I would see men with ball caps that represented the ship they or a son had served on; perhaps just a ship that they wanted to represent, such as the great USS Missouri (BB-63), and I wanted one. Of course, I wanted one for the USS Point Defiance, my ship. But I did not know how to find a resource. I saw a man in Albuquerque, at the airport, one day, with a blue cap bearing a ship's name, so I stopped him and asked me. My mother instilled that in me; just ask people, most of the time, they will tell you something. He did; he told me that someone had got it for him and given it to him. Lucky him. I kept my eye out though and just over two years later, I searched via the Internet and found a source for a cap like the one he had, blue, with gold, so I ordered it. The trouble was, I just didn't like the way it fit, the way it sat on my head. Maybe I have a funny shaped head, but some things work out okay, so I kept my eye out for other options. I found a few but they just didn't seem right. Last month, one of my searches provided me with several options and a cap that I liked. Also, I could get it in other colors and I love red. The resource site also let me preview the selection so I experimented with blue, green, tan, khaki, gray; and red. I settled on red and ordered my cap, which arrived in about a week. I'm pleased with it and I wear it most of the time now. I like how it feels, how it sits on my head and I love the color. And, I'm proud of my ship, my time in the navy, and I like to share it with people, especially other sailors who always stop and ask me about my navy life. I appreciate their asking and we always talk. It turned out once that one of them had been on the USS Thomason (LSD-28), our sister ship. It really is a small world, isn't it?
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