Almost one thousand former crew members who served aboard the USS Enterprise over the past 50 years gathered for the 50th birthday celebration of the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The celebration, held on November 27, is the first of its kind, for a ship that has served 5 decades in active service. The event gave all those who served aboard the USS Enterprise with an opportunity to look back at the importance of the Enterprise.

Sailors who are currently serving aboard the USS Enterprise served as hosts for those who served before them, and they were on hand all day to show their predecessors around. The Veterans, however, also gave tours of their own, as they reminisced about the time that they spent aboard the ship, once upon a time.

Airman Apprentice Michael C. Kingsolver, one of the Sailors currently serving aboard the Enterprise, shared the impact that Sunday’s event had on him: “Everyone has their own experiences and feelings about this ship… It really boosts my morale to hear these veterans share their stories with me and get excited about how things used to be.”

Former Sailors, on the other hand, felt that despite all the upgrades that the ship had gone through, as it adapted to the changing nature of warfare, it still stayed the same. Dale Inman, who served aboard the USS Enterprise in the early 1970s as a Machinist’s Mate, shared: “To me, it’s a little like spending a day with a childhood friend that you haven’t seen in many years… It makes me nostalgic for the good old days. But you know what, I’ll bet I could still man my station if the skipper needed me to.”