Marines help clean Alcatraz

1st Marine Division
Story by Lance Cpl. Joseph Scanlan

Date: 10.04.2012
Posted: 10.04.2012 22:07
News ID: 95744
Marines help clean Alcatraz

SAN FRANCISCO - The day after San Francisco Fleet Week 2012 started, Marines serving with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit hit the ground running by cleaning up one of San Francisco’s gems, Alcatraz Island, Oct. 4.

Fleet Week is dedicated to showcase the United States military’s capabilities of humanitarian assistance and disaster-response preparedness on the homefront.

Normally, three National Park Service personnel maintain Alcatraz, but Jimmy Odenthal of National Park Service on Alcatraz said it was greatly appreciated to have Marines help restore the park’s beauty.

Marines serving with the 13th MEU worked underneath the morning’s low overcast picking up trash and assisting NPS personnel with moving wooden pallets.

“It was great to see Marines come out here today and help us clean the island up on top of everything else they do for us,” said Herman Pinales, a project manager with NPS. “I’m a retired chief petty officer so I know how hard of a job it is to be an active-duty person in the military. It is really appreciated having them go above and beyond the line of duty when they aren’t required to.”

Cpl. Lauren Cooper, an intelligence system administrator serving with the 13th MEU said she visited the island on a tour when she was younger, and after the day’s cleanup she saw a nice improvement.

She said it was really enjoyable to clean one of the nation’s most historical landmarks.