Tears ran down their faces as their eyes searched through the line of men and women coming down the stairs.
Looking for their special someone.
Their person.
And when the USS Abraham Lincoln sailors found their loved ones, they approached each other with arms wide open, each engulfing the other, holding them for the first time in over five months.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier homeported at Naval Air Station North Island, returned on Dec. 20 after a five month deployment that included combat operations in the Middle East.
The carrier had made contact with the Houthi’s in Yemen and conducted missions against the Iranian-backed political and military organization.
“They were attacked by ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones,” said Rear Adm. Adan G. Cruz, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3.
A carrier strike group is a battle group of ships and aircrafts that often travel together to their designated area of operation, in this case, the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. has 11 carrier strike groups, 10 based in the U.S. and one based in Japan.
“This crew was trained, it was prepared and it delivered on every challenge that it encountered,” USS Abraham Lincoln’s Commanding Officer Capt. Pete Riebe said. “The men and women … should stand tall as they walk off the ship today.”
Home to their families
The carrier holds around 5,000 sailors, officers and Marines, and they were welcomed back to just as many family members and friends, if not more.
“We are just excited, we’ve been waiting,” Anna White said, a mother to four children, the youngest sitting on her hip. Her husband is Chaddler White, petty officer 2nd Class. “When we got the call that they were (coming back), I was like, okay, Merry Christmas!”
Two mothers stood behind White, one held a baby born only six weeks ago, and the other, Alitzel Uresti, pushed a stroller with a baby born four months ago, only a few weeks after his father had left on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Neither of the fathers had met their children yet.
Uresti had a slightly different story. She is also in the Navy and her and husband, Luke Uresti, originally had plans to move together but “Life said, ‘alright, you’re pregnant,’” she said with a small smile.
Uresti buried her face in her husband’s chest as he held her, embracing for a few moments before he bent down and took a peek in the stroller.
“Wake up,” Luke said gently as he picked up his son, meeting him for the first time. He cradled him against his chest and they walked out through the gates, baby in his arms and Uresti by his side, her hand intertwined in the crook of his elbow.
All around them, kids raced to their mothers, fathers picked up their daughters and partners greeted each other with eager hugs and kisses.
On the other side of the carrier, White waited patiently for her husband to come down the stairs.
Finally, they saw him descend.
Her three older children ran to him and White walked over with a big smile on her face. Her husband Chaddler’s face grew wide as he saw his youngest daughter in his wife’s arms and how big she had gotten from the last time he saw her.
White kissed him, their baby held in between them by Chaddler.
“I feel good,” Chaddler said. “I was ready to come home.”
