In recent weeks past, I’ve been asked several similar questions by some of my old friends. Well, if you really want to know…I was born in Chiang Rai, Thailand, to poor immigrant parents who left almost everything behind in Laos when their families and livelihood were threatened by communist Laotian soldiers, due partly to my peoples assistance to the U.S. trained Guerilla Forces, who battled the communist Vietnam and Laotian soldiers on their own turf.I was only three and my sister one, when my parents sought to give us a better life than growing up in a refugee camp in Thailand. They packed their meager belongings and us up and moved across the ocean to the United States. Initially the US wasn’t so welcoming, but it offered far more than drinking water tainted with human and animal waste. The days ahead of us were rocky, but at least they were peaceful and without fear.Somewhere in Arizona was our first destination when we arrived in the US. I don’t remember much about life in Arizona, except that we didn’t stay there that long. San Francisco was only our second destination after arriving in the US, but we fell in love with it. It’s where my family has spent most of their lives and will probably be the place where I will spend the rest of my life.Since I could remember, I’ve always wanted to give back to the US for what it had given us. In June of 1995 I was sworn in as a United States citizen in San Francisco. The following year, I was shipped off to Basic Training and Military Police School in Alabama. My method of giving back to the US was to serve in its Uniformed Forces.My career in the United States Army began in hot and humid Ft. Campbell, KY, spanned across the globe, and culminated in a sorry and lackluster goodbye, after nine years of service, from the 88th MP. Det. Of Camp Zama, Japan. Soldiers who had only been in the Army several years left with more of a hoorah than I did. Neither the 1st SGT nor the Commander ever offered to hold a formation to award me my medal. Even so, I left Japan with a bitter taste in my mouth, but my pride intact.Now, at home, I am fulfilling my role as the first born of Mien households, caretaker of my parents. Luckily, I have many brothers and a sister to help me shoulder those burdens. With my debts paid, I have only the future to look forward to. A future full of unpredictable possibilities…
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