VOL.54 NO. 33 DECEMBER 17, 2015
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS
Gold Star family honored 47 years later
JET
INSIDE
STORY AND PHOTO BY TONY ROSA NAS Oceana Public Affairs Many service members throughout the history of the United States have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. Today the nation recognizes the ultimate sacrifice that all Gold Star Family members make when a mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter or other loved one dies in service of the nation. The U.S. Navy established the Navy Gold Star (NGS) Program Oct. 1, 2014, to provide continuing support for surviving family members of Sailors who lost their lives while serving in an active duty status. Julie Olson and Dan B. Norton, Jr. are the children of Petty Officer First Class Dan B. Norton Sr., who served aboard USS New Jersey. Norton died Sept. 28, 1968 off the coast of Vietnam from non-combat related illness while the ship was at sea. Naval Air Station Oceana Commanding Officer Capt. Louis J. Schager Jr, presented a Navy Gold Star lapel pin to Olson and Norton on behalf of the Navy during a CNIC holiday party at the NAS Oceana Fleet and Family Services Center. “Any time we can honor the sacrifices of service members it really is a special thing,” said Schager. “Family is really important to the Navy and I think this is something we can do to show our support to our Navy family.”
— See “Gold Star” page 3
WELCOME HOME BLUE BLASTERS OF VFA-134 —Page 6
Photo by Rachel Larue Wreaths lay on headstones after being placed by volunteers during the Wreaths Across America (WAA) event in Arlington National Cemetery, Dec. 12, 2015, in Arlington, Va. WAA, a nonprofit organization, places a wreath on every eligible headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.
HONOR AND BALSAM: WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA BY MC2 CHARLOTTE OLIVER Defense Media Activity The impressive spread of vibrant green coniferous trees make the quintessential Christmas trees and wreaths. It is home to Worcester Wreath Company and is also home to the nonprofit organization “Wreaths Across America.” The idea for Wreaths Across America (WAA) started in 1992 when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company, found his company with a large surplus of wreaths near the end of the holiday season. Worcester looked back on a childhood memory as a 12-year-old boy working a paper route for the Bangor Daily News. He had won a trip to Washington, D.C. It would be his first visit to our nation’s capital and it would leave a profound impact on
Worcester decades later. “I didn’t want to throw them away, they were nice and fresh so I thought about Arlington, because of the impact it had on me as a boy,” said Morrill, as he looked out onto the spread of trees used to make hundreds of thousands of wreaths each year. With the help of then Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, Worcester was able to make arrangements to have the surplus wreaths placed at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. They were placed in an older section of the cemetery, one that received less and less visitors every year. A local trucking company provided transportation of the wreaths to Arlington and volunteers
— See “Wreaths” page 3
SEE HOW OCEANA CELEBRATES THE SEASON OF JOY —Page 8-9
AEROTHEATHER FREE SNEAK PREVIEW The NAS Oceana Aerotheater will be hosting a FREE sneak preview of Point Break in 3D (PG-13, 120 min.) Dec. 19, 5 p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m.; seating is limited. For more information, call 433-2495 or 433-2391.