We're receiving wonderful responses in regards to our visit to Nashville Tn.  We received this letter over the weekend:

Hello,

I wasn't sure where to post this on your website but I wanted to let you know about the experience my daughter and I had today aboard your ship. First, when we arrived we heard the whistle blown and seen an elderly lady being pushed in a wheelchair to an awaiting golfcart. She was crying and her face in her hands. That was one of the most touching scenes I ever seen while visiting this type of memorial. I can only imagine what memories visiting your ship stirred up in her, hoping they weren't all bad.

It was, however, a great segway for me to start explaining how important it is for people my daughter's age (she's 14) to visit places like your ship to reconnect with our countries history. I have toured several ships, most recently four in the Baltimore harbor but I must say visiting them with their limited staff (that are mostly younger than I and not that knowledgeable), lack of plaques noting each section and no explainations the daily doings has nothing on what we got to experience today!

While it was overwhelming at first on the amount of staff you had on the ship, I come to realize quickly the importance of them! There is nothing comparable to stopping and chatting with them to have a personal story relating to what happened in that part of the ship (or similar). It was like listening to one of Grandpa's many stories and being able to really see that section and learning the "how/who/what" of it. When we got to the mess deck, the Captain was there and he was interacting with one of the volunteers. We were able to then here the about the mess hall - how big it really was, how many of our sailors would have been there at a time, what type of meal was served, etc. That little interaction made the ship come alive and really bring home what these men lived like on the ship.

My daughter stopped just before entering the "Officer's Country" and asked what the pipe near the hatch was. The gentleman standing there politely stepped up and explained what it was and how it was used. She thanked the man and we started to move on, stopping me to say she liked having all these people answer her questions.

I was extremely pleased with the whole experience and want to thank everyone. I hope you share this letter with your volunteers so they know we thank them for their stories, time and attention.

We will see you again in a few days when you are in Clarksville, bringing more family with us!

All the best to all of you!

Tina