I know this is dated…but I just recieved it. I have no cite. But it’s well worth a read.
This is from the US Navy News Special (newspaper).
German Destroyer Renders More Than Honors
Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2001—
More than two weeks have passed since the Sept 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Reaction to the attacks and experssions of support for the United States continue to be received.
What follows is a first-person account of a day at sea aboard one of the Navy’s newest guided missile destroyers, USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) in the days following the attacks. This account was in an e-mail sent home by one of Churchill’s officers.
“We have seen the articles and the photographs [of the attacks], and they are sickening. Being isolated as we are, I don’t think we appreciat the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling the effects.”
“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 Lutjens (D185), a German warship that was moored ahead of us on the pier in Plymouth, England.”
“While in port, Winston S Churchill and Lutjens got together for a sports day/cookout on the fantail, and we made some pretty good friends. Now at sea they called over the bridge-to-bridge, requesting to pass us close up on our port side, to say goodbye. We prepared to render them honors on the bridge wing, and the captain told the crew to come topside to wish them farewell.”
“As they were making their approach, our conning officer…announced that they were flying an American flag. As they came even closer, we saw that it was flying at half-mast. The bridge wing was crowded with people as the Boatswain’s Mate blew two whistles — Attention to Port.”
“Lutjens came up alongside and we saw that the entire crew of the German ship were manning the rails, in their dress blues. They had made up a sign that was displayed on the side that read “We Stand By You”. Needless to say there was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside us for a few minutes and we cut our salutes. It was probably the most powerful thing I have seen in my entire life and more than a few of us fought to retain our composure.”
“It was a beautiful day outside today. We are no longer at liberty to divulge over unsecure e-mail our location, but we could not have asked for a finer day at sea. The German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it has truly been the highest point in the days since the attacks. It’s amazing to think that only a half-century ago things were quite different, and to see the unity that is being demonstrated throught Europe and the world makes us all feel proud to be out here doing our job.”