A Day In The Life: Adventures At Hampton Roads Naval Museum

USS WISCONSIN 

Volunteering.  We all say it's a wonderful thing, but how many of us actually do it?  I mean honestly spend more than two to three hours a month doing something that doesn't pay us.

I volunteer at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA.  I know it's not feeding the homeless, but it's something that I enjoy.  I know kinda selfish, but I digress.  Normally I do administrative work, but that's dull so I'm going to focus on a single event in this post.

Every year in August the museum spends time with the Chief Selectees and gives them a bit of naval history on chiefs. It's called CPO Heritage.  I've been fortunate enough to help in four of these.  My first day of the first year I actually followed a group around and took photos.  What an experience!  The second day had me selling raffle tickets.



For three years I helped sell raffle tickets to win a cutlass.  The cutlass is normally donated by Vanguard, so all proceeds go to the museum to pay for coffee and such for the volunteers.  A big shout out to Vanguard for doing this!  This year, the chief's mess took care of it and I was not needed.  I turned to my 'boss' and asked what I could do.

Chief Tomich & Rosie

This was my last year for this event and I did NOT want to miss out on it!

So it was decided that I would help with a presentation.  Tom would be portraying Chief Peter Tomich during this presentation of what happened on the USS UTAH on December 7, 1941.

Yes, Chief Tomich was a real person and actually on board the ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  If you're scratching your head and wondering what happened, please go google it.

But how were we going to work in why I was there?  I wanted to blend in with the presentation.  I already stuck out as an officer's wife.  LOL  At first I had thought to dress like a woman from the 1940s, I love the clothing and it would look cute, but why would she be on the ship.  Then my husband came up with the idea of Rosie The Riveter.  Tom loved it!  I loved it!  It was an easy costume and Tom could quickly explain why I was there.  Perfect!

We can do it!

So for three days I was up by four am to get ready and be out the door by five am.  I don't normally do hair and make up, but for this event I went all out.  So yeah, it took me a bit longer to get out the door than is normal for me.

Seeing the USS WISCONSIN in the early morning light was so awe inspiring!

We did 24 presentations in 3 days.  It was brutal sometimes, being in the belly of a ship with no a/c on a 90-100 degree day, but very rewarding.  Let's just say I think I sweat, I mean glistened, a few pounds off during those three days.  So yet another up side!

I will say that I was very proud to help share the experience of these selectees this year.

And on an awesome side not.  They loved the Rosie bit in this presentation and want to do it again next year.  Sadly, someone else will have to do it since I'll be on the west coast this time next year.  I think we already have a volunteer though!