On Saturday Tyler and I had the awesome opportunity and privilege to attend the Seabee Ball in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Seabees (the Navy's construction battalion), the 150th anniversary of the Civil Engineer Corps, and the 175th anniversary of NAVFAC (Naval Facilities Engineering Commands). It was a widely attended and special event because of the significance of all the anniversaries involved. The ball was held at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
The evening started off with a social hour and moved onto the presentation of the colors and the National Anthem which was sung by an enlisted Seabee named Desreal Shorts. During the social hour we got to go through the Air Force One Boeing 707 that was used during the president of Ronald Reagan in the Library. Yes, the actual plane was in the room where the ball was held. It was so cool. I won't say much more about the plane since the pictures below will speak for themselves. Next, there was an invocation followed by a POW\MIA ceremony. The ceremony was really moving, it was all about remembering the men and women of the and forces who we still have not found. There was a special table set up that was empty but set as if someone should be seated there.
The ceremony went something like this: (Courtesy of the Navy blog)
The POW/MIA table is smaller than the others, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his or her oppressors. This table is separate from the others and can be set for one to four place settings to represent each service participating in the event.
The white tablecloth draped over the table represents the purity of their response to our country’s call to arms.
The empty chair depicts an unknown face, representing no specific Sailor, but all who are not here with us.
The table itself is round to show that our concern for them is never ending.
The Bible represents faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God.
The black napkin stands for the emptiness these warriors have left in the hearts of their families and friends.
The single red rose reminds us of their families and loved ones. The red ribbon represents the love of our country, which inspired them to answer the nation’s call.
The yellow candle and its yellow ribbon symbolize the everlasting hope for a joyous reunion with those yet accounted for.
The slices of lemon on the bread plate remind us of their bitter fate.
The salt upon the bread plate represent the tears of their families. The wine glass, turned upside down, reminds us that our distinguished comrades cannot be with us to drink a toast or join in the festivities of the evening.
The ceremony was followed by a moment of silence. It was a good reminder that there are service men and women that are unaccounted for still and that their families struggle because of their loss and not knowing their fate.
After the ceremony there were some individual awards followed by a speech given by the guest of honor, Major General O'Donohue who is the commanding general of the 1st Marine Division in the Marine Corps. He gave an awesome speech about the importance of the Seabees and how instrumental they have been since their formation. The Seabees go in after the Marines have secured an area and build bridges, hospital, airports, roads and also help defend the area. The motto of the Seabees is "With compassion for others, we build, we fight, for peace with freedom". Their signature slogan is "Can do!" meaning they will always be there to do what is needed. They help with everything from war efforts to rebuilding war torn communities to helping rebuild after natural disasters. They are a pretty amazing group of people.
After the speech we had dinner, which was an awesome the course meal. There were a couple of funny things that happened throughout the night. The master of ceremonies would command the crowd "on your feet!", give a toast and then command "hydrate!". Another, Major General O'Donohue command us all to give others around us a "man hug" which was demonstrated cheesily by a couple officers up front as being anything from a one arm handshake hug to a full on mushy hug. Also, as a term of agreement, people in the crowd would help "Hoorah!" at the top of their lungs. I don't think I've ever heard, or said, "hoorah" so many times in such a short time. It certainly lightened the mood ;)
After dinner there was the cutting of the cake by the youngest and the oldest Seabee present. The youngest was born in 1998 and the oldest in 1926, the oldest was probably an original Seabee. They cut the cake (which was the biggest sheet cake I have ever seen in my life- probably 4ft by 2ft, but I'm terrible at estimating) with the blade of a saber- yes, a sword- because the Seabees are just that cool. After everyone finished their desert the floor was opened up for dancing and socializing. We didn't stay much longer since we had already been away from our kids for about seven hours and had about an hour to drive to get home to relieve our babysitter. It's not like we knew how to dance to all the hip music anyway, lol ;)
Pictures! I apologize for the poor quality, they're all cellphone pictures since I didn't want to bring my big Nikon in. Some are from Facebook too ;) the very last picture is the youngest and oldest Seabee who cut the cake.
