Sailors assigned to Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) joined Sailors from the littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7), Naval Recruiting District Miami, and Coast Guardsmen from Coast Guard District Miami to lend a hand to the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum during a community service event as part of Fleet Week Port Everglades, May 3.

Work included sanding and painting two decorative torpedoes in front of the museum, trimming plants, and distributing landscaping stone.

The opportunity to work hard under the beaming Florida sun was not far removed from some Sailors' normal workload.

"I'm in deck department so I do a lot of painting to begin with," said Seaman Ashley Price.

The work done by the Sailors and Coast Guardsmen was well-appreciated by museum volunteers.

"The guys did a very excellent job," said Specialist (Ret.) Brendan Doyle, a museum volunteer and Vietnam War veteran. "They saved us about six months of work. It's about to get hotter. In July you can't even go outside, but we do to get work done. These guys were a godsend. They not only protect the country, they protect the senior citizens here and we're all vets."

After the work was done, the service members and museum volunteers gathered inside among the huge collection of naval air artifacts to enjoy pizza, soft drinks and air conditioning.

While the museum benefitted from the Sailors' hard work, the Sailors, in turn, benefitted from interaction with the military veterans who run the museum.

"I'm glad I got to see some of the memorabilia here, meet some of the veterans and get a couple of stories from them while I was working," said Price. "It was a pretty entertaining experience and I'm glad I signed up for it."

Fleet Week Port Everglades provides an opportunity for the citizens of South Florida and visitors to meet nearly 2,000 Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, as well as see, firsthand, the latest capabilities of today's sea services.

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