Pinoys at USS Juneau glad to serve kababayans

OLONGAPO CITY — It was a busy day yesterday for the joint contingent of US Navy hospital corpsmen and their counterparts from the AFP Medical Corps as patients lined up for a free medical and dental clinic in Barangay Barretto Community Center.

But the happiest to serve the people were two US Navy corpsmen from USS Juneau – Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Ronald Eusebio, from Imus, Cavite, and Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Arnold dela Peña, from San Manuel, Tarlac.

"We’re really glad to be here and make a difference in the lives of our fellow Filipinos," said Eusebio, who worked as a banker before joining the US Navy 10 years ago.

"We’ve been to a lot of countries doing this kind of work, but this is my dream to come home to the Philippines and help our countrymen," he told The STAR in Filipino.

Dela Peña, who immigrated to the United States before joining the US Navy, echoed Eusebio’s delight in being able to serve fellow Filipinos.

"But I hope this project could be extended even for a few days — or even a month – because some of the patients we’ve examined need follow-up treatment," Dela Peña said, noting that there were cases of acute bronchitis that required prolonged medical attention.

Eusebio and Dela Peña were members of the US Navy Hospital Corps whose members serve as enlisted medical personnel and serve in various capacities and locations, either in naval hospitals and clinics, or aboard ships, or with Marine Corpsmen in battlefields.

It was their first time to be in a medical mission to their native country since joining the US Navy.

The two disembarked last Friday from the USS Juneau , which belongs to the US Navy’s Task Force 76 based in Okinawa, Japan.

Here for a goodwill mission until today (Sunday), the 460-man crew of USS Juneau were scheduled to do civic projects like medical and dental clinics, as well as deliver some donations from US Marine and Navy family members in Japan.