Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Henry Liu | SEA OF JAPAN (Nov. 11, 2021) Wilson Delgado, a Military Sealift Command civil service...... read more read more
Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners assigned to the Emory S. Land-class submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) gathered to honor those who served in the armed forces in a Veterans Day ceremony while underway, Nov. 11.
“Worthy men and women gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country,” said Lt. Antony Kaniaru, chaplain aboard Frank Cable, in his invocation for the ceremony. “Bless them for their unselfish service in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms, our safety, our way of life and our country’s heritage. Bless them abundantly for the hardships they faced, and for the sacrifices they made and for their many contributions to America’s victories over tyranny and oppression.”
Frank Cable’s fiscal year 2022 chief selectees spoke to the crew about the history of Veterans Day, from World War I to present day.
On the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns of World War I fell silent. When the last gun fired, between 15 and 22 million military and civilians lay dead from the Marne to Gallipoli and from Verdun to the Somme.
November 11 was declared as “Armistice Day” in 1926 through a Congressional resolution and became a national holiday 12 years later. World War I was “the war to end all wars,” but less than two decades later, the world was thrust into yet another conflict. A war that saw more than 16.5 million Americans join the military, with 407,316 of them paying the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the Nation.
Armistice Day changed to Veterans Day in 1954, a day honoring all veterans.
“Our history is a rich tapestry woven from the very same fabric that bonds us together as sisters and brothers in service to our great Nation,” said guest speaker Senior Chief Torpedoman’s Mate Patrick Musser. “It tells a story of struggle and success, of pain and joy, of loss and victory that defines what it truly means to be an American.”
There are 19 million American veterans today, from the ‘Greatest Generation’ of World War II to the current veterans of Generation Z. These veterans trudged across the beaches of Normandy, the tropical forests of Vietnam, the desert sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. Through every war, these brave men and women answered the call to defend the country they call home.
Onboard Frank Cable, there are more than two dozen Military Sealift Command civil service mariners who are also military veterans.
Veterans like John Dunn, Frank Cable’s chief engineer, answered the call to serve during the Vietnam War. Dunn enlisted in Navy as a boilermaker, which later became boiler technician. In his eight years of service, Dunn served aboard USS Lynde McCormick (DDG 958), USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and USS Reeves (DLG 24) working his way up the ranks to Boiler Technician 2nd class before leaving the service. He soon went back to sea, but this time as a different type of mariner, no longer wearing the uniform of Navy, but still having the same urge to serve and protect.
“I was lucky to have my time in the Navy to prepare me for my future,” said Dunn of his naval service. “I learned the propulsion systems for several ships that started me on my path to MSC. I volunteered for duty on the AE platform [ammunition ships] early in my career to support the military in conflicts around the globe and eventually came to the AS [auxiliary support] ships. I am honored to take part in the resurrection of this ship [getting her back to sea], and I hope to continue to make improvements.”
Frank Cable, forward-deployed to the island of Guam, repairs, rearms, and reprovisions submarines and surface vessels in the Indo-Pacific region. Frank Cable is on patrol conducting expeditionary maintenance and logistics in support of national security in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
Under Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with 35 maritime nations in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2021 11:08 |
| Story ID: | 409372 |
| Location: | SEA OF JAPAN |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USS Frank Cable Remembers Those Who Came Before Us This Veterans Day, by PO1 Charlotte Oliver, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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