Midway Magic - USS Midway Museum

USS Midway Museum Is Forever Home for

USS Midway Veterans

It’s estimated that more than 200,000 officers and crew called the USS Midway home over her nearly five decades of naval service. Whether ship’s company or part of the embarked air wing, and regardless of when or how long they served, these individuals will always be known as “Midway Sailors.”

Not long after the museum opened to the public in 2004, it was decided that an effort was needed to ensure that as many former Midway crewmembers as possible were welcomed back into the fold.

The Midway Sailor program was born.

The driving force behind the Midway Sailor program is Margaret Riggs, a museum volunteer for more than 18 years. Through this outreach program, Riggs and her small volunteer teamhave reconnected nearly 6,000 Midway veterans with the ship.

“The program offers a complimentary membership to Midway veterans, helps plan special access to the museum during their visits, and provides them information about other resources of interest,” said Riggs, a retired biochemical genetic researcher. mission driven, charitable or non-profit groups formed to educate, beautify or create other intangible benefits for the community. They have a unique culture of service. The Midway Museum is such an organization.”

One of the thousands of former Midway sailors reunited with the ship once it opened as a museum was Troy Prince, who spent three years on the ship from 1989 to 1991.

“I loved serving on the Midway because of all the different places we visited,” said Prince, an aviation machinist’s mate with Electronic Attack Squadron 136 (VAQ-136), the carrier’s EA-6B Prowler squadron. “I liked being forward deployed to Japan.”

Stepping back aboard Midway after nearly 15 years was a special moment for Prince.

“When the Midway arrived in San Diego in January 2004, I was privileged to ride the ship across San Diego Bay to where she is today,” recalled Prince, who is now a volunteer researcher for the museum and started the website MidwaySailor.com 24 years ago as a small tribute to the ship. “As we grow older, veterans tend to think more about their time in service. We remember experiences we had and places we went. We especially remember the friends we made and the people we met.”

Riggs spent her career working in the department of pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Joining the Midway team happened partly by chance. Her husband started as one of the museum’s first volunteers and brought her along to help. A choice she has never regretted.

“I recognize that some civic organizations can only be created by the help and participation of volunteers,” said Riggs, who has amassed nearly 5,000 volunteer hours at the museum. “These organizations are While Riggs also assists with several other volunteer programs at the museum, it’s the Midway Sailor program that is most gratifying.

“My greatest satisfaction is helping these veterans relive their experiences aboard Midway and listening to their stories,” said Riggs. “Their military experience influenced our culture in interesting unforeseen ways. I also like working across departmental lines, learning about what other groups are doing as I assist in planning special experiences for them during their visits.”

Rob Boyd served three years on Midway from 1973 to 1976 as an aviation structural mechanic with Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115), one of the ship’s A-6 Intruder squadrons.

“It was the time of my life,” said Boyd, who joined the aerospace industry after leaving the Navy. “I was a troubleshooter on the flight deck. I also worked temporarily in the ship’s aircraft intermediate maintenance department.”

For Boyd, returning to Midway, now as a volunteer docent, 30 years after serving aboard has been a lifechanging experience.

“The reconnection must have been preordained,” said Boyd, who has been a docent for nearly 18 years and has logged more than 5,800 volunteer hours. “To serve yet again (on Midway) clarified the person over the thing. It defined my purpose and my ultimate destiny.”

Few sailors are as fortunate as former Midway crewmembers to be able to remain associated to their ship once they’ve left the Navy. Most naval vessels, once they are decommissioned, are sold for scrap and forever exist only in the memories of those who served on them.

The Midway Sailor program ensures the lifeline between the ship and her former crewmembers remains robust.

“The Midway has always been a huge part of my life, both as a young man and now well into adulthood,” said Prince, who, as a museum researcher, volunteers remotely from his home in Minnesota. “Many Midway veterans still visit the ship. The assistance provided by the Midway Sailor Program is invaluable and helps make their visits unforgettable experiences. Midway veterans are grateful for the complimentary lifetime membership because it recognizes their time aboard.”

Former USS Midway crewmembers can contact the museum at midwaysailor@midway.org or at (619) 398-8272.

For those interested in becoming a USS Midway Museum volunteer, more information along with the volunteer application can be found www.midway.org/give-join/volunteers.