Oswego, NY -- Being the guests of honor didn’t keep Justin Miller and Aladdin Cabradilla from jumping right in to hoist a sail as the Pride of Baltimore II sailed out into Oswego Harbor Friday night. The Pride, one of three tall ships docked in Oswego for this weekend’s Festival of Sail, took a small group of active military,...
Justin Miller, middle in green shirt, and Aladdin Cabradilla, right in red shirt, both specialists in the Army stationed at Fort Drum, help pull ropes to hoist the sails on the Pride of Baltimore II during a special excursion for military personnel Friday night in Oswego Harbor.Oswego, NY -- Being the guests of honor didn’t keep Justin Miller and Aladdin Cabradilla from jumping right in to hoist a sail as the Pride of Baltimore II sailed out into Oswego Harbor Friday night.
The Pride, one of three tall ships docked in Oswego for this weekend’s Festival of Sail, took a small group of active military, their families and the families of deployed military from Fort Drum and some veterans out on a two-hour cruise. Also on the excursion were officials with the USO at Fort Drum and the founder of the Oswego-based Thank a Service Member group.
Miller, a specialist who works as a military policeman, served in Iraq from 2006-08. He couldn’t believe his good luck in getting a chance to go out on the replica War of 1812 schooner.
“My platoon sergeant asked me if I would like the chance to go out on a ship. Of course, my answer was yes,” he said. “I love it. I’ve always loved the water and loved sailing.”
Cabradilla, also a specialist who works as an X-ray technician, grew up in Hawaii and has always been around the water, so he said the cruise on the Pride of Baltimore II was “cool.“
Harry Pratt, owner of North Shore Oil Co., put up the money for the excursion as a way to thank service men and women for their work.
“We can never do enough to repay what you do for our country,” he told the military members before the ship set sail. “Without your service and the commitment of your families we wouldn’t enjoy the freedom we have.”
Also before the cruise, Peter Allen, who founded Thank a Service Member, honored Miller, Cabradilla and another Fort Drum soldier Joshua Shober with special medallions his organization presents to all service personnel. The medallions also were presented to a number of veterans taking the excursion and to people who wanted them in memory of a relative.
The Pride of Baltimore II cruised under full sail cutting through the rolling Lake Ontario waves. The crew got those on the ship involved by helping put up sails and chant phrases to bolster the crew in their work.