A Nation United--At Home and Overseas

"The waters that divide us, unite us," said Rear Adm. William Thompson, USN (Ret.).

He was referring to an e-mail that he, and others, had received from a U.S. Navy ensign (name withheld) stationed on the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill. The recently commissioned ship had been on an extended series of goodwill visits to various ports in the United Kingdom. Captain, wardroom, and crew all received a "royal" welcome at every stop.

The visits and training with the Royal Navy were abruptly cancelled and the "Sir Winston," as she is sometimes called, was ordered back to sea--as were many other U.S. Navy ships throughout the world--when the news of the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center complex was received. No one seemed to know "what the next priority [would be]," the ensign's e-mail said. "We have spent every day since the attacks going back and forth within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing high-security watches, and trying to make the best of our time."

President Bush and other U.S. leaders have emphasized many times that the citizens of more than 80 nations were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center alone, and have described the attacks as "a war against the entire world." U.S. citizens who were overseas on 11 September--in London, Moscow, Tokyo, Tunis, and other major cities--reported the wave of friendship and heartfelt expressions of sympathy they received from people they did not know, had never before met, and probably would never see again. In the United States, strangers greeted one another on the street, next-door neighbors took the time to visit others on the same block, and co-workers and college students shared their deepest concerns with one another. Polls showed the citizens of the United States to be united more than ever before in the nation's history--more so than after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The men and women serving on the Winston S. Churchill knew nothing of this, of course. But they did know that they were not standing alone. That the United States had not only allies, but something more priceless--friends, true friends, who could be counted on in bad times as well as good.

"Being isolated as we are," the ensign said, "I don't think we appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling the effects." One of those "effects" was felt in a most dramatic way, the ensign continued: "About two hours ago the junior officers were called to the bridge to conduct shiphandling drills. We were about to do a 'man overboard' when we got a call from the [German destroyer] Luetjens ...[which] was moored ahead of us on the pier in Plymouth [England]. While in port, the ... [two ships] got together for a sports day/cookout on our fantail, and we made some pretty good friends.

"Now at sea, they called over on bridge-to-bridge, requesting to pass us close up on our port side, to say goodbye. We prepared to render them honors ... and the captain told the crew to come topside to wish them farewell. As they were making their approach ... [we saw] that they were flying an American flag ... at half-mast. ... [We also] saw that the entire crew of the German ship was manning the rails, in their dress blues. They had made up a sign ... that read 'We Stand By You.' ...

"It was probably the most powerful thing I have seen in my entire life." JDH