Korean Araw Force rebuilds typhoon-damaged house of war veteran in Leyte's Carigara town

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 16): Korean Araw Force rebuilds typhoon-damaged house of war veteran in Leyte's Carigara town

True to their commitment to help in the rebuilding efforts of typhoon-affected Leyte, the Republic of Korean Military Forces (Araw Force) expanded their rehabilitation works from the towns of Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa and Dulag to Carigara.

On Saturday, Segundino Grisola Sr from East Visoria village of Carigara entered his newly-rehabilitated house, complete with a generator set, courtesy of the Araw Force of the ROK.

Grisola was one of the 10 Filipino soldiers from Carigara who were sent to Korea to fight with the South Korean Military forces against the North Korean Army.

Their presence had paved way for the restoration of peace in Korea and consequently earned them the respect of the Korean government and its armed forces.

“This person is a veteran in the Korean War and we wanted to respond to his sacrifice in helping our country,” said Younghwan Eom, commander of the Korean Navy.

Grisola’s involvement in the Korean War was confirmed by the Military Attaché of South Korea after verification of the list of Filipino soldiers that served during the Korean War.

“Many Filipino soldiers died during the Korean War; this is our way of saying thank you to them," Eom added.

The veteran also availed of the services of the Korean medical team that conducted a mission in his barangay over the weekend. Children were given free popcorn and ice cream by the soldiers.

Aside from the house of Grisola, Eom revealed that they will also repair houses of three other Filipino veterans during Korean War in the city of Tacloban, Tolosa and Dagami.

Most of the Korean soldiers who are here to help in the recovery effort of places devastated by the typhoon if not their first time to visit the country have no personal relationship with the Philippines except for 1Lt Dae Heung Hwang. He stayed in the country to study at the University of the Santo Thomas taking AB-BSE Major in Social Science in 2011.

This 25-year old Korean soldier who still understands and speaks little of Filipino said that he volunteered to be part of the team upon learning of his government’s plan to send a mission team to the Philippines to help the victims of Yolanda.

Studying in the country made his heart closer to Filipinos, said 1Lt Dae. He said that he is thankful for the chance of coming back to the country to contribute in the rebuilding of places that were torn by the typhoon.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=616655