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Most of the students in the school are children of American military fathers who have left the island because of divorce or separation, according to Halie Purdy, a teacher at the school.

As a result, the children are not eligible to attend Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and many of them have had difficulties in Japanese schools because of cultural and linguistic differences. The AmerAsian school provides both American and Japanese education to teach the students to become bi-cultural, she said.

The CLR-35 Chaplain's Office planned the party to provide the children an opportunity to connect with their American heritage.

"We did it last year and it went so well that we decided to make it an annual event," said Navy Lt. Winston Paulk, the head chaplain for CLR-35.

After bowling, the students gathered at the teen center, which was a new addition to this year's event. The center is near the bowling alley, so it easily provided a place for the kids to enjoy a dance floor and a wide variety of video games and movies. Also, the chaplain's office provided the kids with free pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers, snacks and sodas.

Many of the Marines and sailors volunteering at the event expressed their fondness toward helping out.

"Getting to paint their faces and the way the kids were dancing reminded me of my little brother and sisters," said Pfc. Whitni Schumaker.

The school's staff also expressed their appreciation of the event because part of the teachers' responsibility is to teach the children about their American heritage.

"(The children) have a huge Japanese influence on their lives," Purdy said. "So, when we can come on base and have interactions with American people in the military, the kids get another connection to their American culture, and that's the whole reason they're at the school, is to get both."