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Civil engineers light up night sky

  • Published
  • By Maj. Allen Monroe
  • 647th Civil Engineer Squadron
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  It's no small feat to make the lights on Freedom Tower illuminate Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for the 43rd time.

Each November, 647th Civil Engineer Squadron Airmen and civilians, and now U.S. Navy Seabees, invest 1,700 hours stringing lights, pulling strands, and climbing the 166 stairs leading up the 171-foot high tower to create Hawaii's "Largest Christmas Tree."

"It's a little known fact amongst our base residents how much time and effort that our engineers spend each November festively decorating Freedom Tower," said Lt. Col. Randy Whitecotton, 647th CES commander. "Their teamwork displayed annually in illuminating Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, however, is nothing short of amazing!"

One of the most well-known landmarks on Hickam, "Freedom Tower," is located at the far end of the Parade Mall, across from the 15th Wing headquarters building. The tower was built under the direction of Captain Howard B. Nurse of the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps, at a cost of $43,146.60, and it was completed on Jan. 14, 1938.

"My grandfather worked for the contractor E.E. Black, who built the water tower," said Jessie Higa, Hickam historian. "It's amazing to me today that it continues to be the iconic structure of greatest visibility of Oahu."

Of Moorish design and similar to another famous tower built during that era at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, Freedom Tower stands 171 feet high. It is octagonal in shape, with a radius of 18-feet, 5-inches, and each of its eight sides measures 14-feet, 6-inches across. The walls are 12-inch thick reinforced concrete at the base with a gradual reduction to eight inches at the top.

Eight pre-cast concrete eagles, weighing 2,000 pounds each, are located at the points of the octagon near the top of the tower. Hatched from a cast iron shell in 1934, the eagles were designed by Italian plasterer and artisan Mario Valdastri, of Honolulu. Three of the eagles were replicated by Mario Valdastri, Jr., using the same process to replace cracked originals in 1988.

"We still have one of the original eagles preserved here on base," Higa said. "We are working on plans to properly have it on display in the near future. Things back then were built to endure the test of time."

A steep spiral staircase provides the only access to the top, which is used today to store boxes containing strings of lights and equipment that transform the water tower into one of Hawaii's largest Christmas trees every year. A Hawaiian barn owl, or pue'o, nests in the upper most dome of the tower. The owl has reportedly produced multiple hatchlings since first discovered in 1989.

On May 15, 1985, during a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hickam, the water tower was dedicated and officially named "Freedom Tower" to honor those who have served, and will serve, in the defense of our liberties, and to honor those who paid the ultimate price so that others might live in freedom.

Beginning 2013, the tower will "go green" when the current lighting system will be replaced to use energy-efficient light-emitting diode, or LED, lights for the first time. So, as you enjoy the beauty of the Freedom Tower's glow this holiday season, please remember how your joint base engineers proudly worked to share some holiday cheer with you.