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CNN Live Saturday
USS Paul Hamilton Returns to Hawaii
Aired April 26, 2003 - 15:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: There were hugs, there were kisses and tears at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, where it's just one big family reunion at this hour. The USS Hamilton and USS Lincoln returning home from war duty. Kyra Phillips is there and joins me now live. Kyra, it has been a remarkable afternoon.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my gosh. So much energy, Cooper. It was a wonderful experience. It was neat for me, because I spent time with the people on this ship, just one of the ships in the major battle group that was out there in the Persian Gulf.
I'm going to have Brian (ph) kind of pan off here and give us a shot of the Paul Hamilton, just to give you a tinny bit of background before I introduce you to another family. And I know we've got video of the huge homecoming and all the families greeting each other. This was the guided missile destroyer that was out there during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Fifty Tomahawk missiles this ship launched. It's been gone since August, it's been out there for close to nine months.
The war fighting capability of this ship is pretty amazing. It's got an Aegis combat system. The other mission, of course, MIO, maritime interdiction operations, and that's when I got to board on the ship. I'm actually going to bring you down to another family now. Was I went out on patrol with the men and women of this ship as they patrolled the Iraqi waterways, looking for illegal smuggling. That was the other mission.
Now, one such first lieutenant, who is very happy to be home and was a part of both of those missions, the wartime mission and the MIO mission, Jason Cipriano. Good to see you.
JASON CIPRIANO, U.S. NAVY: Hey, it's good to be home. It's good to be in Hawaii.
PHILLIPS: So as you were coming home, just five, 10 minutes as you were coming into port, tell me what was going through your mind, Jason.
J. CIPRIANO: I was just looking for my wife, looking for my wife and my nephew. I knew they'd be out there. And you know, I was just excited to get home and spend some time in Hawaii, spend some time relaxing.
PHILLIPS: And you found Catherine. Catherine, how are you doing?
CATHERINE CIPRIANO, WIFE: Doing good, much better than I was yesterday. Glad he's home.
PHILLIPS: What did you miss most about your husband?
C. CIPRIANO: Just being with him, spending time with him. He's my best friend. So it's nice to have him home with me.
PHILLIPS: How did you keep in touch? How did you know he was OK?
C. CIPRIANO: Through e-mail, key. Without that, I don't know.
PHILLIPS: How did you explain to your wife what you were doing, Jason?
J. CIPRIANO: I just told her that we're over there, we're doing what we had to do and I told her that I was safe, nothing was -- there wasn't anything to worry about. We were just going to do it and then we were going to come home, and that's exactly what happened. I mean, we did what we had to do and then came home.
PHILLIPS: Finally, how are you going to decompress? How are you going to talk with Catherine about everything? Catherine, how are you going to absorb it all? How are you going to get back in love again?
C. CIPRIANO: We're always in love, that's not a problem. That's not an issue. No. Just talk, we need to talk, and find out what happened, you know. A lot of questions.
J. CIPRIANO: I got a lot of stories. So we'll be spending a lot of time relaxing, a lot of time telling stories.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jason, Catherine Cipriano, and of course, the nephew, Nick, good to see you, buddy. You got a sign?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right. Oh, that's wonderful, there you go, the welcome home sign.
Just one family, of course, on this ship excited to be together again, excited to be home. And it was a pleasure to be here and be a part of it after meeting people like the first lieutenant and a number of other people on this ship. It's great to see them home safely and to see them alive.
COOPER: All right. It certainly is. Kyra Phillips, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 26, 2003 - 15:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: There were hugs, there were kisses and tears at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, where it's just one big family reunion at this hour. The USS Hamilton and USS Lincoln returning home from war duty. Kyra Phillips is there and joins me now live. Kyra, it has been a remarkable afternoon.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my gosh. So much energy, Cooper. It was a wonderful experience. It was neat for me, because I spent time with the people on this ship, just one of the ships in the major battle group that was out there in the Persian Gulf.
I'm going to have Brian (ph) kind of pan off here and give us a shot of the Paul Hamilton, just to give you a tinny bit of background before I introduce you to another family. And I know we've got video of the huge homecoming and all the families greeting each other. This was the guided missile destroyer that was out there during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Fifty Tomahawk missiles this ship launched. It's been gone since August, it's been out there for close to nine months.
The war fighting capability of this ship is pretty amazing. It's got an Aegis combat system. The other mission, of course, MIO, maritime interdiction operations, and that's when I got to board on the ship. I'm actually going to bring you down to another family now. Was I went out on patrol with the men and women of this ship as they patrolled the Iraqi waterways, looking for illegal smuggling. That was the other mission.
Now, one such first lieutenant, who is very happy to be home and was a part of both of those missions, the wartime mission and the MIO mission, Jason Cipriano. Good to see you.
JASON CIPRIANO, U.S. NAVY: Hey, it's good to be home. It's good to be in Hawaii.
PHILLIPS: So as you were coming home, just five, 10 minutes as you were coming into port, tell me what was going through your mind, Jason.
J. CIPRIANO: I was just looking for my wife, looking for my wife and my nephew. I knew they'd be out there. And you know, I was just excited to get home and spend some time in Hawaii, spend some time relaxing.
PHILLIPS: And you found Catherine. Catherine, how are you doing?
CATHERINE CIPRIANO, WIFE: Doing good, much better than I was yesterday. Glad he's home.
PHILLIPS: What did you miss most about your husband?
C. CIPRIANO: Just being with him, spending time with him. He's my best friend. So it's nice to have him home with me.
PHILLIPS: How did you keep in touch? How did you know he was OK?
C. CIPRIANO: Through e-mail, key. Without that, I don't know.
PHILLIPS: How did you explain to your wife what you were doing, Jason?
J. CIPRIANO: I just told her that we're over there, we're doing what we had to do and I told her that I was safe, nothing was -- there wasn't anything to worry about. We were just going to do it and then we were going to come home, and that's exactly what happened. I mean, we did what we had to do and then came home.
PHILLIPS: Finally, how are you going to decompress? How are you going to talk with Catherine about everything? Catherine, how are you going to absorb it all? How are you going to get back in love again?
C. CIPRIANO: We're always in love, that's not a problem. That's not an issue. No. Just talk, we need to talk, and find out what happened, you know. A lot of questions.
J. CIPRIANO: I got a lot of stories. So we'll be spending a lot of time relaxing, a lot of time telling stories.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jason, Catherine Cipriano, and of course, the nephew, Nick, good to see you, buddy. You got a sign?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right. Oh, that's wonderful, there you go, the welcome home sign.
Just one family, of course, on this ship excited to be together again, excited to be home. And it was a pleasure to be here and be a part of it after meeting people like the first lieutenant and a number of other people on this ship. It's great to see them home safely and to see them alive.
COOPER: All right. It certainly is. Kyra Phillips, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
