EVERETT – The Lincoln finally is home.
With uniformed sailors lined up at the edge of the aircraft carrier the first to see their families , the USS Abraham Lincoln returned to Naval Station Everett today, about an hour late.
Thousands of family members anxiously awaited the return of the 4,000 crew members on the Lincoln. Some visitors were clapping, others yelling, some holding signs and others crying.
The first sailors off the ship rushed to hold their loved ones, who were jumping up and down with excitement.
The Lincoln has been gone on a five-month deployment, including the final few months in Southeast Asia helping victims of the deadly tsunami there.
Meanwhile, with military precision and accuracy, the USS Shoup guided missile destroyer docked at the base right on time this morning at 8:30.
Hundreds of family members were on hand to greet the ship’s crew of 320.
No one was happier to see the Shoup return than Katie Loy. When he saw her, crew member Robert Zimmerman, with a little help from his friends, displayed four placards that read: “Will You Marry Me?” When Loy saw that, she started crying and someone next to her gave her a sign. On the back, Loy wrote, “Yes” as crew members cheered.
Loy said she was surprised but looking back at it she thought all her relatives were acting suspicious.
“I’m excited and nervous and everything all at once, I guess,” Loy said.
As more and more people arrived waiting for the Lincoln, the party was getting under way. Children were spruced up and dressed in their Sunday best on this Friday. Country music was playing. There were flags and flowers, food booths and even Santa and Mrs. Claus. Cell phones were held at many an ear, on and off the dock. One woman showed off her lingerie under her overcoat.
The base is closed to the public, but people were gathering at parks on bluffs overlooking the bay and at the Everett Library to watch the carrier return.
The public celebration welcoming the Lincoln home wont take place until next week. The Humanity’s Heroes community celebration March 12 will serve to welcome them.
At 10:30 a.m. that day, about 400 sailors and their families will march from Everett High School to the Snohomish County Campus Plaza at 3000 Rockefeller Ave.
The celebration at the plaza will begin about 11 a.m., where organizers will hand out 5,000 red, white and blue pompoms. Cultural entertainment, speeches and informational booths on tsunami aid will be offered.
Participants are encouraged to bring cut flowers to place in a tribute garden honoring disaster victims. City Floral and Cheri’s Floral donated more than 1,000 roses and carnations to hand out.
The first homecoming event will be an educational one – a tsunami summit at 7 p.m. March 10 at the Everett Historic Theater, 2911 Colby Ave. Two international experts on tsunamis and earthquakes will speak. The event is free but seating is limited to 800 people. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The Lincoln was the sea-based center of the humanitarian relief effort that was launched after the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster in South Asia. Seahawk helicopters from the Lincoln and its strike group flew 1,747 missions as part of the relief effort, and delivered more than 5.7 million pounds of supplies – including 16,308 gallons of water – to villages devastated by the tsunami.
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