Battleship

For the past few months, we have noticed the First Little Nguyen developing an interest in learning about the military. This is not surprising as Chi spent five years as an officer in the Navy, earning the rank of Lieutenant as he served his country onboard an aircraft carrier. In addition, both of the First Little Nguyen's grandfathers served in the Army: Ong in the army of South Vietnam and Grandpa B. in the U.S. Army. Lately, the First Little Nguyen has been asking all sorts of questions about what military service is like, so we thought we would give him a chance to take a look at things firsthand.

Pvt. First Little Nguyen & Pvt. Second Little Nguyen, reporting for duty!

On our return trip from the beach, we stopped at the Battleship North Carolina Memorial in Wilmington. Sadly, the horrific tragedy of 9/11 has completely restricted the public's access to military centers and it is something we recently tried to explain to the First Little Nguyen when he wanted to visit an aircraft carrier-- it's difficult to soften the topic of terrorists taking the lives of innocent people in the name of faith. When Chi served onboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, his parents were allowed to come onto the ship for visits while he was at port. Now, we are not allowed to set foot on one. While the Battleship North Carolina isn't a modern day vessel, at least it gave the First Little Nguyen a better picture of how life was lived onboard, and the many freedoms the men who served on it gave up in order to insure ours.

Salute!

He was struck by how enclosed things were, how the men shared their restrooms, their showers, and their sleeping quarters with so many other people. He was amazed at how they had to learn to navigate their way around the maze that was their ship! He thought it was funny that their "mess hall" was like his school's cafeteria. He constantly remarked on how the doorways were "so strange". He thought the men must have been "highly trained" to be able to fire those guns and cannons without being scared. He decided they must have "loved getting mail" since they couldn't bring their families with them. The words "very brave" and "heroes" were heard often. There were so many interesting things.

Man your weapons!

Almost as tall!

The experience brought back a lot of memories for Chi as well, and he had all the answers for the questions the First Little Nguyen peppered us with during our tour. Although this old battleship isn't the same as a modern aircraft carrier, there are some similarities such as how the doorways and halls are numbered in order for the Navymen to learn their way around. It was kind of neat to see my husband fearlessly sliding down those steep stairway bannisters while the rest of us were holding on for dear life; I could imagine what he must have looked like 15 years ago doing the very same thing onboard the Roosevelt! As we were paying for our tour and Chi was charged the "retired military" fee, I think that made him feel that certain sense of pride he hasn't felt in a long time. That he would give five years of his life defending this country speaks volumes about who he is. It's just another reason I love him....

Lt. Nguyen, checking things out...

The Second Little Nguyen had fun, too. He was a trooper climbing up and down all of those stairs! His favorite part was the "steering wheel" on the bridge (the pilot's house), but he also loved climbing up onto and sliding down the ship's anchor!

Do you have your drivers' license yet?

Anchors away!

Can you guess what I am?

Naugh-ty! Apparently, sitting in the Captain's chair is a big no-no.

As we were leaving, we exited through the gift shop and spent some time looking around. The First Little Nguyen picked up a small pewter replica of the battleship and wanted to buy it with his own money. My mommy mind was already thinking, "How many little metal toys do we need?!" and "Oh, yeah. That sharp little piece of metal is going to feel really good underneath my foot when I step on it in the middle of the night." So, I said, "Honey, do you really need that? I think there are better ways to spend your money." The First Little Nguyen looked at me with that sweet little face and his big brown eyes and said, "But Mom. I want to remember this day." Cha-ching. Enough said.