Copy of Email Sent by Petty Offi
cer Durel, USS Mobile Bay
Active Duty Coordinator
4/13/03

Dear Stacey, and UNITED THROUGH READING Friends,

Wonderful news, indeed, that USS MOBILE BAY is bound for home after such an amazing and extraordinary deployment! My shipmates, as you mentioned, have performed a great service to their country, and also to the citizens of other countries during the past months. At long last it is time to return to our families. An important point I wish to make, however, is that your program, onboard MOBILE BAY, CREATED a family. The parents onboard, practically ALL of who have participated in UNITED THROUGH READING, seem to know something a little more important about each other than the simple fact they serve in the same command, even if they rarely speak of it.

It is magnificent for me to walk down a passageway and pass a parent onboard and know that through YOU, that parent's power was felt and witnessed by a child so far away. There's a little candle in their eyes I begin to see as they approach, always accompanied by a fragment of a question: "...Thursday night?" 

Yes, of course. Thursday Night.

The taping sessions we held throughout this deployment happened in many different ways, with different approaches, different equipment, and were seemingly conducted in a different time and place. But there was never anything other than a smile, or a thank you, when a parent got up to leave.

It is very important for you to realize that no matter what you do within your organization, this program can take care of itself. Because it is so virtuous, and so right, it prevails through stormy nights, heavy seas, times of peace, and of war (that really says something about a parent's love). The tools and words United Through Reading offers those of us in the military services reinforces our fighting spirit, helping us better serve our children, thereby making it easier to focus on our more patriotic endeavors and objectives. UNITED THROUGH READING is just about the MOST supportive contribution anyone, or any organization, could ever make to our men and women for the reasons I have just mentioned.

I know I'm long-winded, but it is important that I give to you as much as I can of our experience with your program onboard. It cannot be conveyed through the survey. Some things are just bigger than that. Of course, I've attached the survey anyway!

Your kind words, all of them, have empowered me many times throughout the greatest journey of my life. I think it most UN-coincidental that I had the experience I had with all of you. You helped me truly grasp the Navy's Core Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, and I will be grateful to you for the duration of my career. MOBILE BAY thanks you for your most generous contribution to our Quality Of Life programs, often cherished, when we are half a world away from those we love most. Attached is the wrap-up. I am always available if you need assistance or a kind word. 

Homeward Bound At Last,
STG2(SW) MICHAEL D. DUREL
USS MOBILE BAY 
FREEDOM'S FLAGSHIP