NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. – It was a joyous reunion Tuesday at Naval Station Mayport for hundreds of sailors aboard the USS Mason.
After an extended combat deployment that lasted more than eight months, the USS Mason pulled into its homeport to jubilant cheers from loved ones waiting on the dock.
News4JAX was there and streamed the reunions live on News4JAX+. If you missed it, press play below to watch the emotional return.
Families waited for hours outside in the heat to greet their sailors.
“I cried every day. I cried every night. I prayed every day and every night,” said Nicola Hanson, who was able to wrap her arms around her son, Khori Mcintosh, for the first time in months on Tuesday. “There is no greater feeling than to see him here.”
The USS Mason — a guided missile destroyer armed with torpedoes, a mounted gun, missiles and a defense system — was deployed in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean Sea, protecting vital shipping channels as part of a Navy strike group that came under a lot of fire in the Middle East.
RELATED: Mayport-based USS Mason among ships fending off attacks from Houthi rebels in Red Sea
The Mason destroyed more than 22 Houthi targets in Yemen and five Iranian-launched medium-range ballistic missiles.
Knowing how much action their sailors were seeing had loved ones back home on edge.
Hanson said when the news mentioned the USS Mason she “hit rock bottom.”
One grandmother, who was a Navy wife herself for 20 years, said the constant news made it nerve-wracking.
“When my husband was in, we never had cellphones, emails. We didn’t have the TV, all the news and everything, so that makes me more anxious with (my grandson),” she said. “It was a little frustrating, upsetting and nerve-wracking, but we have faith in God and we knew he was going to bring him home.”
Her grandson told News4JAX that he belives his family’s prayers kept him safe.
“My faith kept me strong,” he said. “All I can do is thank God for keeping me safe.”
Sailor Nathan Cox said it was a big relief to be back safe with his family, who were among the hundreds of loved ones who spent hours waiting in the heat, holding signs, flowers, and flags, waiting for that special moment on Tuesday.
“Words can’t explain,” Cox said. “I miss them a lot. It’s been a journey.”
The USS Carney, which worked with the Mason, returned home to Mayport in May after a seven-month deployment.
The Carney destroyed Houthi-launched weapons and 65 targets in Yemen.