DCFN (Fireman, Damage Controlman Striker) Julie Dye thought the walls of the USS North Carolina were bland. She noticed that the other ships on her base had pictures donated by children and asked one of her superiors if she could “redecorate a wall or two.” He told her that as long as it was clean and appropriate, and as long as the Chief, approved, he could do it. Dye contacted Crabapple Lane Elementary School, where her mother used to work, and spoke with principal Doe Evans.
“She was so enthusiastic and within three days I had a stack of about 70 drawings from children ages four and up,” Dye said, noting that “the wall” became a focal point for the North Carolina sailors and that everyone loved gathering around it, looking at the pictures and reading the letters. “It even earned me a handshake from the Chief and a ‘good job’ from our fleet’s Master Chief. The drawings were such a huge hit that her superior asked if she could get some more and soon her niece’s Sunday School class was sending more.
“Before I knew it, two walls of the North Carolina were entirely dedicated to the children of Peachtree City,” Dye said.
Only a few of the drawings had names and addresses on them so Dye decided to write back some thank you letters on postcards of the Naval Aircraft Carrier USS John C. Stennis (the ship that Dye had orders to report to) to the young artists. One of the letters came back to Dye and she sent the letter to the school in hopes of reaching the student, Bennett Cate. He received it because two weeks later she got a letter back from Bennett and the two became pen pals.
Dye’s mother had been Bennett’s first grade parapro and Bennett asked Dye about life on a ship, what she did in the Navy and if it was hard to be away from her family. He also told her about himself and how much he enjoys playing basketball.
“With all of the technology that is out there today, cell phones, Skype, e-mail, etc, it feels so good to get a real letter in the mail, and to know that someone out there took the time to write it just for you,” Dye said. “To know that somewhere out in Georgia a boy thought I was cool enough to look up to and write to, it just made me feel like maybe there was at least one thing I was doing right.”
Prior to a transfer to Bremerton, Washington and deployment to Bahrain in July, Dye returned to Peachtree City and stopped in at a swim meet that Bennett was taking part in. The two met face to face and talked for a bit and now the pair can put faces to each other name’s when swapping letters.
“What started with a few empty, ugly walls in my ship has led to one of the coolest things I have ever done – writing to a child that is inquisitive, loyal, and a friend,” Dye said in a letter to Bennett’s mother. While Dye can’t write as often as when she was stationed at Great Lakes, Bennett has been receiving mail and postcards from all over the world.
