US Marines battle the
heat while tilling an area behind the Child Protection and Development
Center in Huay Yai to be used as a vegetable garden.
Phasakorn Channgam
After storming Sattahip beaches for 10 days, U.S. Navy
personnel participating in the annual Cobra Gold exercise swept through the
Pattaya area, chopping, cleaning and capturing snakes on behalf of children,
senior citizens and the handicapped.
Lt. Cmdr. Nick Hamilton, chaplain of the 31st Marine
Expeditionary Unit, led the strike force of 20 marines from Combat Logistics
Battalion 31 to the Banglamung Home for the Elderly Feb. 22 where they
chopped wood, trimmed trees, and scouted the nearby jungle for snakes and
other dangerous animals. They cleaned the center, picked up trash and swept
leaves before bidding the smiling residents goodbye.
Elsewhere, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Battalion
commander, Lt. Col. William Arick and Lt. j.g. Barrett Craig, the chaplain
for Combat Logistics Battalion 31, led 15 men to the Child Protection and
Development Center in Huay Yai where again the sailors trimmed trees, tilled
soil and cleared a picnic area for the children.
The following day, this same group of marines returned to
Pattaya to spend a fun day with children at the Pattaya Orphanage. The
marines played games and learned sign language with deaf children. All the
children seemed excited to have the American visitors, with many posing for
photos with the men.
US Marines learn to use sign
language with the deaf children.
