War and Peace in Norfolk

With apologies to Leo Tolstoy, the title of his great work covers pretty well what we did today. We sailed in this morning past the U. S. Naval Base in Norfolk, the largest in the world. Just southeast of us sits Naval Air Station Oceana, where all of the Navy jets stay when their aircraft carriers are in port. We can see shipyards around our pier building a dozen new warships.

Much of the afternoon was spent examining in detail the remarkably huge battleship USS Wisconsin BB-64. Built originally in World War II, she was called back into service in Korea, Vietnam, and most recently in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991. While she is now on static display in Norfolk, she is not completely mothballed, so that if the government ever needs a battleship, she can be fired up and retrofitted for service. When considering the cramped quarters and the dangerous missions she undertook, it’s hard not to project oneself into the scenario experienced by the sailors and marines who made their home in her labyrinthine compartments. Onboard there is a place for every activity any city enjoys. In addition to battle stations, there is a post office, a dental clinic, a school, three mess halls, communications centers, a surgical ward, a fire station, a police station, a gym, a library, a chaplain—you name it.

The other part of our day was much more peaceful. Norfolk hosts one of the best botanical gardens in North America. Beginning in the 1930’s the Works Progress Administration hired African American women and men to convert a swamp into Norfolk’s “Azalea Garden.” Now there are not only azaleas, but flowers, trees, and shrubs from all over the world, all arranged in an idyllic setting as lovely as the Garden of Eden. The Norfolk Botanical Gardens also maintains educational programs, training amateur and professional botanists from near and far. As beautiful as the ocean may be, it was good to spend a few hours back on land amid such lovely roses, hydrangeas, loblolly pines, magnolias, and crape myrtles.En savoir plus