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CNN Saturday Morning News

USS Enterprise Crew Arrives Home

Aired November 10, 2001 - 10:08   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A long way to homecoming for the sailors onboard the USS Enterprise has come about. The aircraft carrier just returning from combat duty in the war against terrorism, now back in Norfolk, Virginia.

That's where CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us live, where she has been.

Hello, again, Jeanne. It's a happy day there.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Martin, and the real happiness begins now. You can see here, they're coming off. The brows are in place. The officers have been filing off now for about 15 minutes. For a while, we heard the strains of "Proud to be an American" playing in the background. Believe me, a lot of them were singing along with it.

We're going to walk over here and see if we can grab one or two people coming off this ship. This ship has been away now for almost seven months. It had an unexpectedly long deployment because of the hostilities over Afghanistan. And this vessel took part.

Here's a gentleman. Let me see if I can stop him.

Hi, can we have a word with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

MESERVE: How does it feel to be back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outstanding.

MESERVE: Who's here to meet you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife and boys.

MESERVE: And what's the first thing on your agenda?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big, big hug.

MESERVE: I bet it is. Thanks so much. Enjoy the reunion. Just a little sampling. Let's see, here's another gentleman.

Hi, how does it feel to be back? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it feels great. I can't wait to see my wife and kids.

MESERVE: Are they here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Just wish me luck finding them.

MESERVE: Yes, it's a big crowd. Did you guys have some sort of special signal or meeting place to find each one other?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we sure don't. She said she's going to be down the way and we'll see how it goes. But I got my two boys and my daughter looking for me, so that'll help.

MESERVE: OK, well we'll let you get on your way to find them. Thanks a lot for stopping. Appreciate it.

So there's a reaction of some of the men who've been waiting up there now for about an hour to get off this ship. And they'll continue to pile off here for hours more.

It's a little bit noisy. Let me explain that. That's because of the crane that puts these brows in place. They're still here and making a racket, so excuse us for the background noise.

But it's quite a moment. People down here in the crowds still looking around, waving their signs, hoping to make some connection with a person they love.

Martin, back to you.

SAVIDGE: We talked about this, but it bears reiterating -- they do get time off now, the crew, right? And how much time?

MESERVE: They do get some time, yes. Some of the men told me that they're going to be involved in doing shipboard things and sort of finish up packing up the ship for the next couple of weeks. But the ship is going into dry-dock. It's going to be in dry-dock for quite a while, probably won't be deployed for a year-and-a-half or so. They, of course, don't get that much time. But they're going to get a good, long break here to enjoy their families. And trust me, they are ready to do that -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Jeanne Meserve joining us dockside there as the USS Enterprise comes home with its crew numbering in the thousands, as well as the family members that are waiting to greet them all. Thank you very much.

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