Misawa Sailors Complete USS Constitution Snow Sculpture for 66th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival

SAPPORO, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

02.05.2015

Story by Senior Chief Petty Officer Ryan Delcore 

Naval Air Facility Misawa

HOKKAIDO, Japan - Misawa's 2015 All-Navy Snow Sculpting Team completed its USS Constitution snow sculpture in time for the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan, Feb. 4.

The team spent seven days using chisels, hatchets, hand saws, and shovels to cut, shape, and smooth an 8 feet by 8t feet block of snow into a replica of the cherished ship while enduring sub-freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.

The completed ship appeared to have sails full of wind and its 15 starboard side cannons ready to fire as it cut diagonally across its base through waves of snow.

Thousands of visitors, including other sculpting team members, stopped by to talk with the team about their sculpture as they worked.

The teams sculpture was an instant success as thousands of spectators stopped by to speak with the team and take photos of the ship and team members on the festival's opening day.

“It's great to come out and meet people from a different country and represent the United States. The USS Constitution is my favorite ship in the Navy so it was a lot of fun being able to carve it out of snow. This was a really awesome experience,” said Electronics Technician 3rd Class Ashley Verones, assigned to Naval Air Facility Misawa, from Westminster, Maryland.

The snow festival is visited by more than two-million spectators each year.

“Its been a great experience meeting all the people and interacting with all the Japanese. We've had people from Germany, we've had people from Russia, a lot of people from Australia. It's a melting pot of people around here right now and it's been awesome,” said Operations Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Hershiser, assigned to Commander, Task Force Seventy-Two, from Columbus, Ohio.

“We've never attempted a sculpture with this many details in recent years,” said Chief Builder Billy Harger, a native of Pearl City, Hawaii, and this year's team leader for his second year running.

The team worked on the block of snow until the basic shape of the ship's sails and hull were formed. The team used a sketch made by Harger along with many photos for referencing the ship's many details, including the placement and number of cannons.

The ship was a challenge to the team due to its many complicated parts that required a keen eye for their correct size and positioning.

The team worked from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and later in order to complete the sculpture and all of its details in time for the festival.

“The team's just happy to share a little bit about our heritage, about the USS Constitution and how it got its nickname “Old Ironsides” from being constructed out of live oak and able to withstand all of the cannon blows. It's pretty cool to be able to share that here in Sapporo with people from so many different countries," said Harger.

This is the 32nd year that Navy Misawa has sent a delegation of Sailors to Sapporo to build a sculpture and represent the base during the festival. The 66th Annual Sapporo Snow Festival runs from February 5-11, 2015.

Along with Harger, this year's all-Navy snow sculpting team is also comprised of Mineman 3rd Class Brandon Askins, from Navy Munitions Command East Asia Division Unit Misawa, who hails from Burkburnette, Texas; Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Jawana Grant, from Naval Security Forces Misawa, who hails from Georgetown, South Carolina; Operations Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Hershiser, from Commander, Task Force Seventy-Two, who comes from Columbus, Ohio; Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Anthony Moscarella, from Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department Misawa, and a native of Long Island, New York; Builder 3rd Class Nickolas Picard, from Public Works Department Misawa, who comes from Boyd County, Kentucky.; Electronics Technician 3rd Class Ashley Verones, from NAF Misawa, originally from Westminster, Maryland.; and Aerographer's Mate 1st Class Steven Zosso, from Naval Oceanographic Anti-Submarine Warfare Detachment Misawa, who originally hails from Boise, Idaho.

The team was also given time to see the city of Sapporo and its many restaurants and attractions during the visit.

For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan, visit www.navy.mil/local/nafmisawa/.

• Date Taken: 02.05.2015
• Date Posted: 02.09.2015 07:39
• Story ID: 153996
• Location: SAPPORO, HOKKAIDO, JP
• Hometown: MISAWA, AOMORI, JP
• Hometown: MISAWA AIR BASE, AOMORI, JP
• Hometown: SAPPORO, HOKKAIDO, JP
• Hometown: ASHLAND, KY, US
• Hometown: BOISE, ID, US
• Hometown: BOSTON, MA, US
• Hometown: BURKBURNETT, TX, US
• Hometown: CATLETTSBURG, KY, US
• Hometown: COLUMBUS, OH, US
• Hometown: GEORGETOWN, SC, US
• Hometown: LONG ISLAND, NY, US
• Hometown: PEARL CITY, HI, US
• Hometown: WESTMINSTER, MD, US