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Daniel Todd
III Marine Expeditionary Force Public Affairs
CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan — Thirty-four volunteers with the Single Marine Program visited Chatan-Daini Kindergarten to spread some Halloween spirit to the children there, Oct. 24.
The children let out shrills of joy as the costumed Marines arrived. Wonder Woman, Jack Skeleton and Minnie Mouse were a few of the American icons who spent a couple of hours showing the children some Halloween traditions.
The volunteers and children split into three groups and used stick-on decorations to create jack o' lanterns resembling such things as pirates, a cyclops and an alien.
"Decorating the pumpkins with the children was hilarious," said Lance Cpl. Nigel Thomas, an aircraft maintenance support equipment electrician with Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. "They just started putting the stickers all over the pumpkins, and they made some pretty interesting ones. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, which was our intention, so who cares what the pumpkins looked like?"
After decorating the pumpkins the children learned about trick or treating.
Volunteers passed out small trick-or-treat bags and then sat down in a large circle with bags full of candy. The children walked around to each of the volunteers saying 'trick or treat.' Jack-o'-lantern-sized grins quickly spread through the room.
"Showing children of another culture what we do for Halloween was a fun experience," said Lance Cpl. Wesley Sadzewicz, a legal services specialist with Marine Corps Base Camp Butler. "The children were so excited the whole time and seeing them laugh and making them happy made my day."
The Marines and children all joined together for an Okinawan dance at the end of the visit, and as the Marines left the school, a huge "thank you" resounded through the school.
"We are all very thankful the Marines could come out and spend time with the children," said Mineko Noborikawa, principal of the school. "At first some of the children were frightened and were crying, but at the end you looked around and everyone was happy. Hopefully we can have the Marines visit us again."
This was the first exchange of its kind between the SMP and the school, but coordinators from both organizations said they plan to continue holding events like this during other holidays.
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2007 20:13 |
| Story ID: | 13608 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 10 |
This work, Okinawa Marines share Halloween spirit with kindergartners, by LCpl Daniel Todd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
