Thank you, U.S. Navy, and a special thanks to you, those wonderful sailors. Thank you for the overwhelming outpouring of wonderful stories and letters that our family has received during this period of grief. You have made our lives bearable by all of the letters and telephone calls of support. There is that old saying “The Navy takes care of its own"; thank you for being there for me and our family.
My husband loved his country and "our" Navy. Today, if he were writing you, I thought it might be something like the following:
You are the heart and soul of our Navy. Take care of each other. Be honorable. Do what is right. Forgive when it makes sense. Punish when you must, but always work to make the latter unnecessary by working to help people be all they really can and should be. One-on-one leadership really will work if you let it and honestly apply it. Our great Navy will live on. I am proud of you. I am proud to have led you, if only for a short time.
God bless each and every one of you.