on November 25, 2021
A message to our members. First and foremost, Thank you to our dedicated members of the National Association of Naval Photography.
For more than 100 years, Sailors have made many sacrifices for our nation and so have our families.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, may you find joy and solitude with your family as they have made many expenses as well. We have served with pride, no more than our families in us.
As we have explored a new world and new cultures, our traditions have prevailed. Every year, we take time to reflect on what we are thankful for. Our health, the bounty of our own country, and the perseverance of freedom and the life of liberty. Worth serving for and defending against tyranny and enemies of our way of life.
Many of us remember long deployments at sea, with Thanksgiving Dinner prepared by shipmates, that was far from homemade and shared with our families. Yet our families were always there to back and support and preserve what deployed service members were committed to defending. And one day, to be at home for Mom’s Thanksgiving Dinner.
Courage has prevailed in knowing that we would be home with family and friends this day.
Be thankful for your Honor in service, as you represent one percent of our nation willing to do so. Be thankful for your support systems in place and realize that is okay to ask for help. Be thankful for your time served and your faith that our nation will continue to persevere despite trying times. Most importantly, be thankful that family has your back!
You are part of a greater legacy and history in art, a science, that has led our nation to victory in the past, during your time of service, and into the future.
May you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day! You earned it!
I am forever grateful for all of those who have built this community to sustain and share with the next generation, the importance of Naval Imagery.
May God Bless you and your family, friends, and shipmates. And the United States of America.
All of our Best,
Charles M. Abell, Lt. Cmdr., USN, Retired
on behalf of The National Association of Naval Photography Board of Directors.