Good Neighbor News

ROK-US Navy strengthens friendship through volunteer works

40 ROK-US Navy servicemembers visited a nursing home in Busan. Total of 420 servicemembers expected to visit 11 different social welfare facilities before the exercise

Segye Ilbo

Along with 10 ROK servicemembers of the naval base in Busan, 30 US servicemembers of the USS George Washington, which entered the naval base in Busan July 21st to participate in the ROK-US combined naval exercise, visited Whangjun Nursing Home in Dongrae-gu, Onchundong, Busan.

Servicemembers visited the nursing home with their uniforms on and as soon as they arrived, several pulled their sleeves up and began mopping the auditorium at the 4th floor. At the same time, the elders who finished taking a bath at the 3rd floor got a comforting massage from the servicemembers with blue eyes.

Although the elders and the servicemembers did not speak the same language, they exchanged looks and made happy expressions on their faces.

SCPO Tyron Jairs, who works in the chaplain office at the aircraft carrier, said, “It is a great pleasure to visit Busan once again since 2008. I am very delighted to participate in this meaningful volunteer work with ROK servicemembers.”

CPL Son Min-ho from the ROK naval base in Busan said, “While serving the military, this is the first time to participate in a volunteer work with US Navy servicemembers. It was a great time to share friendship with those servicemembers.”

Meanwhile, other 80 servicemembers of the ROK and US Navy visited the Blue Bird Elderly’s Health Center in Youngdonggu and the Chunma Rehab Center in Amnamdong and did volunteer work by cleaning the area, washing laundries, weeding the lawn, teaching English, and others.

For four days, 320 US Navy servicemembers of the USS George Washington and USS McCampbell and 100 ROK Navy servicemembers of the naval base in Busan will participate in volunteer works, which take place in 11 difference different social welfare facilities.

The ROK Navy stated that both the ROK-US Navy managed to hold these great volunteer works to strengthen the ROK-US friendship by helping out neighbors who are in difficult situations.