There are three kinds of family vacations in the photo albums of my childhood:
- Me and my brother in front of a canon/tank/large weapon
- Me and my brother on/in front of a submarine
- Me and my brother wearing t-shirts purchased on a battleship while standing in a museum really close to a military base
Tanks for the memories...
My father was a military man. Navy, to be precise.
He lied about his age and got himself enlisted in time to fight in WWII. (There’s a small journal full of notes and “After” photos of Hiroshima in my mom’s closet to prove it. All sorts of totally depressing surprises in that closet. You’ve been warned.)
He was active in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
I was born the year after Vietnam ended. He went into the reserves, and missed being active in the military a lot. A LOT a lot.
Which meant that while all of my friends hit amusement parks, beach houses and Disney World during family vacations, we spent the 1980s & 90s touring every military base, military museum, retired battle ship, grounded submarine and memorial dedicated to those who served in the military within a seven hour drive radius of Massachusetts.
I dressed like this and hung around with old guys at military hot spots. Golly gee, why on EARTH wasn't I the gal with the full Dance Card??
Wheeeeeeeee!
Ahem.
These were the least cool vacations I could ever have imagined as a kid.
I ended up with an absurd knowledge of proper submarine protocol and a mental library of military weapons used in the past hundred or so years. Very useful for a 12 year old girl, dontcha think?
But who was I to complain?
Ever try to complain about preferences to a guy who strolled around post A-Bomb Japan, was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and lost part of his hearing when a grenade blew up his friend right next to him in Korea? No?? Yeah, well…you don’t get too far with the Wah Wah Wah with that guy.
As mind-bendingly boring as most of it was at the time, I did come out of my childhood with a reverence for the American flag and a deep respect for those who served in the military, particularly POWs. I can spot an old dude in a military hat from a mile away.
(I also was completely ruined for fireworks displays. No one – NO ONE – does a better job at fireworks then the crazy military guys did in the 80s. It’s all been ho-hum for me ever since.)
So today, on Memorial Day here in the USA, it is quite fitting that Husband and I took the kids into NYC to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which is based on and in a real WWII aircraft carrier, the Intrepid.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, via Wikipedia
I was secretly cranky to be there. I thought my military-themed vacation days were over. I may have even pouted a couple times on the way there.
But Husband kept saying This is so cool! That is SO COOL! at the Intrepid itself, the jets on the hangar, the instrument panels inside. And though all that is old news for me (Been There. Done That. Had like a Thousand of the T-Shirts), seeing him and the kids so excited to be on an aircraft carrier and get close to all the aircraft inside and jumping up and down together saying how awesome it all was, was…pretty cool.
To be able to remember what different parts of the aircraft carrier were, and know when it was in use off the top of my head impressed the kids and Husband. Pointing out little things here and there and explaining them, having answers to the kids’ questions without even thinking about it was…pretty cool.
I had many issues with my father (and really would have liked to have gone to Disney World as a kid) but at least all those trips to look at old ships and stand in front of enormous anchors next to my brother were finally useful.
Even if it took a couple decades to be so, the looks on the faces of my three favorite people on that aircraft carrier made it totally worth the wait.
It seems I owed my father a Thank You for giving me something positive I could share with my kids. A memorial to someone who gave a lot to his country, and left a legacy that managed to impress a couple little kids on a big ship two generations later.
Thank You to all of you who have served or are serving in the military.
I salute you for your dedication to your country, and hope some day your kids will remember all the stuff you taught them about submarines/aircraft carriers/fighter jets when they have kids of their own. Thank you.
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LOLOLOLOLOL!!! All I can say is that as the child of a lifer in the Air Force, *I feel your pain!!* My father went in near the end of Vietnam and was active in every conflict up to the first Gulf War, where he was SpecOps. I always liked those military-themed vacations, though
And man, are you right about those crazy men who did the fireworks. Nothing else will ever compare.
Best part? I still walk onto a base for air shows sometimes (the *coolest* shows ever, though I have to admit the last decade they’ve been a bit shoddy IMO), and it smells like home. I have this huge wave of nostalgia.
I think your weekend rocked totally and I hope someday I can take my kids to see something similar and they enjoy it nearly as much
My husband was always confused why I looked so bored at civilian fireworks displays. If he only knew….
