Can we get a big shout out?! This is us sending one from South Korea on yet another awesome day on the Patriotic Travel Program with our heroes.
We started off this morning with a roundtable discussion. This is where the veterans talk about their experiences to the group and the students ask questions. Although many stories were told, two of them really made a strong impression. The first was from Rich Peters of the Navy and Gil Mendoza of the Marines; these men haven't seen each other since 1950- they went to high school together! After serving in separate branches, fighting, returning home, and living their lives in different parts of the country, they finally met again on this trip. It was an exhilarating and emotional time for them and us. The second story was from Andy Giles, an historian and tour guide for Valor Tours. He eloquently told of his father, a Marine in both World War II and the Korean War. He was killed in action when Andy was four years old. Andy explained about the challenges he faced growing up without a father. However, he also told about the pride he felt that his father was willing to sacrifice everything for his country. This pride has been an enduring part of Andy's life.
Today we saw the 4th infiltration tunnel dug by the North Koreans. It was discovered in 1999; our South Korean Soldier guide was telling us how the South Korean's drilled an interception tunnel to locate it. He said that the North Korean portion of the tunnel was tall enough for their troops to run completely upright. The crazy thing is that the tunnel height was 4.5 feet! It's said that they could move almost 2,000 troops through the tunnel in 1 hour. We walked down 340 meters until we hit the North Korean tunnel. The difference between the two was staggering. The South Korean tunnel was wide enough for three of us to walk side by side, and we had plenty of head room. The North Korean tunnel was... well you can tell the difference.
The second place we visited was the Eulji Observatory. This stop was where we really realized that we were in an active war zone. On the way to the observatory we experienced the heightened security when we were stopped at a checkpoint where five South Korean soldiers boarded our bus and took down our names and descriptions. From the observatory we were only two kilometers from the DMZ. If there hadn't been any fog today we could have seen the North Korean soldiers and their defenses with the naked eye.
Our Veteran First Class Petty Officer Roderick Kent served on the Destroyer John R. Pierce aka "The Fierce Pierce" in the Navy. Because his ship only came within 1000 yards of Korea, he was experiencing these sights in much the same way we did. For this reason we got to talk to him about the Navy, his service and hear a few stories. He actually volunteered for the Navy because his home state of Iowa is land locked and he wanted to see the world. No matter what his reason for joining, Mr. Kent's attitude is now completely focused on service to other veterans. About 60% of his conversation centers on his work with the VFW, the Honor Guard, and helping organize his ship's reunions. Seeing how he doesn't seem to recognize his own sacrifice was a lesson we learned in humility and service.
On our final bus ride for the day back to Seoul another Veteran; Marine Cpl. Williams shared a video about the Chosin Reservoir. Many veterans were interviewed in this video; they shared the horror they experienced and in a sense really posed some serious questions. What does it means to you to be an American? Being apart of this great nation, we have a greater responsibility to the world and it's people. One Veteran said that the Korean War is not the "Forgotten War" it is the "Forgotten Victory." The Victory that was won here in Korea by our Boys was hard fought and bloody, but their sacrifice stopped the spread of communism. Today as we have traipsed across the South Korean land, this victory is evident in all we see from the buildings to the very people themselves. We must remember that it is all about Duty, Honor, Sacrifice, and Country; for without these this world would be a dark and bloody place.
On a funny note, we had a wonderful western style steak or seafood dinner and ended the evening by getting lost in downtown Seoul! What a blast it was, but no worries we made it back safely!
Thank you all. This ends the debriefing, Hurrah!
- Jenny & Nolan
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