Hundreds of Navy sailors give back at Patriots Point

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Hundreds of sailors from the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston volunteered Friday at Patriots Point to help with nearly 20 projects.

For the ninth year in a row, 250 sailors helped to clean, pick up trash, paint and pressure wash the USS Yorktown, USS Laffey, and the Vietnam Experience Exhibition as part of the Trident United Way’s Day of Caring.

Supervisor at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, Luke Wright, said helping on Friday is for the community and to actually get the young sailors out on a naval vessel.

“The public is always so grateful for what we do; so, it’s awesome to get a chance to say thank you. We appreciate your support, every time someone says thank you for your service,” Wright said. “It’s always gives us a chance to really say thank you for that support.”

Patriots Point is not the only Lowcountry location receiving help with almost 3,000 navy sailors helping at schools and other locations on Friday.

Chris Hauff, Patriots Point Director of Marketing & Communications, explained that their staff cannot complete the amount of work the ship needs, so having the extra hands is very helpful.

“We have a saying around here that ‘we stand a little taller and the ships are a little prouder when the Navy’s back on board,’” Hauff said. “We’re a bunch of civilians working here at the museum but on a day like this when the Navy’s back on board, it just makes us all real proud.”

Hauff further explained that the USS Yorktown used to have 2,000 men onboard daily to take care of the ship. Now, Patriots Point has a staff of 60 to 100 people at a given time to take care of maintenance.

“To be able to have them {the Navy] come aboard and give us their time, it saves us so much manpower and hours that we could put back in actual the museum and make exhibits for our visitors to learn more about the Navy,” Hauff said.

Patriots Point is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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