I’m sorry, but that museum looks super cool. I would so take my kids there if I were going to be in New York. Can you actually tour the entire ship?
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Yep. You walk right up onto the aircraft carrier, stroll around inside up all the stairs. Check out the website for some details, but it got updated a few years ago. It’s nice, because even if it’s hot outside, inside it’s (mostly) cool. There are things to see in it and on top of it, there’s a submarine next to it that you can go into, a British Airways Concord sitting on the deck, and in I think July the Space Shuttle Enterprise will go there. You could spend a lot of time there, and it’s all really accessible. Definitely check it out.
How old were you in these photos?
you had some serious blonde hair like my 7-year-old.
great pictures.
Happy Memorial Day, Kim
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12yo with the tank, 10yo in my fancy two-tone jeans.
Almost 25 years later, I’m still only a little bit darker blonde than I was back then.
The BEST part of the pictures is my brother, who I cut out of both of them. In the tank one he’s totally pissed off to be there and it shows. In the other one he has his shirt unbuttoned like some 12yo polyester-wearing pimp. I may use this against him at some point (the kid I blanked out was a neighbor friend who I can’t understand why he was on that trip with us).
Happy Memorial Day, Lance!
My grandfather served in WWII, but he never ever talked about it. I mean never EVER. I married a historian, and I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving that the entire house went suddenly quiet because we realized Poppa was down at the other end of the table willingly talking to Scott about Omaha beach. I remember we just sat quietly and pretended not to listen, afraid he’d clam up if he thought he had an audience.
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My father wasn’t super chatty about it, but when it was time to talk about it, he would. He also dragged us to every reunion, and old war buddies talk. And we were always visiting military bases, so other old military guys would ask about stuff, and forget we were kids who shouldn’t be hearing about the stuff that happens on the front lines. Plus he was big into photography, so had lots of crazy photos around the house.
So we heard a lot.
My father always wore his cap with the identifying info of what branch he was in, so he’d get approached a lot by others of the same.
Plus he was old and partially deaf, so his volume wasn’t exactly low when he did talk about it.
Please tell me you still have those pants.
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Jealous much?
I wish I knew how to be secretly cranky
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I don’t think I was hiding it too well, but the heat and insanity of NYC on Memorial weekend was distracting enough for Husband not to take much notice.
Yes, that means it takes a mass of NYC crazies to mask my moods. They are typically THAT obvious.
Really great post – heartfelt and made me laugh, my favorite combination! Cheers to your Dad, and all he served with who did not make it home.
Thanks, Paula.
This is a lovely tribute, and also made me feel better about all the camping vacations my wanna-be horticulturalist father made us go on when I was a kid.
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I bet you’d do well in the Hunger Games, not eating a single plant you weren’t supposed to. See? A perk!
I’m thinking your parents were never worried about you doing unsavory things with boys back in those days.
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Are you implying I wasn’t very alluring in my boobless Navy t-shirt-wearing high 2-tone jeans and bad haircut? NOW who’s being judgmental?
Ditto fireworks. My Coast Guard dad took me both backstage at a Macy’s 4th of July parade and front row from Governors Island for the Statue of Liberty centennial (I think, it may have been another celebration but it was HUGE). I’m glad you have something good to hold regarding your dad.
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I have been wondering what good came out of my life with him, and this was definitely a nice surprise. No matter what I went through, it would be good to have something good to pass down from him, other than the ability to wiggle my eyes and a slight dimple in my right cheek.
My unit thinks that I’ve made my 6 y/o learn d and c, but she really pays attention to everything! I’m hoping she mostly pays attention to that stuff and not some of the stuff that escapes my friends mouths!
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Kids pick up a lot more than we think they do. Like all our most embarrassing mannerisms.
I’m glad you finally got some use out of that expertise! I have to admit, I have never been to the Intrepid during the decade I’ve lived here, nor do I really expect to unless someone drags me. My own father grew up in a country where military service was compulsory after college and left it with no particular affection for the experience.
I found the best part of the Intrepid was seeing the kids (young & old alike) get all excited about it. Some people have never seen a jet up close or put their hands on such an old ship. Big eyes, big smiles.
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