Halfway through the deployment

This is our visit to the Korean War Museum in Seoul, Korea. The pictures I have taken show the monument that was erected in honoring all those who gave their life protecting democracy and national peace. Enjoy...it truly gave me an appreciation for being an American.

The front of the Korean War Museum displays 21 flags from the countries that fought in the Korean War.

The tragedy of the Korean War began early morning June 25, 1950. North Korea illegally invaded South Korea resulting in 4 MILLION casualties. The Korean War was fought with UN forces from 21 different nations risking their lives. This war last for 3 years, 1000 days.

These sculpted statues were very detailed and told a beautiful story of the Korean War.

The PKM-357 Memorial pays tribute to 6 heroes who died with honor on 29th of June 2002. This ship is a replica of the ship that actually fought the battle of Yeonpyeong. You can see the battle scars the ship suffered while protecting and defending the waters along the NLL (Northern Limit Line).

My 4 Monkeys...it was very HOT the day we toured the Korean War Museum.

These were items that were found from the Korean War and on display.

This is a letter from General Douglas McCarther. He led the United Nations Command in the Korean War from 1950 to 1951.

These next few images were on display at the museum that showed what inside the DMZ looks like. I was fascinated beyond words to describe the feeling these pictures brought as I walked through the exhibit. I am trying to get back over to Korea before Mark comes home to visit the DMZ for the experience as well as for the photography. The history of the DMZ is below.

50km from Seoul, Korea is the DMZ. The DMZ (the Demilitarize Zone) or the border that the divides North and South Korea still shows lingering images of war, though it is a time of peace. This border is one that is HIGHLY patrolled. There are uneasy glances through a set of binoculars and layers of barbed-wire fences on a daily basis by soldiers from both sides. North and South Korean soldiers are on post 24 hrs a day and search operations along the border are performed daily too. One small move from either party across that line or from any foreigner who is not familiar with the history of this area could set the tone for conditions to abrupt or that foreigner will find himself shot or sitting in a Korean prison.

For now, there is peace!

We headed over to Osan AB, Korea to see Mark July 4th weekend! What an amazing week spent and we got to fly for free. We hopped over on the Freedom Bird and met up with my girlfriend Tami and her kids. Mark surprised us and caught the morning bus to Osan on Wednesday. He stayed until the afternoon and caught the bus back to Kunsan cause he had to work that night. He and Tami's husband, Wes came back up on Friday. Before we hopped the bus on Saturday for Seoul, Tami and I took her girls and Hailey to Dr. Fish to get a pedicure. It was a really cool experience. There was a big jacuzzi tub full of these little fish that would eat the dead skin off your feet, basically they were getting their tummy's filled while exfoliating our feet. My feet were super baby butt smooth except for the areas I had blisters...there ate ate them raw. Oh how they hurt and flip flops became my best friend for the remainder of the trip. So, 4th of July weekend, took us to Seoul. We stayed at the Dragon Boat Hotel which was on an Army Base which was very nice and I highly recommend to stay at if your ever in Seoul. We ate at the dinner buffet Saturday night and hung out at the hotel. Sunday we got up and headed over to the Korean War Museum and was amazed at everything we saw and the history of North and South Korea. It truly made me appreciate the very freedoms I have as an American. Later that afternoon we shot over to the E-market, which is the Electronics Mecca of Seoul. I bought a new lens for my camera and two Nintendo DS's for Hailey and Rylan all for less than $500.00. My lens alone retails for 700.00 in the states. So, I was rather happy with my find. We headed back to the hotel, grabbed some food and then watched the fireworks from there. We got up Monday and went over to the BX and shopped a little and then caught the bus back to Osan. I did some laundry and got our suitcases organized since we were leaving the next day to go back to Misawa. Mark and I headed out the front gate and finished up some last minute shopping. The deals in Korea are to die for and if you went to the right places you were able to get QUALITY stuff for the RIGHT prices if you were willing to barter with the Koreans. Overall it was a wonderful experience for us and we got to see Mark. Enjoy the pictures below from Dr. Fish!

Hailey didn't want to put her feet in the jacuzzi and let all those fish nibble at her feet so she settled on just getting her toes painted. This is Hailey's friend Camille, the two of them had the best time together swimming, shopping, and going to Chili's to eat!