Petty Officer 1st Class Nicholas A. Vassey enlisted in the Navy more than a decade ago. He’s traveled the world and moved three times, but Vassey still values growing up in Stanley. The officer won’t make it back to Gaston County this year. He’ll spend Christmas aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been deployed since July.
This won’t be Vassey’s first holiday away from home. But thanks to technology, he sees his wife and two children as often as possible. Vassey and his wife, Sarah, communicate a lot through email. When the ship pulls into foreign ports, sailors often have a chance to video chat with relatives. “That is really something new that I didn’t have on my first ship,” Vassey said. “Now that we’re getting to see each other even though we’re half a world apart, it really makes a difference.”
Gaston roots: Vassey grew up in Stanley. He and his brother both attended East Gaston. Vassey’s brother was in JROTC, yet Vassey was the one who made a path to the military. School had little to do with his decision, though Vassey said he’s still a proud Warrior.
An Air Force veteran, Vassey’s grandfather told him join the military if he found himself out of school without direction. “He said, ‘You’ll learn a lot about yourself,’” Vassey said.
Vassey graduated and by 19 he joined up. His grandfather’s words rang true. Vassey has traveled the world, met his wife, started a family and checked a few things off his bucket list. “So far it’s been a good fit,” he said.
Naval career: Aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, Vassey serves as a fire controlman responsible for maintaining computer equipment and operating combat and weapons direction systems. The deployment is Vassey’s sixth in 12 years. Deployment lengths vary. Nine months is Vassey’s longest.
Most of the time is spent at sea, but the ship pulls into foreign ports from time to time, he said. Those stops have landed Vassey in China, Hong Kong, Rome, Singapore and the Middle East. He’s stood in the Roman Coliseum and gazed upon the Tian Tan Buddha in front of the Po Lin Monastery. “You get to see a lot of really awesome things that you never really get a chance to see when you’re living at home doing the daily grind,” he said.
Vassey has lived in Washington and Illinois during his time in the service. He credits the Navy with bringing he and his wife together. They met through the military. They’ve now been married 10 years, have two children and live in Virginia. With 12 years under his belt, Vassey said he plans to stick with his career for several more.
“I came in with that mindset to stay for a full career. I’ll probably do 20 or plus years, as long as the Navy will keep me. After that, I’ll try and become a teacher,” he said. “I’ve always had a head for numbers.”
Christmas as sea: Vassey said he’s missed several holidays with his wife and kids. When the children were younger, it wasn’t as hard on the family, he said. “I’ve missed a lot of holidays,” he said. “Now that they’re older and I’m gone, they really miss me,”
To encourage her husband while he’s gone, Vassey’s wife sends with him a bundle of cards. Each is marked with a “Do Not Open Until” date. The cards include messages from his wife and kids for holidays and occasions such as when he’s reached the halfway mark in his deployment. He’s been waiting to open one special card, the one marking the day before he comes home.
Sailors aboard the ship try to make the most of the holidays. They’ve been known to exchange names for an on-board Secret Santa. “It kind of gives that fun excitement that Christmas brings even though we’re underway,” he said.
His fellow seamen are a far cry from Vassey’s wife and children or his mother and grandmother in Stanley, but they’re still family, he said. “We are each other’s family when we are underway,” he said. “I see them every day. I talk with them. Hang out with them when we go into foreign ports. They’re just extended family.”
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.