Back from different kind of war

NAVAL STATION EVERETT — Six seconds.

Three months at sea was wiped away in six seconds.

Lori Raihl saw her sailor and started to sprint, leaving the chill of an hour’s wait on Naval Station Everett’s Pier B behind her. It was replaced with the warm embrace of her husband, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Greg Raihl.

And then, the kiss.

Raihl had barely taken two steps off the USS Shoup when his wife wrapped him up, closed her eyes and gave him the game winner. The couple won the "first kiss" raffle contest for the warship’s homecoming, resulting in a six-second smooch that was a two-person prize.

"I think all the wives deserve to have a first kiss. But I’ll take it for them," Lori Raihl said with a laugh.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The Shoup returned to Everett on Thursday from a 94-day deployment to fight drug runners along the coast of Mexico and Central and South America. The deployment was the first for the Shoup, a guided-missile destroyer with a crew of roughly 380.

A crowd of more than 200 was on hand for the homecoming.

Joy Thomas was one of the early arrivals.

With her two daughters in tow, Madie, 7, and Lily, 8 months, she scanned Port Gardner searching for the Shoup, which was almost hidden in the dull gray mist of morning.

When she sighted the ship, Thomas pulled out a bright red cell phone and called her husband, Lt. j.g. Brian Thomas, to ask where he was standing on deck.

Thomas has been in the Navy 12 years, and the couple have been married for nine. The deployment has been the longest time they’ve been apart, but Joy Thomas said she made it through with the help of good neighbors and friends. E-mail kept the couple in almost daily contact.

"E-mail has been fantastic. It’s almost like getting a card every day. And you know how guys write nice things in cards?" she asked.

"Saturday mornings are the hardest," Joy Thomas added. "There’s time to think when you wake up alone, unlike getting-kids-ready weekdays and church-filled Sundays. "It’s nice to have your best friend home again."

She had another 30 minutes to wait, though, before the billion-dollar warship pulled next to the pier. She bounced baby Lily in her arms as her ship and her sailor inched closer and the Lakewood High School Band played "Anchors Aweigh" for the second time.

"I’m excited for him to see her. She wasn’t even sitting up when he left," Joy Thomas said of Lily.

Madie soon spotted her father. She bounced up and down like she was on an invisible pogo stick saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

When Thomas stepped off the gangplank, his daughter ran through the crowd. She jumped almost 2 feet into the air, and her dad caught her in a full hug.

Thomas kissed his wife, then stared, smiling, at his baby daughter for many long moments.

"The kids have grown," he said after the reunion, pausing again to look at his youngest child. "This one sort of walks now. Look at how much she’s changed."

Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Everett postal workers gather for a portrait to advertise the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County letter carriers prepare for food drive this Saturday

The largest single-day food drive in the country comes at an uncertain time for federal food bank funding.

Everett
Everett considers ordinance to require more apprentice labor

It would require apprentices to work 15% of the total labor hours for construction or renovation on most city projects over $1 million.

Snohomish County prosecutor Kara Van Slyck delivers closing statement during the trial of Christian Sayre at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Thursday, May 8, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Jury deliberations begin in the fourth trial of former Everett bar owner

Jury members deliberated for about 2 hours before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Millie Judge sent them home until Monday.

Christian Sayre sits in the courtroom before the start of jury selection on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Christian Sayre timeline

FEBRUARY 2020 A woman reports a sexual assault by Sayre. Her sexual… Continue reading

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

A “SAVE WETLANDS” poster is visible under an seat during a public hearing about Critical Area Regulations Update on ordinance 24-097 on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Council passes controversial critical habitat ordinance

People testified for nearly two hours, with most speaking in opposition to the new Critical Areas Regulation.

An apartment building under construction in Olympia, Washington in January 2025. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Next stop for Washington housing: More construction near transit

Noticed apartment buildings cropping up next to bus and light rail stations?… Continue reading

Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero / Washington State Standard
Lt Gov. Denny Heck presiding over the Senate floor on April 27.
Washington tries to maintain B.C. ties amid Trump era tensions

Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and others traveled to Victoria to set up an interparliamentary exchange with British Columbia, and make clear they’re not aligned with the president’s policies or rhetoric.

Marysville
Marysville talks middle housing at open house

City planning staff say they want a ‘soft landing’ to limit the impacts of new state housing laws. But they don’t expect their approach to slow development.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.