Snow Falls On MCBH

December 30, 2009
By Kristen Wong
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Hawaii Marine

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Mass pandemonium ensued as two trucks piled 30,000 tons of shaved ice across the hot cement of a flight line aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

“We came out here for the snow,” said Capt. Matt Pizzuli, assistant air officer, 3rd Marine Regiment, who brought his daughters to the 3rd Marine Regiment’s holiday party Dec. 18. “We don’t care about the guy in the red suit.”

Santa Claus’ arrival at Hangar 103, on a fire truck with sirens blaring, paled in comparison as the children barely acknowledged him and continued to play on the gigantic, icy hill.

More than 400 Marines and their families decorated cookies, wrote wish lists and indulged in tasty chicken, fried rice, cotton candy and more. Children donned heavy Kevlar helmets and vests while riding in rumbling amphibious assault vehicles. But it was clear what was the party’s star attraction.

Scores of children from the 3rd Marine Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment swarmed the hill like ants on a mound of sugar.

“We have two of our three battalions [present], which is something special,” said Ed Hanlon, family readiness officer, 3rd Marines. “It is a rare event that we have this many families coming.”

More than a dozen cameras were whipped out as children of all ages laughed and shrieked, tossing chunks of ice at each other and their parents.

“I just got blasted by a kid in the head,” cried Sgt. Bernard Lewis, section leader, Combat Assault Company. “It hurt!”

Some children were very young the last time they saw snow, like Celeste Nunez, who made a snow angel.

Others left the snow hill to “attack” Marines on the sidelines. Among them was Nunez’s sister, Alan-nah, 10, who joined the snowball fight.

“We know we’re not gonna win,” she said, getting ready to hurl more snowballs.

Many of the older children, like Heather Cantu, 13, of New Port, Calif., have already seen real snow. Nevertheless, she enjoyed flinging the snow ammo with the others.

“This goes away so much faster [than real snow] but it’s just as fun because you still get to do snowball fights,” Cantu said.

Cantu’s mother, Sandy, said it was a good opportunity for kids who are not able to see real snow.

The holidays are not immune to deployments, and some children, like 5-year-old Luis Martinez, played in the snow without his father. His spirits were far from broken, however, as servicemembers like Cpl. Chris Knowles, automotive organizational mechanic, 3rd Marines, played with several of the children in addition to his own sons.

“It’s so great that some of the other dads are playing with the kids,” said Martinez’s mother Rene. “I think [Luis is] going to be the last one out here.”

Martinez targeted Knowles and other adults, gleefully running back and forth from the fray so his mother could squeeze the water from his mittens and excavate ice from his black clogs.

“The greatest snowball is the one that doesn’t break after you get hit,” announced Martinez.

It all started with an idea. Mildred Courtney, the corporate director and military liaison at Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, coordinates special events on numerous military bases on Oahu. More than eight years ago, Courtney wanted to bring snow to the Marines, particularly the children. But children are not the only target audience. Courtney said the snow would remind the young Mainland-based Marines of home.

She had to figure out where to get snow and how to transport it to the base before it melted. She said she had seen the ice used by local fishermen, and noticed the ice was very similar to snow.

The “snow” was made by shaving 100-pound blocks of ice.

“We’ve had a very busy year in terms of deployments and receptions,” Hanlon said. He called the snow day a “tremendous opportunity for our family to get together as a whole and share the camaraderie and spirit of this time of year.”