Photo By Sgt. Cody Thompson | Sgt. Jeffrey Stewart (right), moves debris during Operation Soul Train in the Nobiru...... read more read more
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CAMP SENDAI, Japan — As Operation Soul Train rolls into stations in the Tohoku region of Japan, one soldier understands the need to get his hands dirty and help America’s far eastern allies.
“Operation Soul Train involves us helping the Japanese clear the Nobiru [and Rikuzen-Ono] train station[s],” Sgt. Jeffery Stewart, with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, I-Corps (Forward), said. “They said it was going to be a certain amount of days at each station, but I believe everyone was taken by surprise at how quickly we put a dent in the first station on the first day.”
The 10th Joint Logistics Task Force, along with soldiers from other areas and the Japanese Self Defense Force, put the mission of helping above their own personal comfort.
“When the earthquake hit, people that were stationed here felt that they needed to help the Japanese by getting down and dirty and helping out their friends,” the Schaumburg, Ill., native said. “There was absolutely no complaining from a single soldier; everyone was dirty, and everyone had high morale.”
Stewart understands why the sometimes tedious task of cleaning is essential to the Operation Tomodachi relief efforts.
“With that station cleared their able to get trains in to transport boats and fallen down houses and are able to clear bigger pieces of debris elements that their not able to move yet to better clean the affected area,” Stewart said. “Japan has had a history of earthquakes and tsunamis, every time something like this happens, years later it’s built bigger and better. We are here to help the Japanese get their lives back to normal.”
A history of wanting to help is what prompted Stewart to join the Army five years ago.
“9/11 made a lot of people angry,” Stewart said. “There was not much I could do from Chicago, and giving 10 dollars to the Red Cross [of America] didn’t seem like enough.”
Stewart’s wife explains his reaction when he learned that he would be going from Camp Zama to Sendai to assist in the relief efforts.
“He was thrilled once he learned that he was going,” Lindsay Stewart, wife of Sgt. Stewart, said. “Once he found out that he could go he felt like he was actually going to contribute. I am really proud of him.”
Now the two time Iraqi war veteran is giving back on a different foreign soil to help create his idea of a better tomorrow.
“Basically everything I do is for a better tomorrow,” Stewart said. “Someone always has it worse.”
People in Camp Sendai are not complaining, because people in JTF 10 have it worse. And people in JTF 10 are not complaining, because the displaced citizens have it worse. The displaced citizens are not complaining because there are people who did not survive, Stewart explains.
Although helping his Japanese friends in a time of need is a task that Stewart embraces, he offers a message about the fortitude of those involved in the relief efforts.
“It’s different than anything that I’ve ever seen before in my life,” Stewart said. “To them I would say thank you for having strength beyond strength. You almost wish that the Japanese people in this kind of disaster would become the paradigm for what people should act like. The strength of the Japanese soldiers, and even the displaced citizens, is strength beyond strength that I will never understand.”
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2011 03:59 |
| Story ID: | 69156 |
| Location: | SENDAI, MIYAGI, MIYAGI, JP |
| Web Views: | 350 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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