Navy 30 year retirement ceremony

[Jblk9695]

My oldest son Rich had his 30 year retirement ceremony from the Navy on June 20 and the wife and I along with our 2 dogs made the trip to Washington state to attend.
Made a side trip to Sequoia, BIG trees

Then on to Yosemite

After that we beat feet over to the 5 drone-way and got to Washington, my son's place on Whidbey Island, dogs loved it with lots of room to roam

The ceremony was held at the CPO club and was quite a big deal, I knew our son was respected by his fellow enlisted but had no idea how much by the officers he served under, even had Captain Shay in attendance who is the Electronic Attack Wing U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander and he had nothing but good things to say about our son.
Parading of the Colors

Commander Chris Middleton, Commanding officer of VAQ-129

Captain Shay

Our son is the second from the right, looks like a little kid but he's 48, must be the good air in the Pacific NorthWest

They did the Flag Passing Ceremony which is quite moving, look it up on google

And then our son presented the Flag to his mom and me in honor of my dad who is no longer with us, it was all I could do to not break down and cry as this was was an unexpected honor.

Lots of awards and certificates from every living President that he served under during his 30 years, wife and I even received certificates which was another honor.
Group photo, the blue uniform is my grandson who is Air Force.

Just had to post this as my wife and I are so proud of our son that we could just burst:thumbup:

Jerry

 

[cult67]

Awesome, you must be very proud!

 

[Cali rider]

Very nice, Jerry. Must be quite a ceremony to witness.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Thats bloody fantastic mate, thanks for sharing a very special moment with us :thumbup: Puff your chest out a little more , your son has done his family & nation proud :rockon:

Be sure to give him a pat on the back for me & tell him this silly Aussie says Thanks for your service

 

[Cloggy]

great pics, bet you're a really proud Dad, thanks for sharing.

 

[Erci]

Congrats to Rich and to proud parents! Thanks for sharing the great pics, Jerry :thumbup:

 

[armystrong]

Wow! That's awesome. You have so much to be proud of. Please pass along our thanks for his service.

 

[Jblk9695]

Here are a couple of other awards that I thought were really neat.
This is one our son received and the flag was flown on the Midway(CV-41) and the Ranger(CV-61), flying the flag on the Midway wasn't to difficult as she is a floating museum and easy to access but the Ranger was a different story as she has been decommissioned and is stored in Bremerton, Wa. and permission was needed to get on board accomplish the task, but they did it:thumbup:

This one is for my wife and I and was at the ceremony but we didn't even notice as it was on display with the other awards and plaques that Rich received, Rich and Trish gave it to us the following day and it was a big surprise.

That's Rich on the far left

Really cool and something to cherish.

And for you younger guys here is a good reason to join the Navy, gal on the right is Amanda and she is a Chief and also the one who organized most of the ceremony:thumbup:, the other gal is my daughter in law Trish:thumbup:

Jerry

 

[Motogiro]

Awesome stuff Jerry and Mo!

Now Lisa and I know you're really Gerald and Maurine! LOL!

Love you both!
Cliff n Lisa

 

[armstrong89z]

Thats a great accomplishment! Thank your sons for the service. You must be very proud. Congrats :thumbup:

 

[motojoe122]

That is something to be very proud of!

 

[lonesoldier84]

This is pretty awesome. Regardless what people's opinions are on the deployment of force, it is nice to be reminded of the great people that commit themselves to a selfless task. Integrity, honour, and a heartfelt desire to make the world a better place are staple characteristics of many who make that commitment. You can see clearly how proud each of you is to be a part of that in those pictures.

Great stuff.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Norbert]

"I can imagine a no more rewarding career, and any man

who may be asked in this century what he did to make his

life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of

pride and satisfaction:

'I served in the United States Navy'

President John F. Kennedy