Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Makeover for piece of Marine history

A handful of New River Marines have given a legacy aircraft a much needed facelift.

“I like taking on big projects like this and I’ll be able to enjoy it every day when I drive past it,” said Lance Cpl. Jason Lawrence, 22, of Wappingers, N.Y.  “I did it for the Marines who will visit the base and remember flying in this aircraft during Vietnam and elsewhere. I hope it means a lot to them.”

Nearly one dozen volunteer Marines from across New River came together to restore the UH-34D helicopter located within the aircraft static display by the air stations main entrance.

The project took more than 2,100 hours to complete and included refurbishment such as stripping the old paint, repairing damaged metal and applying a fresh coat of paint.

Now in its olive drab glory, the aircraft sits perched among other aircraft for Marines, their families and guests to see.

“I was here from the beginning to the end,” said Lawrence, a painter and welder with MALS-29, about the five-week project. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done. And it’s nice to hear other Marines acknowledge our hard work.”

For Lawrence, the hardest part of the restoration was being out in the sun every day for eight hours working on the helicopter. Everyone wanted to be a part of the project, which helped with motivation, he said.

"It was hard seeing such a beautiful aircraft stripped down and in such bad condition but having restored it we can all stand back and smile,” he said.

Gunnery Sgt. Wesley Hutchinson couldn’t be more proud of the Marines work ethic, he said.

“It was mentioned that this aircraft was due for a restoration because it had some leakage on it and severe corrosion,” said Hutchinson , 38, of Camden , Ala. “Being with the airframes division of MALS-29, ... this is what we specialize in. Who better to restore a Marine aircraft than the Marines themselves?”

Hutchinson felt since the aircraft, which had not been worked on in five to six years, was in such a high visibility area, it deserved to be restored — for current Marines and the Marines who built the Corps’ legacy, he said.

“I asked for volunteers and we got a team together,” Hutchinson said. “We got Marines from many different military occupational specialties who wanted to learn and do their part. It was really great to watch this whole thing come together.”

Some of the discontinued items were custom fabricated, and the Marines brought tools and supplies from their work stations to the front gate every morning. They applied a clear coat of paint to help refract the light that will hopefully make the restoration last longer, said Hutchinson .

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of Marines,” Hutchinson said. “They absolutely put 100-percent heart and love for the Marine Corps, for the history of this aircraft and the love of those that came before us … this is truly what Semper Fi stands for.”

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