From: ; "John C. CDR (015) (by way of Rev. Eric J. Stefanski, )" To: Subject: CLIMB: Southern Swing CLIMB Report 3 Date: Friday, November 02, 2001 12:28 PM Southern Swing 2001 Command Chaplain USS BLUE RIDGE and Fleet Chaplain Commander SEVENTH Fleet CliMB Report 3 The day before we pulled into Pattaya Beach, Thailand, 1 April, was many things. In addition to being the Fifth Sunday in Lent, April Fools Day, and our Commanding Officer's Birthday, it was also a day of exceptional activity, particularly among the SEVENTH Fleet Staff. For you see, this was the day that an EP-3 Orion was forced to land in China because it was struck by a PRC jet who was flying dangerously close. Attendance was down at all worship services that day (four at the Lutheran Service of Holy Communion and 25 at the General Protestant Service of the Word), mainly due to the events that were unfolding. The twenty-four crewmembers of the EP-3 continue to be held in China. Your prayers on their behalf are greatly appreciated. The BLUE RIDGE continued toward Pattaya. However, all Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) tours to Bangkok were cancelled, as well as those for scuba diving (and I had signed up for a one day MWR dive tour that involved two boat dives off an island near Pattaya :-( All crew and staff not on duty were allowed liberty, but had to remain within 30 kilometers of Pattaya Beach and had to be ready to return to the Ship at any time. We were told that if the Ship's whistle blew, the Ship would get underway in four hours. The Ship anchored out in Pattaya Bay at 0900 on Monday, 2 April. Two large ferries that held about 75 people each and five speed boats that held ten people each were used to transit Sailors to the beach and back. Because the BLUE RIDGE is the flagship for Commander SEVENTH Fleet, we normally hold a reception for local dignitaries and military officials at every port we visit, usually on the first night in port. This date was no exception. While the guests and BR/C7F Officers mingled about the main deck forward of the superstructure under a special canopy, the Ship's Mess Specialists served heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks and the SEVENTH Fleet Band played big band and more contemporary music in the background. On 3 April, I scheduled a Community Relations Project (COMREL) for any Sailor that wanted to volunteer. I coordinated the project through Mr. Peter Thorand, a German expatriate, who is living in Thailand with his Thai wife and daughter. Peter is the President of the local Rotary Club. Originally, 93 of my shipmates had signed up for the COMREL, but because of the events in China, many had to stay on duty aboard the Ship that day. Twenty members from the SEVENTH Fleet Band then joined fifty-two volunteers for the COMREL. The day began at 0630 because the first part of the project involved offloading almost 5,000 pounds of donated Project Handclasp items that would be given to needy people in Thailand. Project Handclasp is an organization with headquarters in San Diego, CA, that collects items from American companies, schools, and charitable organizations. These items are shipped to key distribution points, like Yokosuka, Japan and Singapore. Then, U.S. Navy ships can load up such supplies before going on deployments and distribute these items as part of their COMRELs. We offloaded toys (skateboards and inline skates from the Huffy Corporation), cases of white typing or copier paper, clothing, and books (used books from U.S. schools). The Project Handclasp items were lifted by elevator from a storage facility deep in the Ship, hand carried from the elevator down to the liberty boats (the two 75 person ferries) together with all the band equipment, ferried to a pier along Pattaya Beach, off-loaded and carried down the pier, loaded on a truck, and then taken with all the volunteers (in buses) to a rural school about 20 kilometers outside of Pattaya Beach. When we arrived at the school, the children were eagerly waiting. Although it was a very poor community, all the children were clean, wearing white shirts and dark shorts or skirts. While the C7F Band set up, the other volunteers unloaded all the Project Handclasp items; and while the Band played for the children, the 52 other volunteers painted the front wall that ran the full length of the school grounds, all of this in 90 degree plus heat and 80 percent plus humidity. After the wall was painted, we all gathered in the hall where the Band had been playing and presented the children with the toys and the school principal was presented with the other items. Then the Sailors went out into the schoolyard and played with the children. Around noon, we left for a luncheon that Peter had arranged at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden (a Rotary connection!). However, this turned into much more than a lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Garden, viewing the beautiful plants, playing in the petting zoo (where you could have your picture taken with tame tigers, leopards, orangutans, and other animals), riding elephants, and watching a Thai cultural show and an elephant show. Several of my Sailors, even a few salty old chiefs, said it was the best COMREL on which they had the pleasure to serve. The next day, LT Kevin Deeley, CHC, USNR (a Roman Catholic Chaplain from Commander Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, Japan, who kindly agreed to ride the BLUE RIDGE for the first half of Southern Swing and provide Roman Catholic services) and I visited the Pattaya Orphanage. This is run by the Roman Catholic order of the Redemptorists, and is only part of their work for the poor in Pattaya. I gathered information for future SEVENTH Fleet COMRELs. Also, there are many beautiful unwanted Thai children here who are available for adoption to anyone interested in giving them a good Christian home. The last day in Pattaya, Mr. Max Rommel, nephew of the German Field Marshal, gave Chaplain Deeley and I a tour of the area. Max took us to visit the Thai Buddhist cultural center, Viharnra Sien, which was built by the King of Thailand just outside of Pattaya. Buddhism is the national religion, and together with devotion to the king, this "thinkment," as Max calls it, is a strong part of Thai culture. Whereas many people in Japan are only nominally Buddhist, the people of Thailand are deeply involved. The Thais also practice a form of animism. Almost every home and many of the businesses, in addition to having the house altar with statues of Buddha and incense, will also have a spirit house setting outside. These spirit houses have a little shelf around the outside on which the