Save The Montagnard People 7-2010 news letter - 1

[Doc Pollard]

July 2010 – THE PICNIC
This year we had a gatehouse and a gate. There is a picture on the website. On Sunday 3,843 Montagnards came through that gate. That doesn’t count the Dega families who camped out for several days to prepare for the gathering. The 3,843 also doesn’t include the westerners who were there. Some had come as early as Tuesday, others arrived just in time for the opening ceremony on Sunday. A guess would be around 4,300 for total attendance. There was one Montagnard from Hawaii with his family. He was overwhelmed to see the site, the long house and the artifacts. We had several people in attendance this time who had been present at the first affair in 1986. The reporter from the Legion magazine was one of many people who were there for the first time. His reaction was typical – so was his lunch – please check out the www.montagnards.org website.

Each year the Dega do more of the work for the picnic – we don’t call KFC and as for 4,300 chicken buckets with a side of rice. All the food which is served for the entire weekend starts out as REAL, non-frozen stuff. At time, the meat is very, very fresh. Cooking for 4,300 is quite a job especially when most of those get hungry at the same time. Somehow it all gets done.

Of course, the whole area is rustic but clean when people arrive AND it is still clean when the 4,300 guest leave. Try to have THAT happen with your average crowd. From all respects, it’s just good to be there. Next year will be our 25th ANNIVERSARY. That should be an ALL-OUT celebration. If you’re able (health permitting) start thinking about being there. Our 24th picnic is over and it went very well. No one at the first gathering could ever have dreamed of an event with over 4,000 attending. We probably can’t guess what the next twenty-four years will bring. It might help to look at the first years and then a review of what’s happening now – THEN maybe we can try to project STMP into the future.

AMERICAN LEGION
For at least the last ten years, STMP has benefited from warm relations with various veterans groups. We have good support from both Special Forces Association and Special Operations Association. As chapters, individuals, and national association, we have received long-term support from those two organizations. SFA, SOA and STMP share quite a few members.

American Legion support has also been long term. Post 1199 in New York has sent a significant contribution each year for at least 15 years. In January 2002, the Legion magazine had a lengthy article about STMP and the Montagnards.

This year, the American Legion magazine sent a reporter to our Memorial Weekend Picnic. His article has already appeared on their website, and we’ve added it to www.montagnards.org. There are good photos and it is well-written. Copy it and share it with your friends. Hopefully, a similar article will be in one of their future magazines.

May 6, 2010, the American Legion National Executive Committee - Resolution #24 - in part

WHEREAS, The tribal people of the central Highlands of Vietnam, commonly known as the Montagnards are among the most loyal allies the United States has ever known; and

WHEREAS, The Montagnards were instrumental in the success of many campaigns led by the U.S. Special Forces between 1962 and 1975 which dealt devastating blows to the Vietnamese communists during the war; and
WHEREAS The Montagnards continued to fight the communists in Vietnam long after 1975; and

WHEREAS, Since diplomatic and trade relations have been established over the last 20 years and normalized as recently as 2007 between the U.S. and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the condition of the Montagnard people has greatly worsened in terms of persecution;

RESOLVED, That The American Legion urges Congress to create a U.S. policy that will offer refugee resettlement to Vietnam nationals (including members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for the Humanitarian Resettlement program, the Orderly Departure program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees program, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other U.S. refugee program, but who were deemed ineligible for reasons of administrative error, to include inaccurate language translation or certain circumstances beyond their control.

The RESOLVED above is what we’ve been trying to accomplish for 20 years. We have had no real help from any elected official. Maybe this resolution will help. Don’t hold your breath.

It would be wonderful to say that the Montagnard people receive the same level of support from the VFW and VVA, but there is not as much support as we receive from the American Legion. The local Asheboro VFW post has been generous; however, they are the only one. Surely, we have members in both groups so if you belong to one of these, perhaps you could ask – “What’s the problem?”

ELECTION RESULTS
Our election this year brought in more votes than in previous years. The elected directors who will serve two years are Y’Pioc Knul, John Spencer, Y’Sui Hlong, John Solberg and Y’Yung Bounya. Next year, we will vote for all four officers and three directors.

