Photo By Master Sgt. Paul Wade | U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Scott Johnson, the commander of the 40th Infantry Division, meets...... read more read more
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ENOGGERA, Australia – The United States and Australia have been close allies with strong military ties for the past 100 years. Rooted in shared values and common goals, the two nations have fought side-by-side in every battle since World War I. This past July, nearly 14,000 American troops descended onto Australia’s shores for a massive joint training exercise to ensure those ties stay intact.
While there overseeing the 1,500 U.S. Army soldiers and commanding the land war portion of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011, Maj. Gen. Scott Johnson, the commander of the 40th Infantry Division based out of Los Alamitos, Calif., got a chance to celebrate some of that history first hand.
“I think military heritage and history of any current military organization is important. I think it’s very meaningful to soldiers who are in the organization. For instance, the fact that the 40th Division has very strong ties with the Republic of Korea and the Korean War, it means something to our current soldiers.”
During his first trip to Australia last year for the planning of Talisman Sabre, Johnson discovered that Australia shares similar ties to Korea.
He first noticed the connection when he learned that a key drop zone for the exercise was named after Kapyong, the sight of one of Australia’s most famous battles in the Korean War, for which the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation. Johnson, who has traveled to Korea several times, recognized the name of the city.
A year after the hard-fought Battle of Kapyong, the 40th ID arrived there from the front lines to regroup, finding the city in ruins and the children with no school. The soldiers dug into their own pockets for donations and, during their 3-month stay, with the help of an engineer battalion, built the children of Kapyong a 10-room schoolhouse. The school, named after Sgt. Kenneth Kaiser, the first 40th ID soldier killed in the Korean War, is still there today.
In between missions, Johnson made his way to the 3RAR National Memorial Walk at Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera, Queensland. The tree-lined tribute honors the 695 3RAR soldiers who have lost their lives in conflicts over the years. While there, he was privileged to meet current members of the regiment, as well as Mick Servos and Ron Perkins, two men who fought in Kapyong and aided in the creation of the memorial walk.
“It’s inspiring to think about the service it provides. I’m glad to have the chance to be here,” said Johnson about the memorial.
To celebrate the historical ties shared by the two units, Johnson presented Servos and Perkins with a 40th ID coin, as well as ceramic pottery given to him by the mayor of Kapyong during his last trip.
During the three-week exercise, Johnson also got to chance to share some history with a 95-year-old American veteran from World War II.
Serving in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1945, Jack Fleming was one of nearly a million American soldiers who passed through Australia during World War II to help fend off the Japanese. More than 12,000 Australian women became war brides, including Joyce Woodward, a native of Rockhampton, who quickly won the heart of Fleming. The pair married during the war, and soon after his discharge in 1945, Fleming returned to Rockhampton, the location where much of Talisman Sabre took place, to be with his bride and newborn son.
“I jumped at the opportunity to meet and honor him,” said Johnson.
“I just think heritage and history are very much a part of why we are here today,” he added. “There’s an obligation both ways to take advantage of opportunities to connect the present with the past and it’s very rewarding, I’ve found.”
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2011 17:04 |
| Story ID: | 75518 |
| Location: | ENOGGERA, QL, AU |
| Web Views: | 453 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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