A sailor and his Stanford Chemistry Mug

This may seem like an odd email to receive out of nowhere, so let me start with the context.  I am Vince Vanterpool, a class of 2017 alumnus, who minored in Chemistry.  When I submitted my paperwork for the minor, I was given a ceramic mug with the university's logo on one side and the words "Stanford Chemistry" on the opposite side.  Not a material person I didn't attach too much sentimentality to the mug, however that would come to change.
 

Once I graduated, I commissioned into the US Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer (think Tom Hanks in the recently released movie Greyhound), and immediately shipped out to Yokosuka, Japan to embark my first ship, USS McCAMPBELL.  Arriving as lowly Ensign and the most junior officer, I had a steep learning curve ahead of me in terms of warfighting, mariner skills, and, of course, admin.  But most importantly, I had to reacquaint myself to the near-magical properties of caffeine, having last encountered it during finals at The Farm almost 6 months earlier. 
 

 

The mug soon embarked on a nearly 3-year long tour throughout the area of responsibility known as 7th Fleet covering the entirety of the West Pacific, South China sea, East China sea, and Yellow Sea. Our late night and pre-dawn early morning watches in the pilothouse driving the ship brought us closer as former student and mug.  Together we braved the crowded Straits of Malacca, enjoyed port calls around southeast Asia, got extended, went to my next ship USS SHILOH (also in Japan) and transited across the equator while at a sea, a rare accomplishment for many officers and Sailors, even more of an accomplishment for a mug. 
 

Sadly, despite braving and surviving many typhoons at sea, rocking and rolling with the heavy waves and winds, the mug has recently been found smashed upon the floor.   The mug went missing for days, worrying it may have been stolen, I asked around. One day, a concerned peer, quietly and secretly, confided in me that the mug was found in pieces on the floor. No culprit has come forward so far but we must forgive and forget.

 

Which brings me to my request.  It seems unusual but I would love to have another mug to continue the adventure with.  I am more than willing to pay for the cost and shipping associated.  The mug became my conduit to my fond memories on campus and the valuable friendships I keep to this day between other Chemistry minors and majors alike. 

 

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