“As you celebrate the Fourth of July, please keep in mind that many of our Sailors are deployed and can’t be with their loved ones, but they do so in order that our fellow Americans can spend it with theirs. Currently, we have more than half of our ships and submarines underway, including five carriers and six large-deck amphibious ships, and more than 10,000 individual augmentees deployed ‘boots on ground’ around the world in support of overseas contingency operations.” from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(SS/SW) Rick D. West Independence Day message

Missed many holidays?

Holidays, they are the high points of the year, where everyone celebrates. The Fourth of July is the largest national holiday of the year in the US. Many people plan for months for the perfect evening out.

Neighbors and even friends of a Navy family may miss the fact a loved one won’t be celebrating. Those sailors most likely aren’t just docked in Norfolk or San Diego. Carriers, slow boats, and more are deployed around the world, holiday or not.

Missing the big ones

Deployed for Easter might seem a small loss to some in the Navy, but to many Easter is a sacred day.  I was fortunate when not home for Easter weekend to have captains that encouraged Easter Sunday services.  Our spouses did a video of an Easter party during one deployment. It was a big hit.

Deploying never caused me to miss Christmas. Having duty did infringe a bit though. Not sure how I got lucky over the several years on two boats.

Finally, Fourth of July celebrations were occasionally missed. I never put much value on celebrating until I didn’t celebrate it at all. We did nothing special on either boat.

What did you miss?

So which holidays did you miss? How about beyond that? Miss a bunch of birthdays? Anniversaries perhaps?

(disclaimer – photo by bestrated1 on Flickr licensed as CC)