Editor,

I know that some of you are upset by the noise of the planes flying, landing and taking off from the Outlying Field, whether they are Growlers or Prowlers, it matters not.

When I heard the sound last week on a beautiful, sunny day, I was reminded of another sunny day not too many years ago.

That day, my son came home from a deployment aboard the USS Nimitz. He arrived safe and sound of body and spirit even though he had spent several months in the Persian Gulf.

He was a fire fighter on the flight deck and spent many hours in a space called “Crash and Salvage.” It means just what it sounds like.

If there is a crash on the flight deck, his job was to get out there, pull the pilot from the wreckage and put out the fire.

In all the months of several deployments, he never had to do that. The pilots brought their planes in with precision and skill and if I may say so, not a little daring.

So when my afternoon in the garden or my evening watching television is disturbed by the noise, I give thanks to God that they are out there practicing.

Carol Reafs
Coupeville