Thu, 8 Oct, 2026, 08:18 pm
Reported by the Guardian
By 4am on Thursday, the sky still pitch black, 19-year-old Pvt Grayden Monroe and his mom had already arrived to the naval base in San Diego, California . As the very first military family members to get there, they huddled on a set of metal bleachers overlooking the dark water. The duo were waiting for Monroe’s 21-year-old sister to step off the USS Abraham Lincoln, the embattled aircraft carrier that’s been at sea for the better part of a year.
Monroe, a soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, was wearing his army uniform for the occasion. “I hope she’s proud of me,” he said of his sister, “and I hope she knows damn well that I’m just as proud of her.”
As the sun rose over Naval Air Station North Island, thousands of people flooded on to the base for the USS Lincoln’s long-awaited return. The atmosphere was like a de facto festival, with a live band, performers on stilts, therapy dogs, handmade signs, giant cutouts of sailors’ smiling faces. People cried, laughed, screamed with joy.
View image in fullscreen When the Lincoln appeared in the middle distance around noon, rounding the corner past downtown, cheers erupted from around the bay. Sailors flanked the edges of the ship in uniform, waving to the crowd and making phone calls to loved ones. Below American-flag bunting, rust stains were visible on the sides of the carrier. The massive, city-like ship had finally reached land.
