Aviation Marines break Thanksgiving bread with family, local children
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, OKINAWA, Japan(Nov. 30, 2005) -- Service members with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 hosted 33 Okinawan children for a Thanksgiving celebration in Hangar 533 Nov. 23.
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MCB Camp Butler
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Computed Name: Lance Cpl. W. Zach Griffith
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20051129214358
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION FUTENMA, OKINAWA, Japan(Nov. 30, 2005) -- Service members with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 hosted 33 Okinawan children for a Thanksgiving celebration in Hangar 533 Nov. 23.
The Thanksgiving dinner was initially planned for the Marines of HMM-265 and their families to celebrate the holiday together, but the squadron decided to invite local children from Misato Children’s Home to partake in the food and fun.
The home is a school for children ages three to 18 who need a stable place to live. The squadron invited the children to help them understand the Marines living in their country, according to 1st Lt. Daniel J. Foust, legal officer for HMM-265.
“We get to see and experience their culture,” he said. “They don’t get to see us and our culture at all. We wanted to invite these kids to come and play and partake in one of our holidays.”
The children settled into the hangar around 3 p.m., and the sound of them playing and laughing echoed off the walls. They jumped around in two inflated play houses set up by the Marines, and they also played in a CH-46 Helicopter cockpit, which the squadron set up as a static display.
Originally, the event was geared toward single Marines who couldn’t be with family during the holiday, but many of those Marines were the ones reaching out to the children.
“Lots of Marines who don’t have their families here adopted one or two of those kids as their family for this holiday,” said Lt. Col. Phillip Reiman, commanding officer for HMM-265.
When it was time to eat, many Marines went through the line holding the children in their arms. Some kids held the Marines’ hands or attached themselves to Marines’ legs.
During the dinner, Pfc. Alvin Okuath, an ordnanceman with HMM-265, picked up a one-year-old boy and held him for the entire dinner. When the food was served, Okuath heaped helpings onto his plate, which he and the youngster finished together.
“It’s so great having these kids here,” Okuath said. “It’s great to share one of our holidays with these kids.”
The overall goal was to have a good time with friends and family while reaching out to the local children at the same time.
“This is a great opportunity to bring us closer to our host nation,” Reiman said. “It’s also a chance to share Thanksgiving with the squad and their families. Sharing this holiday with the children makes it that much more special.”