Soldiers spread holiday cheer to orphans

Photo By Staff Sgt. Steven Schneider | Pfc. Andrew Delgado, fire support specialist in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, gives Huicheol Choi, 18, a present at the Warrior’s Club, Camp Casey, South Korea, Dec. 13. Soldiers from around South Korea came together to bring some holiday cheer to children from the Noah Rehabilitation Center as part of the unit Adopt-an-Orphan event. Soldiers gave their time and donated so the children could have a nice holiday meal and gifts.  

CAMP CASEY, 41, SOUTH KOREA

12.13.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Steven Schneider 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

CAMP CASEY, South Korea – Soldiers packed the Warrior’s Club to spread some holiday cheer to children from the Noah Rehabilitation Center, Dodgucheon, South Korea, Dec. 13.

Soldiers came from as far as Dageau, in Area 4, to ensure the children would have presents, company and a quality meal for the holidays. The Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers led the unit Adopt-an-Orphan event that put smiles on the children’s faces and left those knowing there are people who care for them.

“It’s the second year any U.S. forces have been in that institution [Noah Rehabilitation Center], so it felt good to go back to them,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Knight, Area 1 BOSS president. “We had to do the meet and greet, so we could bring the units out to meet the children. You can see after they met the children the end product was this get together.”

For one of the Soldiers, 1st Sgt. Robert Hughes, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, the day was extra special. Hughes was an orphan himself and said he can still remember the day as a young child when his adoptive parents picked him up.

“It kind of reminds you and brings you back to center,” Hughes said. “When you start worrying about your personal problems and issues and start to compare them to some of these kids issues they are going to be dealing with.”

The Soldiers gained as much from the children as the children did from them.

“It means as much to the Soldiers as it does to the kids,” Hughes said. “Because the kids, they really enjoy the time with the U.S. Soldiers, but the Soldiers it teaches them humility, which is a good characteristic for a Soldier. It teaches them empathy, which is another good characteristic for a Soldier. They should have some humility and they should have some empathy for the local community, so they can remember that things aren’t always perfect.”

One Soldier said it thrilled her to watch the interaction between the Soldiers and children.

“It was amazing to watch the interactions,” said Pfc. Amanda Ridella, geospatial engineer in HHC, 1st ABCT, 2nd Infantry Division. “It was amazing to see the kids reactions. It was amazing to see them all really happy. I was very, very, very pleased with how everyone reacted around all the kids.”

Many of the Soldiers visited the center Dec. 7 to meet the children they would sponsor and learn a little about what the children would want for Christmas. This allowed the children and Soldiers to become familiar with each other.

Hyo Jin Seong, manager at the Noah Rehabilitation Center, said it meant the world to the children to have the Soldiers visit because the center is in the mountains and not many people travel to visit them. She said all the children at the center have a disability of some sort and it was founded to give the children a place to stay where they can receive an education.

“The children, even the ones that can’t count, kept asking how many more days would it be till they could see the Soldiers again,” she said.

Out of the 65 children at the school, 51 have no contact with any family members at all, so the people at the center become the children’s family, Seong said. Many of the children started to refer to the Soldiers as their “uncles” and “aunts” after they visited the center.

“It shows that the Army is more than one dimension and we can go out and help people,” said Pfc. Andrew Delgado, fire support specialist in HHC, 1st ABCT, 2nd Infantry Division.

Thousands of dollars were raised to buy the children gifts, which ranged from MP3 players to coats and backpacks to bicycles. The children put on dancing displays for the Soldiers and the event was capped off with a magic show and a visit from Santa Claus.

“I can tell you from personal experience, these children; those that are old enough to remember, will never forget this day,” Hughes said.

Minseo Cheo, 11, said she felt very good to have the Soldiers visit and thought the doll she received was very pretty.

• Date Taken: 12.13.2014
• Date Posted: 12.16.2014 00:30
• Story ID: 150378
• Location: CAMP CASEY, 41, KR