Pearl City Sailor Sculpts ‘Old Ironsides’ At Japan Snow Festival

Chief builder Billy Harger of Pearl City helps shape a portion of the USS Constitution snow sculpture during the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival. U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan Delcore.

Pearl City’s Billy Harger, chief builder assigned to Public Works Department Misawa, participated in the 66th annual Sapporo Snow Festival, which runs until today (Feb. 11) and is one of Japan’s largest winter events.

Part of the 2015 Navy Misawa Snow Team, sailor Harger helped shape a portion of the USS Constitution snow sculpture for the festival.

The group created the sculpture as a tribute to the U.S. Navy’s oldest commissioned ship, a three-masted vessel named by President George Washington. It launched Nov. 1, 1794, and “Old Ironsides” currently sits in Boston Navy Yard in Massachusetts.

According to the Navy Office of Community Outreach, this is the 32nd year that Naval Air Facility Misawa and its tenant commands have sent a delegation of sailors to the festival to create a sculpture and serve as goodwill ambassadors.