May

It's hard to believe that it's already the last week in May, except we've skipped right through spring weather and the ah-pah-tuh is a sauna unless I turn on the AC a little.  We've had a couple of good weekends together without work commitments, which has been nice, but we've been staying busy.  

Mike was busy planning his Battalion ball for several weeks.  The event came together beautifully--with a great deal of help from Kyoungmin Unnie, who found the venue, bargained their price down, then came and ran the cash bar.  

                                              

Speaking of Kyoungmin Unnie, she was recently selected for a manager's position in the General's Mess--a testament to her skill and efforts at work--so she and Komo have moved down to Uijeongbu to be close to Unnie's new work location.  They found a great apartment with a view of both the mountains and the cityscape, not too far from base.  We came over for one of Komo's amazing dinners and got to check out the area.  Mike's sad he won't be able to stop by (and eat Komo's cooking) as often now that they've left Dongducheon, but I'm sure we'll still be frequent guests.  They're such a blessing to us!

We had the chance to see more family at Uncle Paul's wedding, where my handsome husband got to try out his new custom-made suit for the first time.  Uncle Paul's bride seems as sweet as she is beautiful--we're really happy for them, and happy that we were able to celebrate with them.

We went to the Namdaemun flower market twice in May--do I have the best husband ever, or what?--I bought the roses below for about $1.85.

...one time so I could get some flowers for a baby shower I was helping with.

 

Last weekend we had a house-full of guests--two of Mike's coworkers came down with their wives, children, and dogs to go to the Lantern Festival in Seoul.  We ended up with more company than we expected when a hotel reservation fell through, but it ended up being fine.  The parade itself was fun!

There were a bunch of kids in our group, and they had a blast watching the show.

The Koreans had a lot of fun watching (and taking pictures of) the kids!

By the end of the night we'd amassed quite a pile of lanterns people gave the kids as they walked by.

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Cover Art

Just in case you haven't seen it--the cover of this month's 2ID magazine: 

My husband's so handsome!!! 

Manchu Mile, by Mike

I am so proud of my wife.  She completed the Manchu Mile with no problems!  Granted, we were both barely able to walk the next day, but still, it's quite an accomplishment.  Let me explain.

I am currently the Commanding Officer of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment.  The 2-9 "Manchus" are one of the oldest and most decorated active duty infantry units in the United States Army.  The "Manchu Mile" takes its name from an 85-mile forced march undertaken by the 9th Infantry Regiment soldiers during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion in 1900 (it was during this campaign that the unit earned the name "Manchu").  A column of soldiers worked its way from the point of debarkation at Taku Bar to the city of Tientsin, where it went immediately into action in an effort to rescue besieged foreign diplomats and missionaries.  It was during this battle that COL Emerson H. Liscum  uttered his last words--"KEEP UP THE FIRE"--which became the Battalion motto, shortly before being killed by enemy fire.

Twice a year, 2-9 Infantry Manchus conduct a 25-mile tactical ruck march to commemorate the battle.  The soldiers are in full kit with ruck and weapon (Jean Anne carried everything but the weapon).  The route this year was quite challenging.  After the first mile or so, we climbed over a mile in elevation up a mountain located near Camp Casey.  It was quite a challenge, and several soldiers did not make it up the hill.  The route up and over the mountain was approximately 6 miles and took roughly around 3 hours… the rest of the route had us walking all of the surrounding area including a path along the river.  The whole march took approximately 11 hours; we did not finish until the early morning.

Soldiers who complete the march are authorized to wear the "Manchu buckle" on their uniforms.  It's a symbol of pride among the Manchus and highly sought after.  Since Jean Anne walked in full combat kit and uniform, the Battalion Commander awarded one to her as well!!!  So although she says Navy people think we're all psychotic to do this twice a year (she said she couldn't brag about it too much or her coworkers would refer her to Psych), she can rock the Manchu belt buckle with pride!

We were both extremely sore the next day and had blisters all over our feet.  So we promptly went to the Korean bathhouse and soaked for couple hours.  We're just about fully recovered now, and the pride of having finished has almost overcome the memory of the pain…we will remember this experience for the rest of our lives.