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.
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.
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.
