92-year-old Virginia Beach woman gives homecoming troops the welcome they deserve

VIRGINIA BEACH

Isabel Andrews awoke at 5:30, dressed and skipped breakfast. She and her nurse reached the sea wall by 7:30 a.m. – just in case.

“Sometimes, they come early,” she explained.

At 92, Andrews no longer can see the Navy ships that pass her home at Westminster Canterbury.

But she turns out anyway, eager to welcome home the sailors and Marines who have served their nation.

It started eight years ago, when Andrews decided the least she could do was wave from the sea wall outside her home at the retirement community to a Navy ship returning to port.

Since then, she has committed to welcoming countless ships back from deployment, most carrying relatives of staff members or residents at the retirement community. She and 15 friends were at it again Friday, binoculars and American flags in hand, perched atop the sea wall and watching for the amphibious ship Nassau. On board was the husband of a nurse’s assistant.

While she was growing up during the Great Depression, Andrews said, her father, a World War I veteran, instilled in her and her two sisters a passion for the U.S., particularly its role in humanitarian efforts around the world.

She and her late husband, Mallory, passed that sense of patriotism to their own children and their friends, offering American flags as gifts for weddings, graduations and other milestones. Now, she said, she shares her patriotism with her neighbors and friends.

Andrews checks with other residents and staff members to see whether any relatives are aboard an incoming Navy ship, and she works the phones to pin down its return date.

Then she sends an open invitation to community members interested in welcoming home the sailors.

“She’s our patriotic pulse,” said Laura Watts, who works at Westminster Canterbury and often joins the flag-waving crowd. “Her blood is red, white and blue.”

In recent years, Andrews’ eyesight has faded, leaving her legally blind. From the sea wall, she can see the surf sweep across the shore. Beyond that, she sees blurry darkness. A pair of binoculars can help her distinguish objects on the horizon.

“I wish I could see them plainly, but I just have to rely on all of you to say, 'There she is,’” Andrews said.

Officials had told Andrews Thursday that the Nassau would steam past Cape Henry about 8:30 a.m. Friday. By 8:30, a small crowd had formed along the seawall. A few staff members unfurled a sheet painted as the American flag, while others helped keep watch for the Nassau.

“That’s it, Isabel,” a man blurted.

“Where is it?”

“You’ll see it in just a minute. It’s coming around the fishing pier.”

Andrews shifted her gaze to the east and peered through a pair of binoculars.

“That’s it, right there?” she asked, looking in the direction of the ship.

Yes, came the reply.

Andrews traded her binoculars for her flag, thrusting it into the air and waving. Her friends hoisted theirs higher and waved, too. Then they broke into chorus, singing “God Bless America.”

For Andrews, the homecomings offer a chance to show her patriotism.

“I just have a love for my country and my flag,” she said.

“As long as there’s breath in my body, I hope I can be out here doing this.”

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com