The people who take on these “volunteer” jobs deserve a great deal of credit. They often give up their weekends to be present at the land to assist or coordinate efforts there. The all have at least a 25-mile drive to get to the site. They are asked to go to conventions and shows – and they get no pay. More often than not, they have various things to do for STMP during the week. Once again, it’s a NO-PAY job. If you send money to STMP earmarked for a specific project, that’s where it goes. Otherwise, your donation may go toward fuel for a chain saw or rice for a family who needs it. One place it has never gone is to a Director or Officer’s salary.

On a sad note - during the past year we’ve lost quite a few longtime members and we remembered them during the weekend ceremony. All were combat veterans and all left us from a variety of causes, none simple.

STMP FINANCIAL - 2009
As always, the bulk of our income was from contributions by members. These contributions were down a bit from 2008. Store sales were the second largest source of income with raffle and picnic fees in third place.

Our unpaid Treasurer, Arch Gammons, has a huge responsibility and gave a detailed report. Our largest expense was farm operations which covers a broad range—utilities, equipment repair, fuel for tractors. Picnic expenses were high but partially offset by picnic fees. Save Christmas costs were covered by donations. STMP pays taxes on the land and also has to maintain general insurance and these two items together put a huge bite into the budget. When all is put together, we were in the red by $358.00 for the year. Not too bad when you think of how General Motors did. Full copies of the financial report were available at the general meeting.

A bit about contributions. In order to help the treasurer, as of last fall, the secretary has been sending receipts to all donors. This is not just for tax purposes for you, but also so we can track the level of support. The acknowledgements do not include money sent for raffle tickets or dues. For other items, if you think you should have a receipt, contact me. Also, in order to be recognized by STMP for your tax purposes, the contribution must be made to STMP. A person-to-person gift is just that and cannot be considered a donation to STMP.

[Doc Pollard]

THE BEGINNING
Over the past twenty-four years our membership has slowly grown. Many of the newer members have asked about our history. For those of you who have been members for 20 years or more, you can read the next section for errors.

STMP began with very few member. Back then STMP was GCMA (General Coactive Montagnard Association). The name was selected to match the letters which corresponded to the name given to a French indigius force during the Indo-China war. There were about six westerners who got together to hold a welcoming picnic for the first large (250) group of Dega to come to the U.S. The picnic was held on private property near our current site. Possibly 40-50 people showed up – so compare that to the 4,000+ who were present this year. All the cooking was done by westerners, but everyone agreed that there should be a picnic the following year. There was and has been one every year since then. The early picnics were rough, enjoyable times – there was a keg of beer and a pig or cow (purchased from a local farmer). Many of those first members thought that a small picnic was enough and all a small group like us could handle. The Dega elders thought otherwise. They wanted to build a LONGHOUSE. Since we had no land and little money, this was a problem. For years, we told the elders “we’re working on it”. We were – sort of. Things really came to a head during our middle years.

THE MIDDLE YEARS
The mid-1990’s for STMP were a trial. We didn’t even have a place to have the annual picnic for quite a while. We were able to meet at a hunt club pavilion near McLeansville, NC that was somewhere off any main road. It did not have adequate parking but we were able to meet there for several years while we looked for land. As our gatherings grew larger, the road leading to that site got more blocked and we were asked not to return.

Every time we thought we had a location something went wrong. So even though things didn’t seem to be working out, we continued to raise and save our money. It wasn’t much. Finally, we were able to purchase 10 acres where the pavilion now stands. Those on the board at the time were not too sure we could even find the money to build anything on the land. Somehow we did.

HOW is not only a good story but a GREAT STORY of how so many people banded together to create something special! We had all sorts of assistance from local contractors and supply houses and STMP members were very generous. The Montagnards did more than their share of the work. Memories of them picking up timbers from the mud and dropping them into holes dug by a local farmer will stay with us for a long time. The site was ready for the 2002 picnic but just barely. It wasn’t like what you see now. Much of the area was overgrown and what was cleared had large stumps so moving around the site was difficult. There was no stage or cooking area. The decaying barn was still up (barely) and the area that is now the flag pole and memorial place was a burn pit.

Even after the 10 acres were purchased, we still had a problem. Parking. There was very little! We approached the owner of the adjacent property who allowed us to use the cleared field. It took several years and lots of prodding by the landowner who wanted us to purchase the 90 acres, BUT we did! Once again, both the board and general membership were very skeptical about our chances of making payments on time. Not only did we manage to make payments on time, but we managed to pay off the land in less than four years. GENEROSITY on the part of several individuals as well as consistent pledged monthly payments made this possible. NONE OF THIS MONEY CAME IN THE FORM OF GRANTS. What we started with was 90 acres of overgrown land, collapsing buildings and seventy years of trash.

