{"id":11826,"date":"2023-05-22T04:04:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T04:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=11826"},"modified":"2023-05-23T06:48:28","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T06:48:28","slug":"uss-milius-departs-shimoda-after-participating-in-84th-annual-black-ship-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=11826","title":{"rendered":"USS Milius Departs Shimoda After Participating in 84th Annual Black Ship Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p>The festival commemorated the 170th anniversary of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853, a historical event that marked the beginning of diplomacy and trade agreements between the U.S. and Japan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe alliance between the U.S. and Japan represents the most significant bond two nations can have,\u201d said Cmdr. Leif Gunderson, Milius\u2019 commanding officer. \u201cLikewise, the relationship between the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is one of our strongest bilateral relationships and surface ships like Milius are the basis of this long-standing relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the port visit, Milius Sailors participated in a series of community projects, ceremonies, observances and festivities in honor of the shared history and importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriends spend time together and celebrate together,\u201d said Lt. Daniel Lubega, Milius\u2019 command chaplain, who led a team in the planning and execution of multiple community relations events involving more than 200 Sailors and seven local elementary schools during the festival. \u201cThe people of Japan are our best friends, and we are here to celebrate the 170th anniversary of when our two nations were first formally introduced, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Operations Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Beavers, from Clare, Michigan, visiting with school children in Shimoda was especially rewarding because he has been stationed in Japan for four years now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEver since I can remember, building things has been a passion of mine,\u201d said Beavers. \u201cThe most important things we can build in life are bridges, and building bridges with other nations and their people is vital and necessary. Participating in community relations projects while representing our country is the strongest bridge building I have ever had the privilege of experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The festival also included a memorial service at Gyokusenji Temple and an official parade, where Milius Sailors marched from Shimoda Park to Shimoda Courthouse, as well as numerous festivities where Milius Sailors had an opportunity to meet the people of Shimoda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a great experience to be able to participate in an event with such a long history and tradition,\u201d said Aerographer\u2019s Mate 2nd Class Pablo Muniz, who marched in the parade. \u201cIt\u2019s also been a wonderful port visit overall. The people of Shimoda are truly some of the friendliest I\u2019ve had the opportunity to meet and I hope I have the opportunity to come back and do this again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Milius is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71\/DESRON 15, the Navy\u2019s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet\u2019s principal surface force.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy\u2019s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The festival commemorated the 170th anniversary of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in 1853, a historical event that marked the beginning of diplomacy and trade agreements between the U.S. and Japan. \u201cThe alliance between the U.S. and Japan represents the most significant bond two nations can have,\u201d said Cmdr. Leif Gunderson, Milius\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11826"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11829,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826\/revisions\/11829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}