Spc. William Mills guides a South Korean child through the water near Shinbuk hot spring in northern Gyeonggi Province Friday. Mills and soldiers from the 302nd Brigade Support Battalion volunteered to take students from the Rising Sun special needs school out for the day. (Erik Slavin / S&S)
Spc. William Mills guides a South Korean child through the water near Shinbuk hot spring in northern Gyeonggi Province Friday. Mills and soldiers from the 302nd Brigade Support Battalion volunteered to take students from the Rising Sun special needs school out for the day. (Erik Slavin / S&S)
Pfc. Albert Jones guides a South Korean child through the water near Shinbuk hot spring in northern Gyeonggi Province Friday. (Erik Slavin / S&S)
YEOLDU GYE-WOOL, South Korea — Just 20 minutes north of Camp Casey and the grit of Dongducheon city, the mountains bubble with hot springs that empty into a gentle river.
Swimming around in such a setting isn’t a bad way to spend a duty day — especially when it helps the Army’s image, said soldiers from 302nd Brigade Support Battalion on Friday.
Seventeen soldiers and eight Korean Augmentees to the U.S. Army joined volunteers and teachers from the Rising Sun special-needs school in Dongducheon to help the children enjoy their swim.
The school has about 30 students ranging in age from 3 to 11. Once each month the children take a field trip, with some trips requiring one-on-one supervision and lots of volunteers.
“We’re always trying to find people to help, but not many people want to,” said school director Choi Kum-suk through a translator.
Willingness to participate has made the soldiers quite popular with the school.
“They can’t do stuff like this without us,” said Pfc. Tariq Racine. “So it’s a chance to get out and do something with the kids to make their day better.”
Many of the soldiers said they had previously volunteered with orphanages, schools and other places in the community. The 302nd will continue similar volunteer efforts a minimum of once per quarter, said 2nd Lt. Kelley Hann.
