Among the thousands of people dockside eagerly awaiting the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln in Everett, Wash. yesterday was Anna Delgado of Lihu’e. She was there to meet her son, Richard Delgado, one of several Kaua’i people aboard the
Among the thousands of people dockside eagerly awaiting the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln in Everett, Wash. yesterday was Anna Delgado of Lihu’e.
She was there to meet her son, Richard Delgado, one of several Kaua’i people aboard the aircraft carrier finally coming home after nearly 10 months at sea.
The carrier was in the Persian Gulf the second half of last year, supporting the war on terrorism, when it began heading home. Then, in January this year, ship’s officers got orders to return to the gulf, where they fired missiles on Iraqi targets and launched thousands of bombing runs during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It was relieved by the USS Nimitz last month, and again began heading home to Everett Naval Station.
Last week, while in waters off San Diego, the Lincoln hosted the commander in chief, Pres. George Bush, who proclaimed from the ship’s flight deck that the major fighting in Iraq had victoriously ended.
Richard Delgado is one of several known Kauaians assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln, a 1,092-foot-long, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a 257-foot-wide flight deck.
Other Kauaians who were also greeted to heroes’ welcomes yesterday are Joy Carlos, Randall Dawson, Galen Manuel, Troy Rabago and Joseph Stevens.
Their whirlwind deployment included port calls at Pearl Harbor; Sasebo, Japan; Hong Kong; Fremantle, Australia; and San Diego.
Galen Manuel, 22, is a Waimea High School graduate and interior communications specialist aboard the Lincoln. His duties include maintaining electrical systems on the ship, like wiring, security cameras, telephones, the carrier’s internal TV system, and other devices.
He’ll be back on Kaua’i in time to witness the graduation of his brother, Allan, who Friday, June 6, matriculates from Waimea High School. This week, he was sworn in as a member of the U.S. Air Force, continuing a long and rich Manuel family tradition of military service.
While still in the Pacific Northwest, though, Manuel will enjoy some local (that’s Kaua’i-style) food at a restaurant owned and operated by former Kauaians Mr. and Mrs. Peter Buza and family.
The Buzas have already planned a party for the Kauaians off the Lincoln, at their restaurant in the Seattle area.
Most of the 3,000 sailors aboard the Lincoln were given three-week leave papers upon disembarking yesterday morning, and most of the Kaua’i sailors plan to come home during that period if at all possible.
Throughout most of March, a reporter and photographer from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper were “embedded” on the Lincoln. None of the Kauaians, though, were featured in any of the newspaper’s online stories or photos.
The Lincoln’s return came one day after a supply ship in its battle group, the USS Camden, pulled into its home port in Bremerton.
The five other ships in the Lincoln’s battle group have also returned home: the USS Mobile Bay and USS Shiloh, two missile cruisers based in San Diego; and the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, the missile frigate USS Rueben James and the nuclear-powered submarine USS Cheyenne, all based in Pearl Harbor.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
