Schwab Marines become big brothers, sisters to local children

[thedrifter]

Schwab Marines become big brothers, sisters to local children
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification Number: 2003101520347
Story by Cpl. Ryan D. Libbert



CAMP SCHWAB, Okinawa, Japan(Oct. 13, 2003) -- More than 25 volunteers from Combat Assault Battalion and 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, now assigned to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division spent their Saturday afternoon on Oct. 4 with students from a local school.

The International Conversation School of English, located in Nago, brought 30 children to Camp Schwab to play and enjoy the camp's facilities with the Marines and Sailors stationed here.

The afternoon started with lunch for the children at the Camp Schwab Food Court followed by three hours of playtime in the gymnasium of the Camp Schwab Sports Complex. At the gym, Marines and sailors treated the children to games like tug-of-war, three-legged races, basketball, and volleyball.

The afternoon was well spent, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Scott S. Engebretson, religious programs specialist for 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. It was meant to open doors between the American and Japanese communities.

"Events like these are great for establishing good community relations between our culture and the Japanese," Engebretson said. "They help keep communications open and friendly between us."

The children from the school found the afternoon to be an opportunity to share some of their free time with an older figure they can call a friend Engebretson added.

"A lot of these children don't have big brothers or sisters," he continued. "The Marines and sailors here are doing their best to play that role in the lives of these children."

For the Marines, volunteering their free time on a weekend is worth it when they see the smiling faces of the children present.

"It kind of changes a person to see the kids having a good time," said Lance Cpl. Robert A. Jamison, volunteer from 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment. "I don't have kids of my own, but the idea is becoming bigger in my mind if it means having a good time like I am now."

The reasons for volunteering vary amongst the Marines and sailors present. For Engebretson, it's the hopes that the kids walk away with a good impression of the military community on Okinawa.

"The one thing I hope these kids take away from the events this afternoon is the knowledge that the U.S. Marines are here to help out," Engbreston concluded. "I want them to know that we can always be called upon in case they ever needed us for any reason."




Lance Cpl. Jake T. Drost gives a helping hand to children from the International Conversation School of English during a tug-of-war match at the Camp Schwab Sports Complex, Oct. 4.
Photo by: Cpl. Ryan D. Libbert

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...B?opendocument


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