A team of sailors from Misawa Naval Air Facility, Japan — from left: Petty Officer 1st Class Tom Dary, Seamen Apprentice James Rucker, Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Mosenthin, Chief Petty Officer Ranney Gaines and Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Davis — will carve a Snoopy the Red Baron snow sculputure that will be on display during the Feb. 7-13 56th annual Sapporo Snow Festival on Hokkaido. (Jennifer H. Svan / S&S)
MISAWA NAVAL AIR FACILITY, Japan — Adopting a more light-hearted theme this year, a team of five Misawa sailors will carve Peanuts character Snoopy as the Red Baron flying ace at the 56th Sapporo Snow Festival next month on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.
It’s the 22nd year in a row the Navy at Misawa has sent sailors to Japan’s most famous winter festival, slated for Feb. 7-13.
In years past, the team carved Lady Liberty after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Lone Sailor in honor of those killed in the 2000 terrorist bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and the doomed space shuttle Columbia.
Snoopy piloting his doghouse rose to the top of the list this year because “it’s something that the team all liked, and we felt comfortable it was something we all could do,” said Chief Petty Officer Ranney Gaines, the team leader.
Besides, “cartoon characters are really popular in Japan,” he said.
About 2 million people come to the Sapporo Snow Festival each year to see snow sculptures as tall as houses, some with giant slides for children. The festival began in 1950 when local high school students built six snow figures in Odori Park; five years later, the Japan Self-Defense Force built the first massive snow sculpture.
For Misawa Navy personnel, the annual sojourn to Hokkaido’s winter wonderland is above all a community relations venture, Gaines said. Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces will host the sailors in Army barracks at Camp Sapporo. They’ll also meet with Sapporo city council members and mingle with Japanese spectators while carving a 10-foot block of snow.
“The best part is interacting with the Japanese,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Mosenthin, a Seabee with Misawa’s public works department and a veteran carver of the local Misawa snow festivals. “A lot of times the school kids come out and want to do interviews with you.”
Joining Mosenthin and Gaines are Petty Officer 1st Class Tom Dary, Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Davis and Seaman Apprentice James Rucker. They applied and were selected by the command to be part of this year’s team.
Also preparing for the Hokkaido trip is a team of four from Yokota Air Base near Tokyo who will represent the United States in the festival’s international competition, according to team organizer Dave Russo, a retiree and civilian employee at Yokota.
Yokota has sent a team to Sapporo every year for more than 30 years, Russo said. Team members in the early days were goodwill ambassadors but, about 16 years ago, Yokota gained official sponsor status from the U.S. Embassy to represent the United States in international competition, Russo said.
Team members this year are Tech. Sgt. Timothy Burns, 374th Transportation Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Bobby Jones, 374th Communications Squadron; Ronald Hawkins, an English teacher in the local community outside Yokota; and the team manager, Tech. Sgt. Michael Brogan.
The Yokota crew will carve an American bald eagle, competing against 16 other countries for the prize of grand champion.
“The main prize we strive for is bragging rights,” Russo said. “If USA wins, we get a flag” that’s passed down to the first-place winner every year and displayed in front of the winning sculpture for the festival’s duration.
Carving in the international competition starts Feb. 5, before the festival officially kicks off. Teams have four days to finish their sculpture and may work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Russo said.
“Every year we try to do something representing America,” Russo said. “At the end of the day, you can barely bend your arms to reach your hair because you’re hurting so bad, but it’s a lot of pride.”
