Young Marines lend a hand in Okinawa beach cleanup


By Mark Rankin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, March 25, 2004


YOMITAN, Okinawa — “Hey, look over here. Wow!” nine-year-old Byron Garrarga kept yelling to his buddy, Anthony Pesquera. His finds: a bent motorcycle frame, car tires, an old, weather-beaten washing machine — all half-buried in the sand.

Byron said he gets excited every time he visits any one of Okinawa’s crystal-clear beaches, but didn’t know garbage in this capacity existed.

A bright-eyed recruit with the Young Marines unit from Camp McTureous, Byron found himself running from hidden treasure to trash pile recently when he and more than 20 Young Marines and their parents worked with 30 local Okinawans in the Okinawa International Clean Beach Club to scan miles of Eibo Beach area in Yomitan village for rubbish and debris.

“We’re searching through the bushes near the beach to get rid of old trash that could harm the fish,” Byron said. “I’ve found almost everything you can think of out here, even this crab that I might keep.”

Edo Heinrich-Sanchez, organizer of the cleanup and president of the OICBC, said his volunteer, nonprofit, nongovernmental group performs beach cleanups every third Sunday of the month and thought involving the Young Marines would be a positive way to make them aware of dangers to the ocean environment.

“We exist to improve beaches, create awareness and stir the minds of our young people about marine pollution,” Heinrich-Sanchez said.

As trash is collected, he said, so is data about what was collected where so that federal government officials can track dumping activity.

Marine Master Sgt. Eric Russell, Young Marine Unit commanding officer, said the young unit members are excited to contribute.

“This is our community, too,” he said. “We use these beaches for recreation and also want to show our Young Marines how to appreciate the environment and help their community.”

Russell said each Young Marines unit is an independent community-based program led by adult volunteers. Although the Young Marines don’t recruit for the Marine Corps, he said, the program does “strive to instill the core values of honor, courage and commitment adopted by the Marine Corps to each of our members.”

Kym Cole, supply officer and parent representative for the Young Marines unit, uses the group’s outings as family time. Her four children, ages 14, 11, 9 and 7, are active with the Young Marines. “It’s a family affair,” she said.

Heinrich-Sanchez said each March through November, OIBC runs its “I Love Okinawa Clean Beach Campaign.” Planned events after cleanup time include sea kayaking and snorkeling, reef walking, a yacht race and beach parties, he said.

At season’s end, the Young Marines will organize an islandwide cleanup in conjunction with International Coastal Cleanup Day.

For more information on participating as a volunteer, or organizing a cleanup, contact the Okinawa International Clean Beach Club on its commercial line at: 0901-940-2734.

For more information on the Young Marines program, visit the group’s Web site at www.youngmarinesreg01.org or call DSN 622-5037.


http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?...&article=21193


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