On an unseasonably warm spring afternoon, about 15 members of the same Navy squadron pulled up to a house on Barrington Drive in Oak Harbor, armed with enough manpower and lawn equipment to tackle a city park.

They came to lend a hand and build camaraderie, but mostly to lift spirits.

“One of our shipmates has fallen ill and is unable to keep up his lawn,” said Cody Hughes, president of VAQ-129 First Class Petty Officers Association at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

“As a First Class association, we took it on ourselves to get together and come out here and clean up his lawn and get it to where it’s manageable.”

Under blue skies Thursday, the group joined two Chief Petty Officers from VAQ-129 to offer heartfelt support for a squadron mate and his family who are coping with a difficult time. The Petty Officer First Class, who asked not to be identified, was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer in January.

Aggressive chemotherapy has sapped the sailor’s strength and left his expansive, normally well-manicured yard from getting the attention it normally receives.

That all changed Thursday.

More than a half a dozen pickup trucks arrived at the home, carrying hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, shovels and even chainsaws.

“I thought it would be two or three people,” the wife of the Petty Officer First Class said. “I didn’t expect 15 or more.”

“I was like, ‘Wow! Really?’”

Joel Pacleb, a chief petty officer and close friend of the stricken sailor, said it was the least he and his squadron mates could do.

Many of the men and women who came wore yellow T-shirts with their squadron’s Vikings symbol on the back.

“We’re just trying to help out as much as we can and make him feel better a little bit and comfortable around his house because the guy’s been sick a couple months now,” said Pacleb, who also was stationed with his friend in Japan.

The First Class Petty Officers Association invited Pacleb and other Chief Petty Officers to come to the event.

It served as part of the CPO 365 professional development program that brings Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officer First Classes together weekly.

“It’s a mentorship program that bridges a gap between the E-7 and the E-6 ranks so when they get slated for Chief, it’s a smooth transition for those guys to put on khakis and start leading,” Chief Petty Officer Mike Gallaway said.

“This event was suggested by the First Class Association, and they invited the chiefs out to come out and join them.”

The work went on for hours. Finally, when there was a break in the action, the squadron mates all congregated to a shady spot in the front yard to enjoy a few slices of pizza, where they were joined by the First Class and his family that couldn’t express enough how much their support meant.

The stricken sailor could look at his yard and see neatly trimmed boxwoods, fresh cut grass, clean edging and a truckload of fallen branches that were removed from his property.

He said his squadron helps out each other, which builds stronger relationships that carries over to the workplace.

“I truly appreciate the things they’ve done,” he said.