On Thursday, Sept. 20, a group of very happy and proud people, both military and civilian, gathered at the intersection of Highway 20 and Ault Field Road to dedicate a wonderful new community monument that stands as a “Gateway” to both NAS Whidbey Island and the City of Oak Harbor. At the conclusion of two years of planning and hard work on the part of many, our vision of a northern gateway exhibit of both an A-6 Intruder and an EA-6B Prowler aircraft became a reality. And it is impressive! All that we hoped it would be, and more.
Fittingly, Friday, Sept. 21, marked the 65th anniversary of the commissioning of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Since the setting of that first watch at NAS Whidbey, men and women wearing the uniforms of our armed forces have gone out from this place to fight our nation’s wars and to project power for peace on the oceans of the world. For more than 40 of those years, Whidbey’s contributions to this projection of sea power have been made by the two aircraft so beautifully displayed at the Gateway site — the A-6 Intruder and the EA-6B Prowler. The Intruder was the Navy’s workhorse in Vietnam and in Desert Storm, and wrote several glorious chapters in the history of naval aviation prior to its retirement from service some 10 years ago. As a testament to its durability and ever-increasing capability, the Prowler continues to serve today and into the future as the world’s only electronic warfare aircraft, and none of our carrier air wings go into harm’s way without the EA-6B.
From the perspective of the city and the greater Oak Harbor community, however, these aircraft and the Gateway display stand as tributes to our “citizens in uniform” –— those who flew, maintained and supported the Intruder, those who continue to so effectively operate the EA-6B Prowler, and especially to their families, who have remained here among us to bear the burdens and uncertainties of long and potentially dangerous deployments. And, most especially, the Gateway display stands as a lasting tribute to those who departed our shores to go into harm’s way and who did not return.
The Gateway project began with an offer of assistance from the Navy to the city to repair deterioration and damage to the city’s A-6 aircraft, which had been exposed to the elements in its original display location at Windjammer Park for a number of years. The Intruder was removed from that site in October 2005, and during the past two years numerous volunteers — individuals, businesses, donors, organizations — have worked to create the magnificent display that stands at our northern entrance today. Simply stated, without their contributions, dedication, generosity and professionalism, this most impressive memorial to our Intruder and Prowler flyers, fixers and families, and to the one-of-a-kind bond between the Oak Harbor community and the Navy would not exist.
The credit for the success of this project goes to literally hundreds of persons who saw it as a good and worthwhile undertaking:
To those who conceived and directed the work;
To those (mostly active duty military personnel working on their own time) who restored these two aircraft to superb display condition;
To our local engineering, construction, metal fabrication and survey firms who have given so generously of their time and talent;
To NAS Whidbey and its supporting contractor staff for construction of the beautiful lighted welcome sign at the site;
To all of the work associated with site preparation, movement of the aircraft and placing them on their pedestals;
To those individuals and corporations who so generously provided financial support to the project;
And to the national Intruder Association, for their willingness to serve as the parent organization for the project, as its financial conduit, and as our official interface with the Department of the Navy for project approval.
To all whose dreams and visions came to fruition with the Gateway dedication, our heartfelt thanks. The completion of this project epitomizes what is possible when our military and civilian communities work together. This display will stand for decades to come as testimony to our incredible, unique partnership.
On behalf of the City Council and the citizens of Oak Harbor, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the many who have worked so diligently to create this “Gateway” to the finest naval air station in the country, and to our Oak Harbor community.
