Sailors Help Beautify Historical Park
Chief Naval Air Crewman (AW/NAC) Tracy Moran said Sailors and their family members have been working with the National Park Service each Saturday for one month to clean up the beach and give back to the island community. Moran said the goal is to complete the work in Asan and move on to other parks.
"Not only is it good for the junior troops to get out and get some community service under their belt, but it also gets them down here to see what actually happened in this park during World War II and makes them appreciate the island and history that it has," Moran said.
Moran said being at the park also helps Sailors better understand their military heritage and the military's close ties to the island.
"Part of their evaluation is on naval history and what better place to learn that than at Asan Park," he said. "As a chief, it's my job to teach naval history to the troops, so as they're coming up in ranks they can carry that on to the next generation."
Memorials at Asan Beach Unit commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of those who died fighting to liberate the island from occupying forces more than 60 years ago.
Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class (AW/NAC) Nathan Gardner said he's proud to take part in the effort to preserve the history of the island and the military.
"There are a lot of visitors from all over the world that come out here to see World War II monuments and see the history that this island does have so it's nice to have it nice and clean for people to see," Gardner said.
Gardner said helping to beautify the park is also a way of paying homage to the military personnel and civilian residents who died in World War II.
"I would hope that if they could come back and see it now that they would be proud," he said.
Chantell Kinney, an HSC 25 spouse, joined her husband, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF) Kirklin Kinney in the cleanup.
"Wherever we are, it's home," she said. "We need to get out into the community and get to know people and take pride in where we are."
HSC 25 is the Navy's only forward deployed vertical replenishment squadron providing deployed ships a rapid, safe and versatile means of resupplying diminishing stores. In addition, HSC 25 provides 24-hour search and rescue and medical evacuation services for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
