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Chillicothe, Ill. —
One of the things I love the most about Chillicothe is the "wearing our patriotism on our sleeves."
Maybe it's just because their are many veterans from both wartime and peace. Or maybe it's just we're a typical, Midwestern small town.
When I received an e-mail less than a month ago from Lt. Commander Dave Hecht, a public affairs officer, about interviewing 2008 IVCHS grad Cory Bausman aboard the USS George Washington, I was excited.
After covering Chillicothe for more than a decade, I've never talked to anyone while they are cruising the Pacific Ocean. The offer had never been extended to me.
Hecht told me later his goal is to get a little publicity for all the seamen aboard the aircraft carrier. I was more than happy to do my part.
Both my grandfathers served our country during World War II. My maternal grandfather was in the Army and was on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Grandpa Gillespie, like Bausman and Hecht, was in the Pacific Ocean, only he was on a Landing Ship Tank (LST).
So when I talked to both Bausman and Hecht a few weeks ago, I wondered what the phone reception would be like. There was a slight pause between each side speaking, and occasionally I couldn't make out what they were saying. (Hopefully all is OK!) I was finishing my day around 5 p.m., and the crew of the USS George Washington were beginning theirs about 7 a.m.
Had we have been talking a little later in the day, Hecht said I would have heard the fighter jets taking off.
I told him I heard an aircraft carrier is like a "floating city," and asked if that was true.
Hecht said he likes to compare the USS George Washington to a hotel.
The manager, hotel staff, maids, and pool serviceman keep the hotel operating, just like the people on the ship.
Others there include public affairs, an on-board TV station which produces a daily newscast, weekly newspaper, onboard medical department, legal department for marriages, divorces or other services for the crew, workers on the flight deck who help launch the aircraft, avianics and technicians, an intelligence department watching the radar of the area and an administrative department handling medals, promotions and more.
The “guests,” Hecht said, is the airwing that flies aboard. They stay aboard for five to six months for their mission, and then they leave.
One of the things I love the most about Chillicothe is the "wearing our patriotism on our sleeves."
Maybe it's just because their are many veterans from both wartime and peace. Or maybe it's just we're a typical, Midwestern small town.
When I received an e-mail less than a month ago from Lt. Commander Dave Hecht, a public affairs officer, about interviewing 2008 IVCHS grad Cory Bausman aboard the USS George Washington, I was excited.
After covering Chillicothe for more than a decade, I've never talked to anyone while they are cruising the Pacific Ocean. The offer had never been extended to me.
Hecht told me later his goal is to get a little publicity for all the seamen aboard the aircraft carrier. I was more than happy to do my part.
Both my grandfathers served our country during World War II. My maternal grandfather was in the Army and was on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Grandpa Gillespie, like Bausman and Hecht, was in the Pacific Ocean, only he was on a Landing Ship Tank (LST).
So when I talked to both Bausman and Hecht a few weeks ago, I wondered what the phone reception would be like. There was a slight pause between each side speaking, and occasionally I couldn't make out what they were saying. (Hopefully all is OK!) I was finishing my day around 5 p.m., and the crew of the USS George Washington were beginning theirs about 7 a.m.
Had we have been talking a little later in the day, Hecht said I would have heard the fighter jets taking off.
I told him I heard an aircraft carrier is like a "floating city," and asked if that was true.
Hecht said he likes to compare the USS George Washington to a hotel.
The manager, hotel staff, maids, and pool serviceman keep the hotel operating, just like the people on the ship.
Others there include public affairs, an on-board TV station which produces a daily newscast, weekly newspaper, onboard medical department, legal department for marriages, divorces or other services for the crew, workers on the flight deck who help launch the aircraft, avianics and technicians, an intelligence department watching the radar of the area and an administrative department handling medals, promotions and more.
The “guests,” Hecht said, is the airwing that flies aboard. They stay aboard for five to six months for their mission, and then they leave.
“We run the hotel and they are our guests,” said Hecht.
While the movie Top Gun may make people think that fighter pilots abound on the ship, they only make up less than 1 percent of the ship’s inhabitants, Hecht said.
Interesting, huh?
Bausman likens the ship on the ocean in rocky water to rocking a baby to sleep, and says Chillicotheans probably do not realize “how much dry land is important to people.”
I'm sure we don't since we're on it, and he's cruising the Pacific Ocean.
Hecht told me to be sure and send him a link for the crew to see Bausman's story. I hope I did him justice, and this is my shout out to the crew of the USS George Washington:
Thanks for your service to our country. I'll be thinking of you all, as you do your jobs around the aircraft carrier, on Veterans Day.
Chilli Soup is a hearty blog about all things Chillicothe, written by Marianne Gillespie, editor of the Chillicothe Times-Bulletin, who enjoys chili from Steak N Shake.
