One of the coolest memories of my grandfather was when he told me what he did during his Navy days. He had the best job ever; he got to steer a battleship using the big wheel like you see in movies. He said it was the greatest time in his life being in the Navy and loved being so close to the captain and knowing all the stuff that happened day in and day out aboard his ship. He told me that his ship, the USS Wasp, was responsible for the recovery of two different space capsules. He was on board for the Gemini 9 recovery but was actually steering the ship when they retrieved the Gemini 12 capsule. Even more impressive was who was in the Gemini 12's capsule, astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell. Buzz Aldrin was the second man to step foot on the moon directly after Neil Armstrong. Jim Lovell would end up being part of the Apollo 13 grew that had a major emergency in space and the entire world watch in fear as they tried desperately to return to earth safely, grandpa made me watch the movie with him and I loved it. It's crazy to think that my grandfather played a small part in the bigger picture of space exploration and was part of such an amazing time for the United States. He would also tell me personal things like how even when things were bad and you knew some of the pilots may not come back you could still see the beauty of the world as you would watch the sun come up on a new day. He told me an old saying sailors would say and I still think of it whenever I notice the sky's color. The saying was "red sky at night sailors delight, red sky at morning sailors take warning. He loved his time in the navy and sadly when he finished his navel career so did his ship. He was part of the USS Wasp's final grew as it was set to be decommissioned when his tour of duty was completed. He told me that his final day on the ship was a mix of joy and sadness. He spent time up in the bridge at his old post looking out of the windows for one last time. He said how he walked the tight corridors for what felt like hours just thinking about all the fun times he had even thought they were at war. He said the hardest part was saying goodbye to so many close friends, some he kept in touch with but some he didn't. It makes me think about how just like me in my High School career I too will loss contact with friends over time and remember walking thought the halls of my school enjoying myself when I look back on my life. It makes me feel special knowing my grandfather was an awesome person and helped me become an awesome young man.