Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Hannah Fry | SAGAMI BAY (February 4, 2025) – Information System Technician 2nd Class Maxwell...... read more read more
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PHILIPPINE SEA – Traditions, the stories of those long past; memories that lives on through the actions we take. Their meanings run deep and they have many intents: some keep us safe, some call us to action, and some serve as a solemn reminder of the things we have lost. Though their intents may differ, they all share a purpose that keeps them going. A purpose that drives us to repeat them through generations. Duty.
A duty to those lost and those still to come, to keep the past alive through simple actions. Each holds its own sense of power over the people who enact the tradition throughout time, but for many of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, these traditions build the foundation of their very way of life.
For the brunette man sitting in a small office aboard a ship off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan, that tradition was a choice he grew up knowing he wanted to follow.
“I grew up thinking I would want to join from a very young age, but I never felt pressured to do it,” he explains. “Neither did my sister. There was maybe a little bit of expectation, but no one would have minded if we hadn’t joined.”
Information Systems Technician (IT) 2nd Class Maxwell Dlhopolsky joined the Navy in July 2019 after graduating from Daniel Boone High School and now serves aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) out of Yokosuka, Japan.
Like many service members, Dlhopolsky comes from a long line of military service. His grandfather, his father, his aunt, uncles, cousins, and sister have all shared a calling, followed a tradition, a legacy of service in the U.S. Armed Forces.
“I feel a lot of pride in having grown up in the tradition of military service,” says Dlhopolsky, going on to explain how family gatherings always ended up with the family sitting around the house weaving tales of their time in service and laughing over jokes that only those who have lived through the same things can understand. He said that his own time in the Navy has brought him a deeper connection to his family, and helped him relate to them in a different way.
Dlhopolsky leans against the desk next to him as he thinks about how those stories, the service of his family, have informed his life and his past five years of service.
“My dad cared a lot about safety growing up,” explains Dlhopolsky as he blinks through his black-rimmed glasses, his blue eyes growing distant as he gazes into his childhood memories. “Anytime we were doing something that he thought would be dangerous, he would always tell us a story from his time in the Navy. He was constantly dropping in stories and sharing his memories. Now that I am here too, I still think about it. I think about how I sometimes live out the same situations 20 years later.”
Dlhopolsky grew up in Douglassville, Pennsylvania, surrounded by stories of the past. Stories of adventure and community. He laughs to himself as he says, “Before I was in the military, my family would tell a story, and you would think, ‘That didn’t happen, they’re making it up,’ but now that I’m in the military, now I hear the story and I always think, ‘Yeah, I could see that happening.’”
Hearing those stories of adventure and community may have compelled him to join, but collecting his own stories is the reason he stays. The Navy has given him the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, has challenged him to keep learning every day, and has offered him the chance to travel the world.
As he reaches five years of service, Dlhopolsky has leaned into that opportunity for travel, first choosing to be stationed in Bahrain and then Japan. During those years his love for learning has never dulled, and the time has taught him that the duty to keep traditions alive is not just about wearing a uniform or following orders- it’s about the choices we make, the actions we take, and the stories we pass on.
As Ralph Johnson sails on through the waters of the Philippine Sea, Dlhopolsky sits at a desk and thinks of his family. Far above, the setting sun creates vivid streaks across the sky, and the wind rushes to greet the Sailors who venture topside; and just for a moment, as everything feels timeless, Dlhopolsky considers how his decision to serve has connected him to his family in ways he never imagined. Although he knows that his journey is far from over, the path he walks is well-lit by the stories of those who came before him.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.26.2025 18:25 |
| Story ID: | 491615 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Hometown: | DOUGLASSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Traditions That Shape Us, by PO1 Hannah Fry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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