Mother, son anchored in Navy receive promotions together

NORFOLK

When sailors reach the rate of chief petty officer, it's common for family members to pin the anchors onto the lapels of the chiefs' new khakis.

So when Justin Wray made chief Tuesday, his mother, Crystal, did the honors. Then he promptly returned the favor.

Crystal and Justin Wray were among 67 new chiefs promoted in Hampton Roads on Tuesday, and among 14 in the hangar at Norfolk Naval Station.

That they both made chief at the same time was a coincidence. That they got pinned in the same ceremony was a happy ending to what could have been a much darker tale.

"The fact that we're standing here with our son is a miracle," Crystal said. "It makes it extra special."

Crystal, a reservist yeoman based in Omaha, Neb., was called up in November and sent to Iraq to serve with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 17 in the spring.

She'd been in the country only 26 days when she got the call: Justin was in the hospital. He had been flying a control-line model airplane when it collided with a high-voltage power line, sending 19,000 volts through his right arm and out both of his legs.

She flew home on emergency leave and nursed him through intensive care, a hospital stay and home recuperation. For a while, the fate of her son's hand was iffy, as was his career.

"No hand, no Navy," she said.

In the meantime, Crystal asked for and received a reassignment to her son's squadron, VAW-120 - the Greyhawks - the Navy's replacement squadron for E-2C Hawkeyes and C-2A Greyhounds.

Justin, an aviation electrician, underwent successful surgery and promising physical therapy. At the same time, the Navy bureaucracy was humming along in the background.

Crystal missed making chief last year when her test score for the selection board was 0.83 of a point under the cutoff; Justin passed the test and made the board but didn't make the cut.

As Crystal was helping nurse Justin back to health in late June, she got word she'd made this year's cut. In early August, Justin learned he had, too.

Tuesday morning, the two stood in line, mother directly behind son, as the other new chiefs walked up to the stage to be pinned by spouses, children, other chiefs.

Crystal and Justin climbed the stage together, along with Mark Wray, Crystal's husband and Justin's father.

Justin technically was promoted first, with his parents pinning on the same anchors Mark had worn during his Navy career. Then he and his father turned around and pinned his mother.

As Justin descended the stairs to be announced to the hangar as "Chief Wray" and "piped over the side," his mother, still staring over the crowd from the stage, sneaked a peek from the corner of her eye.

Afterward, the new chiefs greeted a steady stream of well-wishers, Justin shaking hands awkwardly with his left to rest his recuperating right.

"To get to this moment is indescribable," Crystal said.

When asked about balancing the dual roles of parent and fellow chief, she didn't hesitate.

"Right now, I'm the mom," she said, glancing over at Justin.

"Can you even think of how proud you'd be?" she asked. "I got to stand right next to him."

Justin was equally proud. And, like all good leaders, pragmatic.

"There's been competition between us since we made first class," he said, "but I know who keeps the house running. She's still Mom."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com