Worldwide Durikas: 4th of July Celebration in Korea

The base in Chinhae held its Fourth of July festivities on 3 July. I took part in the 5k race on the ROK (Republic of Korea) navy base. It was moving to see so many Korean sailors show up to do the 5k with us. After the race, the U.S. base held a parade. Again, it was great to see the support from our ROK allies and the ROK marching band was top notch. The tenant commands on base were invited to create their own float for the parade. My guys did a great job in decking out our duty van in a patriotic motif. The cookout had some really great food. However, with the heat and humidity, I don't think the potato salad and kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage) sat well in my stomach and I missed out on the afternoon events (which included a dunk tank, watermelon eating contest, and martial arts demonstrations, just to name a few...). I also missed the base fireworks display but heard them from my room. It sounded like a great show and I heard that the base always did a great fireworks display for the 4th of July. I was told the day after that the base lived up to its reputation. Too bad I missed it.