Prowler ready for its stick

By Paul Boring

Sep 12 2007

Aviation Ordnanceman Albert Sealey spent Monday morning at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station helping a Prowler put its face on.

The EA-6B was being readied for a trip to the Navy Gateway display where it will be mounted Thursday alongside an A-6 Intruder that was positioned at the corner of Highway 20 and Ault Field Road last June.

Sealey fastidiously removed tape residue on the aircraft, having previously worked on sealing the panels and stenciling both sides of the Prowler. The Brooklyn native was honored to be a lasting part of Oak Harbor and NAS Whidbey history.

“It feels good,” he said. “That’s why I don’t mind working on it.”

Volunteers, both Navy and civilian, have worked long hours to prep the plane, which, like the Intruder, is on loan from the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. However, decidedly unlike the Intruder, the Prowler was transported to the Gateway display site at 3 a.m. Tuesday on wheels. The Intruder made the trek on the back of a flatbed truck.

The aircraft is scheduled to be mounted on its pole Thursday at 8 a.m. A dedication ceremony will be held Friday, Sept. 21, at 3 p.m.

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