Area II honors victims of ferry tragedy

By Pfc. Moon Hyungju (IMCOM)June 12, 2014

Area II honors victims of ferry tragedy
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Area II honors victims of ferry tragedy
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Soldiers and a KATUSA take a moment of silent reflection to remember the victims of the recent ferry disaster while visiting the memorial for the Sewol ferry victims at the Yongsan-gu district office, May 12. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Moon H... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Area II Soldiers and members of the community visited a memorial altar at the Yongsan-gu district office, May 12, to honor the victims of the recent ferry tragedy.

On april 16, during a routine 13.5 hour trip from Incheon to Jeju, the MV Sewol began taking on water. The ship sank taking 275 lives with it. Most of the victims were high school students returning from a class trip.

There is much debate and public outcry as to what caused the ship to sink and who is to blame. News outlets reported that a sharp turn caused the ship to list violently and shifted cargo containers causing the crew to not be able to right the ship.

The memorial was organized to unite the community and to offer condolences for the lost lives.

Col. Michael E. Masley, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, wrote a message on a yellow ribbon at the memorial site. It read: "The USAG Yongsan community's thoughts and prayers are with you."

The memorial altar at the Yongsan-gu district office is open from Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. during weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during weekends and holidays.

Related Links:

U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan Homepage

USAG Yongsan on DVIDS

USAG Yongsan on Facebook

USAG Yongsan on Flickr

Installation Management Command

USAG Yongsan on Twitter

USAG Yongsan on YouTube