NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- It's hard to believe, but two decades have now passed since the closing of one of the region's most important military facilities, and the Southside's largest industrial employer.
The Naval Aviation Depot at Naval Station Norfolk closed on September 25th, 1996. At one point, during World War II, more than 8,000 people worked there.
Then, the Base Closure Commission voted to shut down the facility, and 4,300 people were suddenly out of work.
Now a new exhibit is celebrating the proud 80-year history of NADEP, through war and peace.
"Their motto was, 'Without us, they don't fly,'" said Joseph M. Judge, Deputy Director of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. "And 'they' of course are the many aircraft over the 20th century, including the F-14 and the A-6's. They did everything to keep these aircraft in the air."
The NADEP exhibit is located at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, inside the Nauticus Maritime Center in Norfolk. The grand opening is Thursday night at 6 pm, with several keynote speakers, including former Congressman Bill Whitehurst.