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Why Korea is an Assignment of Choice – By Mr. Jeffrey Layne

It was late fall of 1985. Basic training and Airborne school were over, and I was a newly minted Infantry Paratrooper waiting for my first duty assignment.  Fingers crossed I would be heading to Ft. Bragg with the 82^nd Airborne Division, or some other Airborne such as in Italy. Nope. Not for me. I was told my duty station was with the 1/23^rd Infantry, 2^nd Infantry Division – Korea.  Wait…what?  Korea?  Why Korea?  That is not an airborne assignment and initially, I was very disappointed simply because I had hoped to be assigned to an airborne unit along with my friends.

Before leaving for Korea, I remember a senior sergeant tell me that Korea was, “the Army’s best kept secret” in terms of duty stations and life experience. The “Aha!” moment hit me as soon as my unit started its DMZ mission. The Cold War was still very active, and this was a real-world mission in an active hostile zone. The reality struck me this was a chance to be a part of something important…the defense of the Korean people.

There were many experiences that left lasting memories and impressions on me. Some I can still vividly relive in my mind. One time was during training. Being infantry, we would often go out on extended field training exercises. Many times, while in the field, we were bored. Having something like books, and especially Walkman cassette players or radios, really helped pass the hours of boredom. One time, I remember I spent pretty much an entire day parked in my gun jeep outside of someone’s house. I was told to stay there and wait for further instructions. While waiting, a young boy came out of the house. I figured he must have been about 4 or 5 maybe. Well, the little boy was curious about me. After showing him various pieces of equipment, weapons, radios, etc., he climbed up into the front passenger seat of my jeep. He had really taken a liking to my Walkman player. There he sat most of the day listening to music, which consisted mostly of 80’s pop and old country music. Thank goodness I had extra batteries and tapes. The little boy really was having the time of his life sitting with me, listening to music, and just watching whatever I was doing. After several hours of just hanging out with me, I broke into some MREs (field rations) because I was getting hungry. He shared in this wonderful “Army dining experience” and didn’t seem to mind the quality of the food much. He was more thrilled with its novelty.

What I remember most from that day was that after a while, his mother came out of the house. She had obviously been aware he was hanging out with me in their front yard. As she came to greet me, she came with hot food! Being it was a chilly day, and I had not had any hot food in days, it was such a joy for me. It was not only very thoughtful of her, but it was so comforting to me. Personally, I was always the type of person that loved trying different foods and had really grown to love Korean meals. I think perhaps I enjoyed eating new Korean foods as much (if not more) than that little boy enjoyed trying Army field rations. After a good, hot meal, she went back inside and took her son with her. As he left, I handed him my Walkman with a few extra batteries and tapes. I tried to tell his mother it was my gift to him. He was all smiles.

Later that evening as I was getting ready to sleep in the back of my jeep, this little boy came out of the house to not only return my Walkman, but he gave me a hug. I was pleased at how thankful he was, and I am sure his mother told him to return my Walkman before his bedtime. But I simply thanked him again for the hug and sent him back inside…with the Walkman. I remember trying to tell him it was a gift. He had a huge smile and ran back into his house again. Sometime well after dark, we received orders to move. I jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off to my next position. I’m sure that little boy came looking to see if I was still outside the next morning. But I was gone and would never see him again. I sometimes wonder if he remembers that day and the boredom we shared together. I always remembered.

Serving in Korea taught me so many things. It taught me personal sacrifice, loyalty, duty, honor…and it taught be I could love another country and its people as much as my own. It taught me that despite cultural differences, people are very similar. Good food, sharing a drink together, and learning to communicate with one another despite language difference can still bridge nations, and build lifelong friendships. I remember so many times sharing meals with the KATUSA soldiers who had become close friends. I even remember the smiles on the face of the young girl that braved the DMZ to bring us newspapers. She would arrive with newspapers in hand, wearing the helmet we provided, and waved in greeting to us as she walked through the base. It opened my eyes to a whole new world, and that t be respected, you must first respect others despite differences. I learned to love the differences because of my time in Korea.

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