"I learned English in school. The first American I saw, I said to myself, this person speaks English but they say they are not English-they are American. I was young, 15 years old. I didn't know Americans spoke English. In 1965, there were few Montagnards who spoke English but I could speak so I went to work with the US Army Special Forces in Camp A244.
A244 was one of a series of camps along the Cambodian border, part of the 5th Special Forces. We had to take care of the territory between A244 and A245. We had to go on operations, on patrol, checking for communists passing through. I was an interpreter-I speak about 10 different Vietnamese languages. And I learned to use different weapons: 105mm howitzer, 106mm recoilless rifle, 60 and 80mm mortars-big weapons. The Americans needed me because I was good with those weapons. I worked there for 5 years until 1970. Then I worked on a recon team, CCC, with the US Army Special Forces.
In 1973 the communists took part of Kontum province-it's my territory, Dak To district. So we had to move refugees to another place. In March 1973, the US took all of its troops home. I was converted to the ARVN. I was made a lieutenant in charge of 105mm howitzer.
When the US left in 1973 all the Montagnards became part of the ARVN military. I spent 2-3 years until we surrendered in 1975. After that I was taken to jail for 4 years. When I was released from the camps I was under house arrest for 3 more years back in Dak To.
It was very hard to stay in Vietnam. After the war the police came to my house and questioned me many times. If you had worked with the Americans in the war they couldn't trust us.
In 1997, someone told me that persons who worked for the US military can resettle in the US. So I made a request to the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand to resettle in America. They agreed and sent me a letter. I had to contact Vietnamese immigration to apply for a passport to leave Vietnam. It was hard for me to do that because we didn't have enough money to go to the city. So I had to wait until 2004. I left Ho Chi Minh City on December 8, 2004 and flew to North Carolina where there are thousands of Montagnards.
I need the US government to help me to get my daughter and son in Vietnam to the US. They are married and have families. I hope one day the US will help me get them here because I need them with me."