GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - The Downtown Lyceum parking lot of U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was alive with pumpkins, costumes, frightful floats and haunted houses, Oct. 24.
The residents of GTMO were inundated with zombies, ghouls, princesses and superheroes as the spirit of Halloween overtook the residents of the naval station.
Families took part in the annual Trunk-or-Treat, an event where residents were able to take their children throughout the parking lot, which was filled with decorated vehicles, and give their kids the chance to take part in the trick-or-treat experience stateside American children might take for granted. Given the small population of GTMO, it is easy to see why kids here might miss the traditional Halloween experience
of going door-to-door and asking for candy.
Unfortunately for some military children, especially those living in a relatively remote area like Cuba, the experience can be substantially different.
Serendipitously, there are willing troops to take up the cause and provide for a wholesome, family friendly experience for everyone.
“Since we’re away from our families, it’s nice to play with other people’s kids,” said Army Sgt. Ellie Barnett, a litigations noncommissioned officer with Joint Task Force Guantanamo with the 525th Military Police Battalion.
Barnett was playing the part of Cinderella, taking photographs with children and families while standing outside of a zombie-themed tent filled with candy and costumed terrors put on by the 525th MP Bn.
Other attractions around the area included festively decorated floats usually in a family vehicle or in some cases a trailer. The vehicles had different themes, from “Sponge-bob Square Pants” to “Monsters Inc.” and of course pirates.
There were also three separate haunted houses, though two of them were haunted buses. The 474th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, known as the Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force, brought out a large tan tent and filled it with a circus of scary
clowns, much to the delight of families going in and out. The staff manning the haunted house seemed happy to provide entertainment for the local kids.
“Having people enjoy it and making sure people have something to remember,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Rodolfo Pena, with the Prime BEEF. “Having people enjoy something we do is fulfilling.”
The first of the two buses was a dark, terrifying ride that truly seemed to be the scariest activity available. It was marked by a line, which rarely fell below a dozen waiting patrons and the sounds of frightened screams from within.
“Every person who’s come through has been scared,” said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Natalie Camden, a member of the First Class Petty Officer Association, which created the haunted bus.
Camden said the FCPOA took time throughout the week to put together the attraction and it was a fun way for troops to give back to their community.
As the evening wound to a close and the sun began to go down, the crowd buzzed with excitement. The judging panel, headed by GTMO’s own Amy Lynn Culpepper, the wife of the base commander, Capt. David Culpepper, made its rounds. Examining each float and judging the costumes.
Over at the pirate-themed float, Navy Chief Petty Officer Peter Sangenette, a leading chief petty officer with Harbor Security, and Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Carl Holzhauer, a senior enlisted leader at the U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, stood dressed as a classic pirate and pop-eye the sailor man, respectively. They received second place in the float contest, beaten only by the zombie bus.
The zombie bus, put on by members of a company with the 525th MP Bn., featured a walk-through shooting range of sorts, complete with scary zombies to be taken out with Nerf guns. At the end of the day, Halloween might not seem like a big deal to adults, but it is a little piece of home for the kids at GTMO.
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