Washington Times: September 27, 2001
Inside the Beltway
by John McCaslin
Political tidbits and other shenanigans from around the nation's capital.
Letter home
When it was commissioned in Norfolk earlier this year, the guided-missile destroyer USS
Winston S. Churchill not only became the only active U.S. warship named after a foreigner,
as a show of good will with Britain, it also became the only U.S. military vessel to have
a Royal Navy officer permanently assigned on board.
Last month, with much fanfare, the unique naval vessel departed on a goodwill tour of
Britain, escorted Aug. 23 into the harbor of Portsmouth, England. Now, that goodwill tour
has been postponed, and like all other U.S. Navy ships, the USS Winston S. Churchill
remains on high alert.
That said, we reprint a portion of a letter an ensign stationed aboard the Churchill sent
to his father. It needs no further introduction:
"Well, we are still out at sea, with little direction as to what our next priority
is. The remainder of our port visits, which were to be centered around max liberty and
good will to the United Kingdom, have all but been cancelled. We have spent every day
since the attacks going back and forth within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing
high-security watches, and trying to make the best of our time
"We have seen the articles and the photographs [of the World Trade Center and
Pentagon attacks], and they are sickening. Being isolated as we are, I don't think we
appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling
the effects.
"About two hours ago, the junior officers were called to the bridge to conduct
shiphandling drills. We were about to do a 'man overboard' when we got a call from the
'Lutjens,' a German warship that was moored ahead of us on the pier in Plymouth, England.
While in port, the Winston S. Churchill and the Lutjens got together for a sports
day/cookout on our fantail, and we made some pretty good friends. Now at sea, they called
over on bridge-to-bridge, requesting to pass us close up on our port side, to say goodbye.
"We prepared to render them honors on the bridgewing, and the captain told the crew
to come topside to wish them farewell. As they were making their approach, our conning
officer announced through her binoculars that they were flying an American flag. As they
came even closer, we saw that it was flying at half-mast [and] the entire crew of the
German ship were manning the rails, in their dress blues. They had made up a sign that was
displayed on the side that read 'We Stand By You.'
"Needless to say there was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside us
for a few minutes and we cut our salutes. It was probably the most powerful thing I have
seen in my entire life and more than a few of us fought to retain our composure. The
German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it has truly been the highest point
in the days since the attacks. After the ship pulled away and we prepared to begin our
man-overboard drills, the officer of the deck turned to me and said, 'I'm staying Navy.'
John McCaslin, a nationally syndicated columnist, can be reached at 202/636-3284 or by e-mail: jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.
