After 24 years of being maintained by one Iwakuni local Torao “Tiger” Okuda, members of the First Class Petty Officer’s Association, Chief Petty Officer’s Association and at least one religious programs specialist gave the Zero Hangar here an internal makeover Dec. 17.
After 24 years, the cleansing rehabilitation was probably long overdue.
“I didn't really get the magnitude of how much stuff there was to do, until everything actually came out,” Petty Officer 1st Class Kemp Drehr, First Class Petty Officer’s Association president, said. “There's stuff everywhere so we basically have to sort through all the stuff to see what Mr. Tiger wants.”
The volunteers pulled almost everything out of the hangar, leaving only the A6M Zero and a parachute.
Thorough sweeping ensued to generate a sizeable mound of debris, which had no doubt accumulated over the years.
The primary mission was to free up some space in the modestly-sized hangar to allow better viewing access and mobility for patrons, Chief Petty Officer Bill Ostrander said.
To accomplish the mission, a couple of Seabees were on hand to mount pictures on the wall and the two naval associations tapped their connections to get replacement furniture from the Defense Reutilization Management Office.
“The first classes and chiefs, we're able to pool our resources to kinda get the things from DRMO and they're gonna make a sign with the operating hours,” Drehr said.
Okuda was on-site observing the approximately 15 participants rearranging and redecorating his workspace.
“I really appreciate their help,” Okuda said.
This was the first time a full-fledged tidying job has occurred, he added.
The Zero Hangar is scheduled to be open 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. every day.