US navy boat crew put a smile on school children's faces
Koper, 8 December - The crew of the US navy guided missile destroyer USS Ramage are wasting no time while their ship is docked in Slovenia's sole port town of Koper these days. Apart from doing some sight-seeing, the crew painted a fence of a near-by primary school and planted a three there.
Koper
The crew of of US navy guided missile destroyer USS Ramage painting a fence of the primary school in the village of Hrvatini near Koper.
Photo: Mitja Volčanšek/STA
Koper
The crew of of US navy guided missile destroyer USS Ramage planting a tree at the primary school in the village of Hrvatini near Koper.
Photo: Mitja Volčanšek/STA
Koper
US navy guided missile destroyer USS Ramage in the port of Koper.
Photo: Mitja Volčanšek/STA
Koper
The crew of US navy guided missile destroyer USS Ramage painting a fence of the primary school in the village of Hrvatini near Koper.
Photo: Mitja Volčanšek/STA
According to commander Joel Lang, this was a nice way to say thank you to the local community for their hospitality.
The crew visited the primary school in the village of Hrvatini today to paint the fence of its playground and plant the tree, which will be a "permanent reminder" of their visit, according to the principal, Branka Likon.
She said this was the school's first encounter with US troops although she did note that representatives of the US Embassy had visited the school in the past.
This is the first time that both the giant ship and Lang are in Slovenia and the commander was impressed by his hosts and the children's smiling faces.
He regretted that their stop was so brief but suggested he might return to Slovenia for a holiday with his wife.
The president of the Hrvatini local community, Nevij Kavrečič, said the visit was also symbolic, as the school was built in 1953, when the area, then a part of the Free Territory of Trieste, was under direct responsibility of the UN Security Council in the aftermath of WWII.
USS Ramage is one of the four US missile destroyers in the Mediterranean. After stopping in Koper for a few days, the ship will join the aircraft carrier Truman and conduct operations all the way to the Middle East in the coming months, Lang told the press.
The 154-metre boat has a displacement of 6,900 tonnes and a crew of some 280 men, officers included.