Maumee grad meets Captain Richard Phillips

nbr MELISSA FOLEY received 04/23/2009 handout photo *** NOT BLADE PHOTO Melissa Foley shakes hands with Captain Richard Phillips aboard the USS Bainbridge after Captain Phillips of the merchant ship Alabama was rescued from Somali pirates.

As a crew member of the USS Bainbridge warship, Melissa Foley, a 2004 Maumee High School graduate, got to share in the celebration when Capt. Richard Phillips was rescued from Somali pirates recently.

A 2007 Owens Community College graduate and an interior communications electrician for the U.S. Navy, Ms. Foley said by e-mail that this was her first deployment and one she was not likely to forget. "I cannot even begin to express the feelings of relief when Captain Phillips was finally safe on board, not to mention the sense of pride in myself and my shipmates," she said. "It's an awesome feeling to know that when push comes to shove, everyone on board (including the most junior sailor) knows what they have to do."