All my life my parents made it known to me that as my father's only biological child I would inherit his navy "dolphins". For those of you without a military background, navy dolphins are:
'The Submarine Warfare Insignia (usually known as "dolphins" or "fish") is a uniform breast pin worn by enlisted men and officers of the United States Navy to indicate that they are qualified in submarines. The Submarine Warfare Insignia is considered one of the Navy's three major warfare pins along with the Surface Warfare Badge and the Naval Aviator Badge. To earn the right to wear the pin, prospective submariners complete an extensive qualification process that lasts about one year (for both enlisted and officers, though the two programs differ significantly) and covers virtually all of the submarine's systems.'*
*from wikipedia.org
My dad was a submariner for 20+ years. Retired as a CPO (chief petty officer). Offer me a million dollars, offer me anything you can think of, all I want is my dad's dolphins. True, I'd rather have my dad for the rest of my life instead, but I know I can't have that. I want the dolphins.
My DH is a huge military buff. He also adores my dad. Visiting dad in Florida recently I knew what needed to be done. Dad wanted to give me the dolphins. I knew someone that would treasure them even more. I talked it over with Dad. Dad gave his dolphins to my DH. Not just one set of dolphins either, but every set he owned; including the set that went with his dress whites. Also a tie clip, his "anchors" AND his belt buckle that he wore with his service uniform on the boat (a submarine is not a ship, but a BOAT) he was serving on when I was born - the USS Barbel. And one other thing, a oil painting done by a hugely talented cousin of mine of another boat my dad served on - the USS Trumpetfish.
Here is Dad's gift to DH. We haven't found exactly the right shadowbox for them yet, but will soon. We pinned them all to this piece of cardboard for safekeeping. I blocked out my dad's name and service # for security.
We are losing our WWII veterans at the rate of approx. 900 per day. There's a reason they have been called "The Greatest Generation". If you happen to meet a WWII veteran (or any veteran) this weekend, be sure to shake their hand and say thank you.
Just wanted to share.
'The Submarine Warfare Insignia (usually known as "dolphins" or "fish") is a uniform breast pin worn by enlisted men and officers of the United States Navy to indicate that they are qualified in submarines. The Submarine Warfare Insignia is considered one of the Navy's three major warfare pins along with the Surface Warfare Badge and the Naval Aviator Badge. To earn the right to wear the pin, prospective submariners complete an extensive qualification process that lasts about one year (for both enlisted and officers, though the two programs differ significantly) and covers virtually all of the submarine's systems.'*
*from wikipedia.org
My dad was a submariner for 20+ years. Retired as a CPO (chief petty officer). Offer me a million dollars, offer me anything you can think of, all I want is my dad's dolphins. True, I'd rather have my dad for the rest of my life instead, but I know I can't have that. I want the dolphins.
My DH is a huge military buff. He also adores my dad. Visiting dad in Florida recently I knew what needed to be done. Dad wanted to give me the dolphins. I knew someone that would treasure them even more. I talked it over with Dad. Dad gave his dolphins to my DH. Not just one set of dolphins either, but every set he owned; including the set that went with his dress whites. Also a tie clip, his "anchors" AND his belt buckle that he wore with his service uniform on the boat (a submarine is not a ship, but a BOAT) he was serving on when I was born - the USS Barbel. And one other thing, a oil painting done by a hugely talented cousin of mine of another boat my dad served on - the USS Trumpetfish.
Here is Dad's gift to DH. We haven't found exactly the right shadowbox for them yet, but will soon. We pinned them all to this piece of cardboard for safekeeping. I blocked out my dad's name and service # for security.
We are losing our WWII veterans at the rate of approx. 900 per day. There's a reason they have been called "The Greatest Generation". If you happen to meet a WWII veteran (or any veteran) this weekend, be sure to shake their hand and say thank you.
Just wanted to share.
