"Bringing Our Pioneer Spirit of Yesterday Forward Into Tomorrow"
CARR Families and Friends,
This week we were extremely busy, actively executing our C-TOC mission. As those who follow us on Facebook know, we also got some good press this week for our Sailors (check out our Facebook page to see the articles). This weekly update will also be the first in a series containing some history about the Panama Canal.
Day 73 – Sunday, August 12th (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
Fair winds and following seas to BM3 Raul Herrera and HT2 Tony Oliveri who departed CARR following successful completion of their tours in CARR. We also bid farewell to EN1 Jason Woller who had cross decked to us from ANZIO (CG 68); his temporary assignment to us was a great help to Auxiliary Division. (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
Curaçao provided a great opportunity for our crew to get some well deserved rest and relaxation. I am happy to report that our crew performed well during the visit and were great ambassadors for our nation. We are now back at sea to resume our C-TOC mission. We are now completed the first third of deployment.
Day 59 – Sunday, July 29th
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Thanks to our Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) for hosting this week’s steel beach picnic. (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
As we prepare for our upcoming port visit, I am meeting with all pay grades to discuss the importance of our conduct ashore – including the responsible use of alcohol and watching out for our shipmates. The latest Navy buzz phrase is, “liberty as a mission.” Although the phrase is new, the concept isn’t. As representatives of our great country, we need to ensure that our behavior reflects favorably on (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
One last reminder, the next FRG Meeting will be held tomorrow, July 23rd from 6-8PM at First Baptist Norfolk (312 Kempsville Road, Norfolk, VA). Child care will be provided at no cost. Please RSVP ASAP to the FRG if you plan to attend and include the number of children requiring childcare.
Day 45 – Sunday, July 15th (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
CARR Families and Friends,
Today we have reached the 20% mark for deployment and now that we have been gone for over a month, married personnel will commence receiving their Family Separation Allowance (FSA). FSA is $250 per month and is paid to compensate families for added expenses incurred because of a forced family separation.
A belated congratulation to SN James Cameron and his wife Jill Ann upon the birth of their baby Harper who was born on 19 June (6lbs 7oz). Mother and baby are both doing well. (more…)
CARR Families and Friends,
This week we didn’t see much action while at sea (weather may have effected the narcotics flow) and we conducted our first port visit.
Day 24 – Sunday, June 24th
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Today was Captain’s Cup event 3 – darts on the flight deck. Two Sailors from each division competed as a team in a modified Cricket tournament. Players alternated throwing three darts per turn in an attempt to hit either the number 20, 19, 18 or 17; the first team to hit three of each number won and advanced to the next bracket. (more…)
When Juanita Rush was pregnant with David Stephen, her firstborn, she came home to Checotah to be with family. Her husband, David Marrs Rush, was TDY (military-speak for Temporary Duty) or out to sea, or she just wanted to be with her mama. You have to remember, she was 18 years old when David was born!
At that time, Peggy Carr Dodd and her daughter, Nancy Lynn Dodd, now Milam, were staying with Mama Carr while Peggy’s husband, Harry Dodd, was serving in the Korean Conflict aboard the USS ESSEX (CV-9), an aircraft carrier (David Marrs Rush also served onboard the ESSEX, albeit as an Airedale, after Harry Dodd had rotated off). Harry Dodd had been recalled to active duty approximately September, 1950, after serving a few years immediately after the end of World War II.
David Stephen Rush was born April 13, 1952, so Juanita would have been in Oklahoma late March, early April when those lovely Oklahoma thunderstorms come sweeping down the plains, as it were. Nancy Dodd would have been about four years old, and was a quite lovely four year old, full of spunk, and faith, and compassion, and so forth. Apparently, Nancy had been told by her mother, Peggy, she did not have to be afraid of thunder because it was just God rearranging his furniture up in heaven. To those of us who remember wooden floors, rearranging furniture by sliding it on wooden floors could be a noisy experience. A thunderstorm brewed up one day and soon turned into a loud affair. The storm continued to build and the thunderclaps continued. After one particularly loud clap, Nancy stuck her head out the back door and hollered up to heaven, “Not so hard, God!”
Those of us who know and love Nancy recognize the complete faith that God heard her, and the complete assurance of a four-year-old girl that God would obey her!
Juanita remembers quite vividly the picture of little Nancy Dodd, with her long red-haired pig tails, leaning out the back door and looking up at the sky. She also remembers that Nancy would come and pat her on her belly, quite swollen at that time, and telling her that she did not have to be afraid when the baby came.
When Juanita Carr, now Rush, was a little girl her grandmother Nancy Austin, came to live with her and her family. Apparently, prior to that, Nancy Austin would, like they did in the old days before Social Security and nursing homes, spend a few months with each of her children. As she aged, dementia started manifesting itself. As she advanced in her dementia, there were one or two episodes that made Mama Carr fear for her safety, and so Grandma Austin was brought to stay with Mama Carr and her brood. (more…)