WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Living in a landlocked state, most kids in Utah don't get to see a lot of Navy ships and submarines.
But for Navy Week, some students in West Valley City had the chance to learn more about the Navy from some real life sailors.
Sailors from Boston visited with kids in the YMCA program at Redwood Elementary, and the children learned about the history and purpose of the U.S. Navy.
“It makes me happy when they get excited to see the history of the ship, and when we talk about, you know, the weapons that we used to use back in the day and how the sailors used to live and things like that, they get really super excited about it and it's really fun to see their reactions,” Navy Sailor Ashley Swisher said.
But not all was a lecture about ships and cannonballs, as the kids had the chance to learn how to tie ropes and see an actual Navy cutlass.
Randi Moore with the YMCA said this visit came in handy for this group of kids, as she said many of them didn’t know what the Navy was beforehand.
“I just basically told them a little bit about the Navy, about ships and planes and the ocean, and then the kids wanted to make them a gift because they were taking time out of their schedule to come see us,” Moore said.
The kids drew pictures for the sailors, and during the visit, they handed them the whole bunch to thank them for coming out to see them.
“It really just truly touched my heart that, you know, little kids took time out of their day to color us little pictures,” Swisher said. “It was really a touching experience, it really was.”
