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Published
by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY
Sunday, September 2, 2001
The USS Inchon returns after five months at sea
Welcome home, sailor. Crewmembers and loved ones reunite
By Stephanie L. Jordan
Caller-Times
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Paul Iverson/Caller-Times
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Kim Gatlin (right) and boyfriend USS Inchon sailor Petty Officer 3rd Class Raymond Miculob greet warmly upon the return of the mine countermeasures ship from a five-month deployment in the Pacific. Miculob won a shipboard raffle to receive the first welcoming kiss.
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NAVAL STATION INGLESIDE - Kevin King is accustomed to celebrating the milestones of his Navy career with family.
They attended the petty officer third class's boot camp graduation. His sister wore a T-shirt that screamed "Navy Sister." When he came home two years ago, his parents dressed up in "Navy Mom" and "Navy Dad" T-shirts.
The name of the game, his family jokes, is that a little public humiliation won't hurt. This time they convoyed in six cars carrying 16 friends and family members to greet him.
"All he wants now is to go and eat a steak," said the sailor's sister, Tara King, wearing a T-shirt with a childhood picture of her brother screened across the front.
Families who waited for more than an hour on the pier at Naval Station Ingleside Saturday said that the five months since the USS Inchon left for the Western Pacific seemed like forever.
The ship traveled through the Panama Canal to Hawaii, Guam, Korea, Singapore and Japan and back again.
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Paul Iverson/Caller-Times
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Sailors line the decks of the USS Inchon as it makes its way into its homeport at Naval Station Ingleside.
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And with it were 1,200 sailors - 1,200 husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.
They included Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, which is stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi; two search-and-rescue helicopters and explosive ordnance disposal divers.
The helicopter squadron celebrated its homecoming Friday.
The purpose of the voyage was to practice finding and hunting mines with ships, divers and helicopters from other navies.
This is the first time the ship has deployed to the Western Pacific since it was converted to be a part of Navy mine warfare.
The trip overseas was a success, said Capt. Chuck Smith, its commanding officer.
"I couldn't be more proud of them," Smith said of his sailors. "It was outstanding . . . proving our capabilities and traveling around the world to do it."
Butterflies
Some of the more than 2,000 flag- and banner-waving loved ones waiting at the pier said they had butterflies when the ship pulled up to the pier.
"No honey, daddy's not coming in on a choo-choo, he's coming in on a boat, remember?" said Pamela Parker, to her 3-year-old son, Dennis, who is named after his father, a
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Paul Iverson/Caller-Times
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Sailor Thomas Schwartzmann II (center), a gunner’s mate, gets a group hug from his mother (hidden) and his three sisters: Amy (back to camera), Stephanie (right) and Katie (hidden). At left, Schwartzmann’s father, Thomas Schwartzmann, extends his arms in exultation.
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petty officer first class.
"I'm really nervous. I mean, it's been five months without him in the house. I'm gonna get to clean up after him again."
First time apart
Many said that they'd prepared special meals, spit-shined the house and bought new clothes for the homecoming.
For some it would be the first time their husbands had seen them seven months pregnant.
"I'll tell you, I sure made sure our apartment was clean, and I bought some candles," said Osei Adoma, whose wife, Camille, is an ensign.
"And I got some flowers. This is the first time we've been apart since we got married."
And many envied Kim Gatlin, who got to be the first to welcome a sailor home. Her boyfriend, Petty Officer 3rd Class Raymond Miculob, won the raffle to be the recipient of the first kiss.
They met each other halfway on the ramp to the ship and amidst whistles, applause and cheers they clung to each other for a long time.
"I'm so excited. I'm so lucky," Gatlin said. "I've waited a long time for this."
Contact Stephanie L. Jordan at 886-3724 or jordans@caller.com
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© 2001,
a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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