Photo By Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Takada | Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Damien LaPointe, a native of Dexter, Maine and Aviation...... read more read more
SHICHINOHE, Japan - Sailors assigned to Naval Air Facility Misawa and its tenant and deployed commands organized and conducted a day of fun for children residing at the Biko-en Children's Care House in Shichinohe, Japan, Aug. 18, 2012.
Sailors from NAF Misawa's First Class Petty Officer Association coordinated the community service project by providing food for those in attendance as well as bringing a bouncy-house, piñatas and outdoor recreation events.
Tatsuya Goto, Biko-en's director, said that when the Americans come to visit, the children are especially happy to see them.
"When the Navy comes here, the children see it as a day to relax and it feels like a party for them, they really enjoy it," said Goto. "It's important that the children have a chance to be happy.”
The day’s events began with the sailors gathering the children and having them break open several piñatas filled with candy. While many of the children had never taken part in this activity before, they quickly understood the concept, and were soon surprised with cascades of candy.
"We're out here today to provide a fun day of fellowship, games and activities to the children here at the home, as well as the staff and faculty," said Naval Aircrewman (Avionics) 1st Class Scott Counselman, a native of Orlando, Fla. "But I think our sailors ended up enjoying themselves just as much as the kids did."
After an initial period of shyness, the children began warming up to their American visitors and the games began, a soccer match began in one corner of the field and a pick-up game of frisbee began in another.
Later, Misawa sailors cooked and served an American-style barbecue lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and cake.
"My favorite thing about today was probably seeing the kids' enthusiasm, and watching them play games and interact with our sailors," said Counselman. "The look of excitement in the kids' eyes really makes this whole day worthwhile.”
For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nafmisawa.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2012 02:03 |
| Story ID: | 93505 |
| Location: | SHICHINOHE, AOMORI, JP |
| Hometown: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 308 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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