Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Eteru Patane, supply sergeant for Company C, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry...... read more read more
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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - Fort Wainwright will celebrate Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month at a special event May 28 at 1:30 p.m. at the Physical Fitness Center.
American Samoa is also honored during the month, but since it has a population of approximately 60,000 people, it’s occasionally overlooked due to its comparatively small size.
“We can learn from any culture,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Hacker, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division command sergeant major, “but the Samoan culture has a lot to teach us — especially in the Army — about respect, about trust and about just taking care of each other.”
Hacker, who lived with a Samoan family for several years, still maintains close ties to the community.
“I owe them a lot,” said Hacker. “I was headed down the wrong road and they set me straight, saved me, really.”
Staff Sgt. Eteru Patane, the Company C, 3- 21st, 1-25th SBCT supply noncommissioned officer, was born in American Samoa and is president of Fort Wainwright’s Samoan Association.
“I’ve met people who don’t even know what a Samoan is, so it’s great to be able share our culture with people who may not know much, if anything, about us,” said Patane, who joined the Army in 1995. “And it means a lot to me that the Army dedicates a month to recognize the contributions of Polynesians to America and the Army. Samoans have been in every war since World War I.”
| Date Taken: | 05.17.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2013 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 107328 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 96 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, by SGT Michael Blalack, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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