USS Ford returns to Everett
Published 12:21 am Monday, September 29, 2008
EVERETT — The USS Ford was given a special escort into port, not by any tugboats or fishing trawlers, but by a lone Vietnam-era Navy river patrol boat and the spirit of its namesake — Patrick Ford.
The USS Ford bears the name of the young Navy machine gunner who earned the Navy Cross posthumously for bravery while serving in Vietnam on a river patrol boat on the My Tho River.
As the patrol boat approached the USS Ford, the crew stood on formation on deck honoring the veterans and remembering the proud history of their ship’s namesake.
“This is PBR 336, here to escort you home with the spirit of PBR 750,” said Heinz Hickethier. “Bravo zulu.”
From one Navy crew to another, it was a welcome home with a “well done.”
As the USS Ford came into port, the Navy Northwest Regional Band struck up “Anchors Away” while wives, sweethearts and family jostled for the traditional guessing game that takes place as people try to make out their loved one standing on deck.
“Oh, is that him?” said Karen Boyer of Spokane. Her son Brian Boyer serves aboard the USS Ford as a combat electronics officer.
“No, that’s not him,” Karen Boyer said and resumed her vigil. Her husband Dave Boyer is a sailing enthusiast and was able to come back aboard the USS Ford as a “tiger,” a civilian family member who is able to sail on Navy ship during the last leg of its journey back to home port, experiencing a taste of Navy life.
“My husband loves sailing, so for him being able to sail home on the Ford was a dream,” Karen Boyer said.
The USS Ford was part of a large training exercise involving the navies of Singapore, Thailand, Republic of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Ship-to-ship searches were conducted as well as exercises to practice combating piracy and trafficking and other forms of terrorism on the sea lanes of Southeast Asia.
As sailors disembarked with roses in hand, Brian Boyer finally made his way across to his mother, etching a statement that would be said a hundred times that morning.
“It’s so good to be home,” Brian Boyer said. “I’m so glad to be home.”
Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
