress whites lined the deck as the USS Gerald R. Ford returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Helenna Parrish celebrated her daughter Asia’s first deployment and expressed relief that she and her shipmates were back on U.S. soil. The carrier’s tour stretched from the coast of Venezuela to the Red Sea, where F/A-18 aircraft supported U.S. operations related to the Israel-Iran conflict. The Navy estimated the ship traveled enough miles to circle the earth three times. Brittany Hyder waited for her husband Mack, an Aviation Ordnanceman, after he had been away for about a year, following an earlier return in January 2024. Families crowded the pier with signs and welcome messages, reflecting both tradition and support for reintegration.
"Helenna Parrish let out a whoop when she spotted her daughter Asia, a culinary specialist, on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford. "I'm just happy she's back on U.S. soil, that's all. I'm happy she's back, all of them, really, her shipmates, because I know some are stronger than others, so I pray for all of them," she said. This was her daughter's first deployment."
"Ford's tour stretched from the coast of Venezuela to the Red Sea where the carrier launched F/A-18s to support the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. The Navy estimates the carrier traveled enough miles to circle the earth three times before the exhausted crew returned home to Naval Station Norfolk."
""These kids are ready for their dad to come home, and I'm ready for a break," said Brittany Hyder as she waited on the pier for her husband Mack, an Aviation Ordnanceman. "I'm ready for my husband to come home," she said. They have three children, all under eight. Mack Hyder was also on the Ford for eight months, in the early days of the Israel-Gaza conflict, before returning in January 2024."
"Thousands of family and friends crowded the pier for the roughly 3,500 sailors still on board, after the aviators who flew the planes attached to the carrier, flew off earlier in the week. There were poster board signs with sailors' faces and welcome home messages. "I'd wait forever, but 334 days is crazy" read one sign. The hero's welcome is a Navy tradition that also has a practical value."
Read at www.npr.org
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