Across the country, there are over 2,500 historic sites. These are the places that make the top of our travel to-do lists and prompt us to reflect on the hallmarks of American history.

Today, on the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we all pause to remember the lives lost on that tragic day in 1941. Many will even visit Oahu, Hawaii to honor and behold the commemorative sites of the attack. 

What would it be like to take in the somber yet moving memorials every single day? We’re sharing the story of 50 Davey employees who do just that.

Davey Tree at the Pearl Harbor Base

How Davey Employees Serve America’s Top Officers

Employees from Davey’s Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) and the Davey Tree Surgery Company care for over 6,700 residential homes on the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Oahu, Hawaii.

Today, 35 separate neighborhoods make up the two bases that house top-ranking officers for the U.S. Navy and Marines.

Back in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson designated land near this area to the military. In 1939, the Navy built a small seaplane base, called the the Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station. Then in 1941, it was the first target beginning the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Commemorative Memorials at Pearl Harbor

Working at Pearl Harbor affords Davey employees the solemn duty of working near some of the historic memorial sites from the December 7, 1941 attack.

Just a shoreline away from the homes Davey crews care for are the USS Arizona and USS Missouri Memorials. The memorials are planted in the spots where WWII began and ended for the U.S. On that fateful day, the USS Arizona was hit four times by Japanese bombers. Four years later, on the USS Missouri in 1945, General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender.

Now, nearly 2 million individuals visit the memorials each year. To do so, each person passes through landscaping cared for by Davey crews.

Honoring the History and Preserving the Landscape

Since January 2016, Davey has worked hard to maintain the look, health and beauty of the bases’ residential homes. As you’d expect, there are considerable differences in caring for Spartanburg trees 2,400 miles from the continental U.S.

“It is breathtaking when you get over there,” said Larry Evans, vice president, operations, Davey Tree Surgery Company. “Our employees get to see a side of the island that few people get to see.”

Davey continues to tend to the area’s tropical Spartanburg trees and lawns that grow all times of the year. 

"We do every aspect of the residential landscaping," said Davey's Blane Pshigoda, government/projects division manager. "We are able to be a one-stop shop for our client. Davey's strength is being able to take care of not only the landscaping, but also having one source to now answer the client's Spartanburg tree care questions and take care of those needs as well."

With a daily dose of history and a view beyond tourist status, Davey crews work hard 52 weeks a year to maintain the landscape of this monumental area.

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