Seattle-based cutter returns from mission to icebound Nome
SEATTLE - It was an emotional morning for Coast Guard family members as their loved ones returned home from an extra-long deployment aboard the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy.
Crew members were back from a critical mission - delivering much needed fuel to ice-bound Nome, Alaska.
And when the Coast Guard cutter finally pulled into Seattle on Sunday morning, it was hard for many families of the crew to believe.
Heidi Carter was there, waiting for her husband John.
"It's been hard. I've really missed him," she says. "We have two kids and know they've missed him, too."
The mission stretched out to 254 days after a series of delays and extensions.
"I don't know, it's probably all the let-downs 'cause they were like, 'Oh, we'll be home before Christmas - then before New Years - and then after New Years," added the Carters' daughter Ashley.
Also waiting on the dock was Jaclyn Adams. Her husband Ivan has spent many more days at sea than the couple has spent together. She married him during a brief layover in Hawaii.
"He left Seattle. We were not married. He got to Hawaii - he proposed. The next day we went to the courthouse, and two days after that we were separated again, he was underway," says Jaclyn.
Underway to break ice in the Arctic.
The Healy was needed to punch a path for a Russian tanker on an emergency run delivering fuel to ice-bound Nome, Alaska. The mission was one that makes the families proud.
But on Sunday morning it was finally time to warm some hearts back home - with hugs and kisses.
"Great, it was awesome - enjoyed it, love being home, says crew member John Carter.
The young Adams couple can now start being married in the same time zone - and be proud of a job well done.
"It was a pretty amazing mission. Glad we did that," said Beverly Havlik, the Healy's commanding officer. "It was a first for us and a first for Alaska, so it was pretty neat."
Adds Heidi Carter: "I'm used to it but it's still hard every time."
The crew of the Healy never got much of break during their deployment. In fact, on their way home Friday, they helped a cargo ship in distress after its load shifted.
Crew members were back from a critical mission - delivering much needed fuel to ice-bound Nome, Alaska.
And when the Coast Guard cutter finally pulled into Seattle on Sunday morning, it was hard for many families of the crew to believe.
Heidi Carter was there, waiting for her husband John.
"It's been hard. I've really missed him," she says. "We have two kids and know they've missed him, too."
The mission stretched out to 254 days after a series of delays and extensions.
"I don't know, it's probably all the let-downs 'cause they were like, 'Oh, we'll be home before Christmas - then before New Years - and then after New Years," added the Carters' daughter Ashley.
Also waiting on the dock was Jaclyn Adams. Her husband Ivan has spent many more days at sea than the couple has spent together. She married him during a brief layover in Hawaii.
"He left Seattle. We were not married. He got to Hawaii - he proposed. The next day we went to the courthouse, and two days after that we were separated again, he was underway," says Jaclyn.
Underway to break ice in the Arctic.
The Healy was needed to punch a path for a Russian tanker on an emergency run delivering fuel to ice-bound Nome, Alaska. The mission was one that makes the families proud.
But on Sunday morning it was finally time to warm some hearts back home - with hugs and kisses.
"Great, it was awesome - enjoyed it, love being home, says crew member John Carter.
The young Adams couple can now start being married in the same time zone - and be proud of a job well done.
"It was a pretty amazing mission. Glad we did that," said Beverly Havlik, the Healy's commanding officer. "It was a first for us and a first for Alaska, so it was pretty neat."
Adds Heidi Carter: "I'm used to it but it's still hard every time."
The crew of the Healy never got much of break during their deployment. In fact, on their way home Friday, they helped a cargo ship in distress after its load shifted.
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