Begining a serialization

Begining a serialization

 

South Korea's Cheonghae Unit, which was dispatched to the Gulf of Aden, was absurdly withdrawn due to the COVID-19 mass infection.

 

▲commemoration of the completion ceremony

This case recalls the memories of typhoon damage recovery carried out by 520 Navy, Marine Corps, and Army engineering units on two Navy Landing Support Ships (LST) when damage caused by a super-strong typhoon occurred in the Philippines in 2013. It is a bit late to meet Pastor Moo-Hwan Eom, the representative of the Sisa Times, who is in charge of military ministry under God's guidance at such a time, but I am grateful to have had the opportunity to publish the Philippine typhoon damage restoration dispatch story serially.

 

At the end of October 2013, my wife stumbled upon a missionary couple whom I had served when I was receiving military training in the Philippines in 1998 at a department store near her home. After hearing that they had come to Korea for a break after a long time, I wondered, “Why did we meet the missionaries now, 15 years later?” Then, after a while, the Tacloban area in the Philippines was devastated by a super typhoon 'Hayen', and numerous dead bodies and refugees escaping from the airport were reported in the news. Having a relationship with the Philippines, I thought, “It would be good if our military could go to the Philippines, a country that participated in the Korean War, and help out.” As I thought, when I got a call from the Army Headquarters asking if I would like to become the commander of the Philippine contingent, I remembered a missionary couple my wife met again by chance. I accepted this as my mission and persuaded my elderly parents and my wife to oppose working abroad. If I hadn't met the missionaries, it would have been difficult for me to quit my job at the Ministry of National Defense and go overseas.

 

And it was a time to experience God's guidance from the day we first took our first steps to the Philippines until we withdrew from the Philippines at the end of December 2014. Life in the Philippine province of Leyte, which suffered more damage than the ruins of the war, was not easy. While living on an amphibious support ship (LST) under severe weather, we had to catch two rabbits: a garrison construction and a disaster recovery operation. It was necessary to pay attention to securing the safety of the military and preventing traffic accidents. Moreover, the Ministry of National Defense did not support the budget for a month, so we had to pray earnestly in the early morning every day.

 

▲Opong Elementary School

 

Finally, on January 24, 2013, the completion ceremony of our first work, 'Opong Elementary School', was held in the inclement weather that rained throughout the three weeks of work. On this day, village residents, students, the Philippine military, and heads of local organizations attended the completion ceremony, and the ceremony was held as a village festival, including tape cutting, scholarship delivery, and celebratory performances. The school's name, 'Opong', means lemon tree, and in the Philippines, the lemon tree is used medicinally from the leaves to the roots. The school principal gave the following congratulatory remarks at the completion ceremony. "Thank you for healing the school like a lemon tree by the Korean military. We haven't received any support for 25 years since the school was established, but now students can study in a comfortable environment."

 

After the completion ceremony, I said, “In order to hear the prayers of the principal, it seems that the Korean army led the footsteps of the Korean army to this Ofong Elementary School and restored this school for the first time among many schools.” The principal shed tears of joy. I later found out that she was a Protestant, a rarity in the Philippines, where there are many Catholics. Many affected schools desperately wanted our help, but our choice was Opong Elementary School, which is the farthest from LST. This was possible because of Opong's miracle, not by chance, but because of God's guidance according to earnest prayer for help, and our choices according to that guidance. Afterwards, we restored 37 schools until we returned to Korea, and this miracle of Opong Elementary School continued.

 

Locals speak. “Soldiers and groups from other countries just mimicked and returned home quickly, but seeing the Korean military’s efforts for the Philippines shows the sincerity,” Seeing the ARAW members working hard and sweating hard, the Philippine Army engineering unit was also encouraged and worked hard. We were able to restore 67 buildings, including schools, hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, public health centers and day care centers, as well as debris removal and medical assistance. Whenever local residents saw the Arau troops, they cheered in Korean, “Hello!, Thank you!, I love you!” in Korean, and the children reached out to us to high-five. I confess that this reaction of the local residents was possible because of the dedication of the ARAW members, the support and love of the many organizations that supported the ARAW Unit, and the Korean people.

 

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to SISA TIMES for giving me the opportunity to publish the Typhoon Damage Restoration Record of the ARAW Unit, which worked hard with tears and sweat. 

이철원 시사타임즈 회장 wangco123@timesisa.com