Carrier, Escort Tie Up at New Home San Diego

Richard Brown came home to a new daughter. David Turrieta came home to a new grandson. The USS Independence and the USS Lake Champlain came home to a new port.

And the city of San Diego welcomed them all.

Thousands of wives, husbands, children, grandchildren, fathers and mothers--and the obligatory politicians--crowded Saturday afternoon onto the North Island Naval Air Station pier to welcome home 5,500 sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier Independence and the new Aegis-system guided missile cruiser Lake Champlain.

Joined Pacific Fleet

The two ships, which will be homeported in San Diego, joined the Pacific Fleet here. For both, it marked a new beginning.

“The Independence is happy to be here in San Diego,” said Capt. William R. Needham, commanding officer of the Independence. “We’ll be here for a long time.”

The Independence just underwent a three-year, $700-million refitting program in the Navy shipyards in Philadelphia. The carrier replaces the Kitty Hawk, which in January churned out of its San Diego base for Philadelphia.

The Independence also becomes the third Navy carrier homeported in San Diego, and the seventh based in the Pacific Fleet. It is considered a mobile air base, able to change its position by hundreds of miles in one day and capable of being used interchangeably against submarines and their bases, and aircraft and their airfields.

The carrier, in fact, is so large that it equals a 25-story building in height and is more than 1,000 feet long. It includes such amenities as a 380,000-gallon fresh water plant, 2,300 telephones on board and a kitchen that can serve 15,000 meals a day.

The 29-year-old ship, with its new service life of 15 years, left Philadelphia in August, went around Cape Horn and joined the Lake Champlain in Acapulco, Mexico.

The Lake Champlain, which was commissioned in August, is similar to the Vincennes, which this summer shot down an Iranian passenger jet believed to be a military plane flying over the Persion Gulf.

As both ships slipped slowly into San Diego Bay and toward the North Island pier, shouts and waves wafted through the crowd as relatives and friends strained to pick their loved ones out from among the lines of sailors dressed in white and standing along the decks.

Balloons and pennants waved aboved the crowd. Homemade signs messaged greetings to long-missed sailors with names such as Brannaman, Carlson, Madigan and Overman. Some signs were catchy, such as, “West Is Best” and “Welcome Home Honey Buns.” Others were simple, such as, “Mitch, I’m Here.”

One wife worried that her sea-weary husband wouldn’t recognize their son with his new Mohawk haircut.

Another woman squinted at the line of sailors standing in the middle of the ship and said confidently, “That’s David. I know that’s David. I know his face.” Then she turned away in frustration as the Independence drew closer. “That wasn’t David,” she said.

But then there was a burst of fireworks in the air, a plank set in place, and the sailors heaved their bags and marched off the ship and into a crowd of cries and smiles and hugs and tears.

On a small stage nearby, a small group of local politicians greeted a few of the Navy brass.

“I’m here today to welcome you to the area,” said Mayor George Waters of National City. “My office is always open. If you want to come see me, just call up a little ahead of time and I’ll see you.”

Many of the short speeches went unheard, however, as the thousands in the crowd pushed forward and families were reunited for the first time in months.

Gail Brown of Waco, Texas, stood off to the side, next to the baby stroller and her infant daughter, Karmin. The baby was born just after her father, Richard Brown, set to sea in August.

“It was a very hard experience,” said the mother, describing the difficulties of having the baby--their first--alone without her father. “It was frustrating and lonely and depressing.”

But those emotions quickly dissolved as Richard came in sight walking off the Independence and the new young family of three was reunited.

Nearby, David Turrieta was hugged by his wife for what seemed an eternity, only to come up for air and be presented with a new baby grandson, also born after he shipped out on the Independence.

“This is my grandson,” Turrieta said, somewhat stunned. “This is my grandson, Mendez Michael.”

Turrieta is only 30. His wife, Rose, is 40. Her daughter, Rosemary, who is the baby’s mother, is 20. “This is difficult for me,” said the 30-year-old old sailor. “I’ve never been a grandfather before.”