An American girl dressed in a flowing pink kimono and a Korean American boy sang a sweet rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner,” and the Republic of Korea’s “National Anthem” as a proud and reverent crowd placed their hands over their hearts and sang along to both.
Lieutenant Col. Ivan P. Beckman, commander of the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, spoke at the Korean American Association of Clarksville, Tenn.’s New Years Celebration dinner Jan. 16, at Austin Peay State University.
The Clarksville KAA celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Tiger with a dinner party and entertainment. Several demonstrations were given in traditional Korean dance and Korean Martial Arts, as well as, a Korean comedian and a local vocal artist.
Beckman spoke on behalf of Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell. He was chosen because of his personal family ties with the Korean community and heritage.
He spoke on building bridges and shared a story about his Korean tour commanding an engineer company that worked with three Republic of Korea Army bridge engineer companies.
Beckman’s company and the ROK companies held a yearly event called “Operation Friendship,” which was a river crossing exercise at Kang Dong Daegyo. One mission took several months of planning and preparation, taking six hours to build. The result was a bridge that spanned the 650-meter width of the Han Gang River.
“We were doing much more than building a bridge from the south shore to the north shore,” said Beckman. “We were building a bridge between American Soldiers and Korean soldiers, between the American people and the Korean people, and between American culture and Korean culture.”
Several other distinguished guest speakers included Tennessee Senator Tim Barnes, the City of Clarksville Mayor John E. Piper and Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers, just to name a few.
“We are a much better community when we stand together, hand-in-hand, and shoulder-to-shoulder,” said Beckman. “Let us continue to build our bridges here in Clarksville and Fort Campbell.”