From: USS Princeton


I am the American Sailor

Hear my voice, America! Though I speak through the mist of 200 years, my
shout for freedom will echo through liberty's halls for many centuries to
come.

Hear me speak, for my words are of truth and justice, and the rights of man.
For those ideals, I have spilled my blood upon the world's troubled waters.

Listen well, for my time is eternal - yours is but a moment.

I am the spirit of heroes past and future.

I am the American Sailor.

I was born upon the icy shores at Plymouth, rocked upon the waves of the
Atlantic, and nursed in the wilderness of Virginia.

I cut my teeth on New England codfish, and I was clothed in southern cotton.

I built muscle at the halyards of New Bedford whalers, and I gained my sea
legs high atop the mizzen of Yankee clipper ships.

Yes, I am the American Sailor, one of the greatest seamen the world has ever
known.

The sea is my home and my words are tempered by the sound of paddle wheels
on the Mississippi, and the song of whales off Greenland's barren shore. My
eyes have grown dim from the glare of sunshine on blue water, and my heart
is full of star-strewn nights under the Southern Cross.

My hands are raw from winter storms while sailing-down around the Horn, and
they are blistered from the heat of cannon broadsides while defending our
nation.

I am the American Sailor, and I have seen the sunset of a thousand distant,
lonely lands.

I am the American Sailor.

It was I who stood tall beside John Paul Jones as he shouted, "I have not
yet begun to fight!"

I fought upon Lake Erie with Perry, and I rode with Stephen Decatur into
Tripoli harbor to burn the Philadelphia.

I met Guerriere aboard Constitution, and I was lashed to the mast with
Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay.

I have heard the clang of Confederate shot against the sides of Monitor.

I have suffered the cold with Peary at the North Pole, and I responded when
Dewy said, "You may fire when ready Gridley," at Manila Bay.

It was I who transported supplies through submarine infested waters when our
soldier's were called "over there".

I was there as Admiral Byrd crossed the South Pole.

It was I who went-down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, who supported our
troops at Inchon, and patrolled the dark deadly waters of the Mekong Delta.

I am the American Sailor, and I wear many faces. I am a pilot soaring across
God's blue canopy, and I am a Seabee atop a dusty bulldozer in the South
Pacific.

I am a corpsman nursing the wounded in the jungle, and I am a torpedoman in
the Nautilus deep beneath the North Pole.

I am hard and I am tough.

But it was my eyes that filled with tears when my brother went-down with the
Thresher and the Squailus, and it was my heart that rejoiced when Commander
Shepherd rocketed into orbit above the earth.

It was I who languished in a Viet Cong prison camp, and it was I who walked
upon the moon.

It was I who saved the Stark, and the Samuel B. Roberts in the mine infested
waters of the Persian Gulf.

It was I who pulled my brothers from the smoke filled compartments of the
Bonefish, and wept when my shipmates died on the Iowa, and White Plains.

When called again, I was there, on the tip of the spear for Operation Desert
Shield, and Desert Storm.

I am the American Sailor.

I am woman, I am man, I am white and black, yellow, red and brown. I am Jew,
Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist. I am Irish, Filipino, African, French,
Chinese, Indian, and Australian Aboriginal.

And my standard is the outstretched hand of Liberty.

Today, I serve around the world; on land, in air, on and under the sea. I
serve proudly, at peace once again, but with the fervent prayer that I need
not be called again.

Tell your children of me.

Tell them of my sacrifice, and how my spirit soars above their country.

I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean, and I will guard her
forever. I am her heritage, and yours.

I am the American Sailor.

I stumbled upon this website while looking for info on the Barrancas Natl.Ceme at NAS Pensacola. I am a Navy brat.
My father and mother are buried at Bar.Both died in'97.
My dad,Jack M. Robbins,a Navy Retiree having served his country for 30 yrs.from 1929 to 1960.He served aboard the Raleigh,Astoria,the Wasp & the
Ranger.Do you know of any web
sites for any of these Navy ships? I am pretty sure he was in a VP squad.but not sure which one.Any sug.on how I could find out? Thanks, Anchors Away!

We have the following member from our VP-21 roster. The date shown was his entry date into the squadron. No exit date was known. He was an Aviation Ordnanceman Petty Officer 2nd class.

ROBBINS OTIS A 10/24/56 AO2

Also check www.vpnavy.com.

Airmail7

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

I stumbled upon this website while looking for info on the Barrancas Natl.Ceme at NAS Pensacola. I am a Navy brat.
My father and mother are buried at Bar.Both died in'97.
My dad,Jack M. Robbins,a Navy Retiree having served his country for 30 yrs.from 1929 to 1960.He served aboard the Raleigh,Astoria,the Wasp & the
Ranger.Do you know of any web
sites for any of these Navy ships? I am pretty sure he was in a VP squad.but not sure which one.Any sug.on how I could find out? Thanks, Anchors Away!