Partnering with Habitat for Humanity, Marines build homes for S. Koreans
By Franklin Fisher, Taegu
bureau chief
Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps
Lance Cpl. Geoffrey West, 20, a combat engineer with Company A, 9th Engineer Support
Battalion, 3rd Force Service Support Group, is joined by a South Korean volunteer as he
installs vinyl siding on a Habitat for Humanity house under construction in Chinju, South
Korea. |
TAEGU, South Korea — The Marines have landed, and they’re
raising the roof.
About 20 Okinawa leathernecks are in South Korea with power saws,
hammers, trowels, putty knives, levels and dry wall screw guns. They’re putting the
finishing touches on a new four-family house in Chinju, in southern South Korea.
Habitat for Humanity is sponsoring the house-building, which helps
South Korea’s working poor.
“They should be able to move into their homes by December if not
before,” said Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth Gibson, 36, of Salem, Ohio, a combat engineer with
Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, of the 3rd Field Service Support Group on
Okinawa.
The Marines, who arrived Nov. 1, are spending about two weeks working
on a few Habitat projects. They also plan to do some construction work at Camp Mu Juk, a
Marine compound in Ochon, near Pohang on South Korea’s east coast.
Marines from the unit were in South Korea earlier this year pitching
in at other Habitat sites.
At the Chinju site, four houses were started and three were finished.
The one Gibson’s crew is working on was about half-done. It has two stories, with two
apartments to a floor.
They plan to get it to about 98 percent, leaving little but the paint
job and an electricity hook-up to be done, Gibson said.
The Marines will pour concrete, work on walls and the roof, put in
insulation and install vinyl siding.
Gibson’s group likes doing Habitat projects because they get to
help others while practicing important combat engineer skills.
“It’s a great opportunity to kind of hone in on their
wood-frame construction and finishing techniques,” said Gibson. “Because stuff
like this, it’s good for us, and a lot of times it’s hard for us to be able to
do this because of the cost of materials. And plus the satisfaction of actually helping
people out — I think the Marines get a good enjoyment out of that.”
Sgt. Justin Ice, 23, agreed.
“It’s a good opportunity to help anybody out,” said
the Alpha Company squad leader from Charleston, W.Va. “And its really great that I
can do it while being a Marine.”
Ice also agreed with Gibson and said the training is valuable.
“This is actually stuff they should be good at. It’s really
great training for them. Being in the Marine Corps, we don’t really have a lot of
materials to train with, so coming out here, they get the training and they get the
experience.”
Lance Cpl. Geoffrey West of Alpha Company said he’s learning
plenty.
“We’re constantly learning new things,” said the
20-year-old Olathe, Kan., native. “… I’m not just learning something,
I’m honing my skills, being better at them. That’s what it’s about.”
“But,” said West, “it’s not just another project.
It’s something that’s helping out a lot of people. They’re very nice
people. And I’m glad to get a chance to help ’em out in this kind of way. I
really like this kind of work.”
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