Click on any photo for a larger view
Above and below: Andrew and Anaphone
Above and below: Andrew James De La O
Above: Andrew and Julian Duran
Above: A view from the front porch
Above: A view from the street
Above and below: The USCGC Midgett returning to Seattle, Washington from Japan
Update on Andrew's Service:
Much of Andrew's time in the Coast Guard was served aboard the USCGC Mellon, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter, stationed in Seattle, Washington. Last year when Andrew heard that the USCGC Midgett, a similar ship, was being assigned to Iraq and the Persian Gulf he requested a transfer and volunteered to go with the Midgett during it's Middle East tour of duty. Andrew was involved in several large drug busts involving heroin and cocaine. The rescue of Ecuadorean immigrants, whose ship was sinking, and several military training missions overseas. He was personally responsible for saving three lives.Some of the other places Andrew has been to are; both the North and South Pacific, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Japan, the South China Sea, Straits of Gibraltar, the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, Suez Canal, Straits of Homuez, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal. On his tour last year he literally circled the globe.
The countries include:; (the numers in parenthesis are the number of times visited)
Alaska- 12 Dutch Harbor 7, Kodiak 5
Japan- 3 times, Tokyo, Okinawa and Sasebo
Singapore- 2 times
Thailand- 1
Brunei- 1
Malaysia- 2
Philippines- 1
Guam- 1
Hawaii- 2
Ecuador- 8
Panama- 2, including the canal crossing
Guatemala- 1
Costa Rica- 2
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico- 1
Kamchatka, Russia- 1
Goa, India- 1
Seychelles Islands- 1
United Arab Emirates (U.A.E)- 2
Djibouti (formerly French Somalia)- 1
Salalah, Oman- 1
Jordan- 1
Crete, Greece- 1
Italy- 1 Gaeta, Rome
Rota, Spain- 1
Aruba- 1
Needless to say, but I will anyways, Jeri and I are proud of our son. We are proud that our son felt a need to serve his country. When I look at my son, his friend Julian Duran, and all the men and women that serve in every branch of the service all across the world, I know that all the criticism about the younger generation not pulling their weight or not being responsible, or having no love or respect for their country is completely false. They have proven themselves.
2 comments:
Hi Randy...I agree about the selflessness of these fine people. Recently, I was listening to Coast to Coast with George Noory on the radio and he went off on one of his pathetic politcal rants and ended it with a dour, "I'm just so tired with this war." Well, a women called in and asked, "You're tired? Sitting at your desk, behind your microphone, pitching gold and newsletters? YOU'RE TIRED? You have no right to be tired when my son and 10's of 1000's of our fine young people have volunteered to go off and fight this war that you're so tired of so that you can sit behind your microphone and do your show in English!. You have no right to be tired!"
No way to top that....
Hi Ridge, Noory is a pale imitation of Art Bell, which is why I don't listen to him. It's unbelievable how someone can spout off like that, never once thinking about the men and women that have fought and died to protect his right to do so. Thanks for sharing that!
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