The Source for Navy News
Country Star Treats Abraham Lincoln Sailors to Live
Show
Story Number: NNS021217-05
12/17/2002
By Journalist 2nd Class Ryan Hicks, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs
ABOARD USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At Sea (NNS) -- Country singer and
songwriter Trace Adkins came to USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) for
Thanksgiving, away from his wife and kids, to be with the crew, and he
made his reasoning perfectly clear.
“I didn’t come over here as an
entertainer,” he said. “I came over here as a grateful, thankful American
to say that we miss you, and we’ll be glad when you get back home. Thank
you for what you’re doing.”
His message also came in the form of a
show Nov. 27 in front of a full house in the ship's hangar bay.
He
brought his backing band, and with the help and support of the USO, he
brought the equipment to make the night into the closest thing to a real
concert you could get on an aircraft carrier in a hot zone.
Vice
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Fallon, Rear Adm. John Kelly and
Capt. Kendall Card made a few quick remarks to introduce the set, and then
came the voice that shook the room and rattled the walls.
“Good
evenin’,” came the voice from underneath a worn, brown cowboy hat. “Good
to see ya.”
It takes a big man to produce a sound that huge. It
also takes a big man to survive being shot in the heart, being run down by
a bulldozer, riding out a hurricane while working on an offshore oil rig,
and having a finger and his nose reattached in two separate
incidents.
He’s got four albums out, has played live in front of
more than 2,000,000 people since 1996, has been nominated and awarded for
all types of music awards, and has appeared on several TV shows such as
“Austin City Limits" and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
And
this is the man who came to the ship on Thanksgiving to say how much he
appreciates what the military's doing.
“I’m honored to be here,”
said Adkins, his first words after getting on stage. “I’ve been looking
forward to this for some time. I never dreamed I’d get an opportunity to
do something like this. This is one of the best perks - if not the best
perk - that I’ve ever gotten since I’ve been doing this for a living. I
love every one of you.”
After that introduction, he started his
show with a mellow, slightly darker, down-tempo #1 hit of his, “This Ain’t
No Thinkin’ Thing,” and from there moved through “I Left Something Turned
on at Home,” “Every Light in the House,” the tongue-in-cheek Copenhagen
love song, and several others, including an upbeat tune called
“Chrome."
Between songs during the show, Adkins presented Card with
a book of letters from an elementary school teacher in California,
received a Fighter/Attack squadron 25 shirt from one Sailor and a coin
from another, and gave a hug to Airman Carrie Bousman, whose father had
written an e-mail to his Web site.
During his time aboard, Adkins’
voice rumbled wherever he was, whether it was singing in the hangar bay or
talking to Sailors down in the mess decks as he signed autographs on
flyers, pictures and guitars. During a quick interview at one point in his
tour of the ship, Adkins explained why he was out here.
“When they
asked me if I had any interest in doing USO stuff, I immediately said yes.
You know, I’ve often thought about it -- I have kids, and, as a father,
the protection I can offer them extends to about the perimeter of my yard,
and beyond that I have to rely on other people. Thanks to ya’ll, they can
sleep peacefully at night, and I’m very grateful and
thankful.”
During his stay, he went out on the flight deck to see a
set of flight operations, and between the size of the ship and what he’d
just seen, he was a little overwhelmed.
“I was thinking,” he mused,
“when that first guy hollowed out that log and put it in the water, I
don’t think he even envisioned that it would get to this.”
For
related news, visit the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Navy NewsStand page
at www.news.navy.mil/local/cvn72.