MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marines and their families threw a Christmas party for a group of children from the Tsuta Orphanage at the Aircraft Rescue Firefighting building here Dec. 12.
“I like playing around with the other kids,” said Brooke D. Wichner, a 5th grader at Matthew C. Perry Elementary School. “Most of them don’t speak any English, but it’s never really a problem because we can just communicate with our hands.”
Before the children began to play, they first were served an authentic American Christmas meal.
The ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy were all provided by the Marines from ARF. In order to pay for the food, the Marines from ARF held fundraisers throughout the year.
“We take the money we earn and put it toward events like these,” said Staff Sgt. Robert A. Wichner, a crash crew special training project manager and Brooke’s dad. “We try and conduct about two to three events a year. Last year we went to the orphanage and played with the kids and presented them with a $1,500 check.”
The Tsuda Orphange fund helped pay for the party, but the gifts under the Christmas tree came straight out of the Marines’ pockets.
Each Marine from ARF purchased two presents each. In order to purchase the right presents, the orphanage provided a list with the childrens’ gender and age.
The presents were passed out to the children from Santa Claus himself, who arrived on a P-19 firetruck.
Once the gifts were passed out, the children opened them, instantly sharing their new toys with the children around them.
The Marines and American children helped the Japanese children prepare their toys for play, assisting in opening difficult packaging and tricky assembling.
“We are all very happy,” said Teppei Nakai, a staff member with the Tsuta Orphanage. “You can see everyone smiling so big, it is so happy,” Nakai added.
According to Nakai the orphanage will be having a little party on Christmas day at the orphanage, but he said the event at ARF is the main event.
For many of the Marines, the event was a chance to share the Christmas spirit with the children.
“The smiles on their faces warmed my heart,” said Wichner.
“It was great to watch the kids open their gifts and play around with the other kids and Marines,” said Wichner.