2015/03/24
Marine Corps soldiers turned into farmers to help the real farmers harvest onions (Mar 19 2015)
(Taipei, Mar 18, reported by Wu, Po-Yi for Military News Agency)
The Armed Force is known for its love for the country and its people. The Marine Corps 99th Brigade works very hard in training in case one day they have to protect the place all of us call home. However, without compromising their training efforts, the boys of the 99th Brigade put down their weapons and picked up farming tools to help local farmers harvest onions, an act that brings soldiers close to people and a demonstration of how the Armed Force loves the country and its people.
Every year when the onion harvest season comes, there is always a group of boys in “tiger stripe camouflage” who join the harvesting efforts for a taste of how hard it is to be a farmer. Despite the blazing sun above and the sweat running down their bodies, the soldiers stayed focused on harvesting as many onions as possible. Their efforts and attitudes won the recognition of local farmers and bridged the gap between soldiers and civilians.
The onion harvesting aid provided by the Marine Corps 99th Brigade this year starts from mid March. When local farmers at Fangshan, Chechen and Hengchuan, Pingtung have the need and submit the request through local farmers’ association, the brigade will lend a helping hand as they always have to help with the onion harvesting. This harvesting assistance has been practiced for years as the embodiment of “soldiers and civilians are one big family,” which helps establish good interactions and close relationship, as well as show how the Armed Force loves the country and its people.