Odin Camus won’t be forgetting his 13th birthday anytime soon.

“Quite possibly the greatest moment of my life,” he says.

Camus rose to fame in March after his mother put out invitations to his birthday, but no one came. She then reached out to social media to send best wishes to her son.

Then the story went viral, and the sea cadet received a special offer. The Royal Canadian Navy invited him to take over the helm of HMCS Fredericton.

“Being in the navy today was quite possibly the most exciting thing,” says Camus. “Basically made my dreams come true for a little while and I’m very grateful.”

Odin had to perform a series of duties on the ship to achieve promotion through the rank.

By the day’s end, he was awarded the title of captain. 

“He got to give commanding orders,” says Lt. Cmdr. Nancy Setchell. “Even asked a lot of questions the captain would have asked. It was amazing to see."

Odin’s mother Melissa says her son’s recent rise to fame is a result of the heartwarming kindness of strangers.

“He’s definitely made me proud with the way he’s handled everything today and that he is gung-ho about living the dream,” she says.

Odin hopes one day to return to the captain’s chair.

“Being captain take a lot of responsibility and a lot of leadership,” he says. “I hope I’ll get to be captain of a ship one day.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett.