Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Trey Hutcheson | 180219-N-VQ790-471 MOUNT VERNON, Va. (Feb. 19, 2018) Capt. Glenn Jamison, commanding...... read more read more
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The sound of flutes and drums playing in the distance echoed through the air as audience members gathered together to view the ceremony that was about to take place. This was the first time that the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) Sailors were asked to participate in Presidents’ Day commemoration events at Mount Vernon.
Sailors assigned to USS George Washington prepared for the ceremonial wreath laying at Mount Vernon, the home and final resting place of our first president George Washington.
“I was very honored to be able to go to our first president’s home,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Lynnett Evans, a participant in George Washington’s 286th Birthday Ceremony at Mount Vernon as the anthem singer. “It was interesting to see where he once lived and honoring his legacy at his final resting place.”
As the morning pressed on, the audience began to grow from a small gathering to a large crowd of more than 6,500 spectators that circled the tomb of George Washington, awaiting the beginning of the ceremony.
“I was in awe; I could almost feel like I was a part of history just by being there,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) David Hooker, the leading chief petty officer of the George Washington Color Guard. “For the guests to come out to the ceremony, curious and wanting to know about our ship, and what it is we do in the United States Navy was very humbling. The amount of attention that we received from the guests to visiting the estate was overwhelming.”
As military personnel assumed their positions, silence fell upon the crowd, and all that was heard were the unbending drill commands of a soldier.
“It was very heart-warming to participate in such a big day for our country,” said Evans. “For me to sing our national anthem and see the faces of all the people while I sang, it was just majestic. I was very honored. “
When Maj. Gen. Michael L. Howard, the commanding general of Joint Force Headquarters, placed the presidential wreath, and Capt. Glenn Jamison, the commanding officer of George Washington, placed a wreath from the ship’s crew, the sound of shutters from cameras and the light from flashes engulfed the area.
“As a chief, and as a Sailor, we come in day-in and day-out doing what we need to do, but sometimes, I feel we get complacent, and we don’t realize quite how far we have come as a nation,” said Hooker. “Seeing the house of our founding father made me realize how far our country has come, and how far we still have to go.”
As the smoke from the recently fired musket rifles cleared the air, the ceremony quickly came to an end.
“There we were, wearing our uniforms, present in a moment of remembrance on a site where so many meetings, and so many important decisions about our nation took place,” said Hooker.” I hope that future George Washington Sailors can reflect back on this day, and that they will want to continue to be a part of this event at Mount Vernon.”
Guests were scattered throughout the property, soaking in all that Mount Vernon had to offer. Sailors posed for photos and chatted with guests; for at least one day, it seemed all eyes were fixed on a plot of land off the banks of the Potomac River.
| Date Taken: | 02.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.23.2018 11:22 |
| Story ID: | 266959 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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