people put food, flowers, and water "to keep the spirits happy." Max also took us to his home where we got to see the military decorations of his uncle together with family pictures and his large library. Max writes tourist guides in both German and Italian on travel in Southeast Asia, which are then distributed throughout Germany and Italy. It was a fascinating visit. One other aspect of Pattaya Beach, and Thailand as a whole, should be discussed. In part due to the Buddhist views of striving for freedom from things of the world (much like some of the early Gnostics who were libertine for the same reason), there is very large sex industry in Thailand. This is furthered by the Buddhist view that women are a lower form of reincarnation than men are. Thus, parents will sell their teenage daughters into indentured service in the sex industry (as bargirls, in brothels, or in a massage parlors), virtually serving then as a sex slave. Pattaya Beach grew as a center for this shameful activity during the Vietnam War as an R&R area for our soldiers and sailors. After the war, the sex industry continued to grow as middle age European men came to vacation here and participate in this terrible institution. Even to this day, you see many middle age and older Caucasian men walking hand-in-hand down the streets of Pattaya with very young Thai girls. Prior to our arrival in Pattaya, I published the following in our Ship's Plan of the Day (required reading for all hands): Prostitution in Thailand: Before taking liberty in Thailand, here are some important details about the Thai sex trade industry you should consider: * Thailand has the highest rate of HIV infection in Asia. It is predicted that there will be 4.3 million people infected with HIV by the end of 2001. AIDS is still incurable and fatal. * There are many other STDs contracted and passed on by prostitutes. Herpes and genital warts are still incurable. Chlamydia infection, which often goes undetected, is the most common cause of infertility for couples today. Gonorrhea and syphilis usually cause obvious symptoms in their early stages, causing people to get treatment, but if left untreated, these diseases can be fatal in later stages. * Although prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it is socially accepted, and little attempt is made to curtail it. * Prostitution is accepted in part due to religious and cultural beliefs. Women are considered to be inferior and a lower level in the cycle of reincarnation for this sect of Buddhism. Also, girls in Thailand are expected to contribute to their family's income. In some cases, this means being sold for service in the sex trade industry. * There are estimated to be between half a million and one million prostitutes in Thailand. Of this number, one in twenty is enslaved, or a daughter that is sold by her parents to the sex industry. * Because girls and young women are readily available for the sex industry in Thailand, and because women are considered inferior, expenditure toward medical care for those infected or prevention for sexually transmitted diseases is rare. The working life of girls in debt bondage for the sex industry is estimated to be two to five years. Once the girls are no longer desired or wanted, they are discarded to fend for themselves. Please take all of this into consideration and make wise choices while on liberty in Pattaya Beach. This information was taken from a book by Kevin Bales entitled Disposable People (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999), pp. 34-79. Thank God, we did not have one liberty incident (a situation in which one or more of our Sailors get into trouble) in Pattaya Thailand. Unfortunately, I did see some of our Sailors with Pattaya bargirls. One was a Sailor I know to be married to a Japanese girl and they have two children. The Roman Catholic chaplain and I were strolling down the main walking street by some of the open-air bars where the bargirls sit (you can't help but walk by these bars, and they are everywhere throughout Pattaya), and I saw this married sailor walking while holding hands with a scantily clad Thai girl. I didn't hesitate to walk up to him, say his name, give him a stern look, and tell him that I hope he hadn't forgotten his commitment to his wife and children. He immediately took his hand away from the Thai girl, said "Sorry chaplain," and walked away from her. I don't walk around intending to be a morality policeman. However, when I saw that, I couldn't help but act. Most of our Sailors behaved themselves well and had a great time of rest and relaxation in Pattaya Beach. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and I look forward to proclaiming God's Word and administering His Sacrament aboard USS BLUE RIDGE at the beginning of Holy Week. Our next stop is Port Klang, Malaysia (near Kuala Lumpur). We then will steam on to Singapore, where we will remember Good Friday and celebrate Easter. Sometime after Easter I will submit another report. May you have a blessed Holy Week. In Christ, John C. Wohlrabe, Jr. Commander, Chaplain Corps, United States Navy + + + Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness + + + The CLIMB e-letter brings you unedited, uncut reports directly from the mission field, whether in South America, Africa, Europe, inner-city, rural, or collegiate America, or military installations and battle sites around the world. It is our contention that those who truly hold to the ~Book of Concord~ as the pure exposition of Holy Scripture and the true confession of the Christian faith are also the most zealous supporters of the preaching of the Gospel in every corner of the world and, as such, ought to be kept thoroughly informed of how those endeavors are faring and shown how they may be rightly carried out without the destruction of orthodox doctrine and practice that some within the pale of Lutheranism now advocate. You may contact the authors of individual posts to this list simply by using the 'Reply' feature of your email reader (unless otherwise indicated in the above message). Because of the demands of their endeavors, there is the possibility that not all responses will be able to be answered. You may freely discuss the contents of these columns on other CAT41.org mail lists AND, (unless otherwise indicated) as long as proper acknowledgement is provided, you may reprint them for dissemination via free media. List subscription instructions (found below) should also be included. Subscribe? Send any message to: CLIMB-on@CAT41.org Unsubscribe? Send any message to: CLIMB-off@CAT41.org For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski + + + Confess And Teach For Unity + + +