Grissom volunteers help preserve history Published Oct. 27, 2009 434th MXS GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind., -- It was late on a chilly Saturday fall afternoon with temperatures barely cracking the 40 degree mark. Three reservists with the 434th Maintenance Group had already completed a full day of work as part of their monthly Unit Training Assembly at Grissom Air Reserve Base. Now, in their off-duty time, they had a number of choices of what to do for the evening. Go for pizza? Chill out with their buddies and watch sports on TV? Have a nice hot meal at the Grissom Club? Instead of any of these options, they decided to put on some extra layers of clothes and volunteer their time to wash and clean one of the historical aircraft on display at the nearby Grissom Air Museum. Their goal for the evening was to help Ron Myer, chairman of the Grissom Air Museum, to clean an EC-135L Post Attack Command and Control aircraft that is part of the museum's outdoor display. At one time, the EC-135 was an active part of Grissom as it was flown by the 305th Air Refueling Wing when the base as an active duty facility. "It was quite cool, but wearing the wash gear mixed with the manual labor of scrubbing created so much heat,we were sweating," explained Senior Master Sgt. Chuck Hoover, one of the volunteers. "It was actually perfect weather even with the cool wind blowing across the runway and through the old aircraft museum yard." To help give the Grissom trio a quick start, Mr. Myer, along with Richard Muchler, aircraft and facility coordinator for the museum, had the required equipment in place. Even so, the work ran well into the late evening as darkness fell over the museum area but none slowed down until the job was completed. Other individuals who assisted with the aircraft wash were Staff Sgt. Matt Camp, and Senior Airman Mark Peavler. Mr. Myers' wife, a local second grade school teacher, was on hand with hot meals to make it a more pleasant experience. "As chairman of the Grissom Air Museum, I simply want to express a huge thanks for the volunteer effort put forth by Chuck Hoover, Mark Pleavler and Matt Camp for offering their time," explained Mr. Myers. "These 434th Airmen volunteered to suit up, during a misty October cold afternoon, to accomplish a task to desperately needed."
