NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand - Soldiers from the Oregon National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, visited the Ratchasima Boys' Home in Nakhon Ratchasima Friday.
The "Sunset" Soldiers visited the home for abandoned boys to perform minor repair work around the playground and to spend some time playing with the nearly 150 boys who call the multistory building home.
"This was our opportunity to take a break from training, to get out into the community and to connect with the people," said Army Capt. Joshua Van Vlack, a chaplain with the 2-162. "We all connected with the boys as soon as we got there."
Soldiers interacted with the children, including playing on the swings and jungle gyms with the younger boys. The older children taught the Americans how to play Takrow, a popular Thai sport played by kicking a rattan ball back and forth over a lowered volleyball net.
Other soldiers went around the playground, tightening bolts on monkey bars and replacing chains on swing sets. One soldier replaced the wooden boards on the backboard of a basketball hoop.
"The boys think no one cares for them, but when the soldiers come and play, the boys are so happy," said Prasarn Charoensuk, a local pastor who assists the home's staff and had arranged for the soldiers to make a trip to the home. "We get to know the Soldiers," he said. "Now the Soldiers are a part of the people."
The visit was a memorable time for the Guard members and children alike. "One boy, maybe 12 years old, told me through our translator that this was the best day of his life," Van Vlack said. "I can say without a doubt that this was the highlight of Cobra Gold for all of our soldiers as well."
The Soldiers, who are training at Camp Friendship a few miles from the boys' home, are participants in Exercise Cobra Gold 2012. Cobra Gold is in its 31st iteration, and is a joint, multinational exercise held to enhance interoperability with participating nations and to advance security throughout the Asia-Pacific region.