Once the land was finally in the name of STMP, all sorts of ideas popped up as to what to do with it. Many of those suggestions turned into the improvements you now see at the site and have been noted in previous newsletters. Check out the American Legion article if you want to get an unbiased appraisal.

Until we became a 501 (C-3) corporation, there was little money and small expenses. We just had to pay picnic bills and the “picnic” was a “pass the hat” affair. In those early years, most giving was on a person-to-person basis. If a Montagnard needed assistance sometime phone calls were made for a specific action. Now, with larger obligations and more expenses, it gets more complicated. Life is not simple any more.

For various reasons we all consider the Montagnard people to be valuable, both as people and as a culture. Sadly, “we all” are not that many and the numbers are getting smaller. The future holds a

decreasing number of veterans, but an increase in American-born Montagnards. All of us old people want to leave something of value to the next generation. Through STMP, we collectively have started to do that, but the job is a long way from being finished. A lot of surprises have come our way since 1986 and the future will hold even more.

NOW WHAT’S NEXT
The “cultural center” has been a key phrase for years. We have in the past looked at this idea as a large museum in a set of buildings. This spring, someone with a greater understanding of culture pointed out that this idea limited what the Montagnards were all about. It’s not just a building – it’s the whole area. It’s in the stage with the speeches, singing, dancing and religious service. It’s the longhouse and the cemetery. It’s the cultivated fields and what they produce. It’s the real food and rice wine. The artifacts are very important and cannot be replaced – but the stories told by the people who lived those stories are equally valuable.

So, in some ways we have come quite a way toward a “Montagnard Cultural Center”. We still have some expensive buildings to erect. Will we get there? Don’t bet against STMP. One thing for sure, we don’t have another twenty-four years to do it.

RAFFLE: Harly Davidson 1200 Nightster. (Doc Pollard Edit - if any QP forum members would like to purchase a raffle ticket, PM me!)
5-speed and has about 200 miles. Comes with saddlebags, forward control shifter, small windscreen, security system. This is a beautiful example of a Harley Sport Bike. It has a full size engine and a beautiful paint job. All the options on this bike are dealer installed, not after market. Although most of us are not of the motorcycle age - $20.00 per opportunity gives you the opportunity to dream. There are only 2,500 tickets available and ONE is in your envelope. Even if you have no intention of ever being a “biker”, please try to sell your ticket. The drawing will be at the next Memorial Day picnic.

This raffle is being held in order to make our 25th Anniversary picnic one to remember. Each year, we have gotten further along. This coming year, we hope to show everyone just how far we HAVE come. Over the years, many people have helped-Montagnards, Special Operations, Special Forces, veterans, nurses and just plain folks. Since we are a small group we do ask a lot of our members and friends—we have to!

MONTAGNARD EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM has served about 1,000 Montagnard students since it began in 1988. At that time, most of the students were adults who had just arrived in the U.S. Now there are 8,000 to 9,000 eligible Montagnards, many of whom are U.S. born.

Starting with the fall 2010 semester the program will change. The grants will be given on the basis of academic achievement, character and needs. The awards will vary between $500 and $3,000 and funding will be one year at a time. All applications must be received by the foundation director by August 15th of each year. This contact is carljregan@bellsouth.net or by mail to Carl Regan, 881 Ocean Drive #206, Key Biscayne, FL 33149. There is a procedure to follow, so if you’re interested in supporting this program, you may contact Carl directly or route your donation through the secretary.

OTHER NEWS One of our life members, Joie Salus, has seldom missed an event. He hoped to get to this one – but he missed it since he’s battling for his life – but he still plans on making it to Dega day. If you attended any of our events, you would have seen him holding court under the pavilion. He always showed up with a truck full of soda and toys. Joie wants to thank all of you who have called, written or visited him recently. He has high hopes but a long hard road ahead. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. If anyone would like his address for a card, contact me.

If you do nothing else after reading this newsletter, go to the www.montagnards.org website and read the American Legion article. If you don’t have high speed internet, find a friend who does and you can share the article and information about STMP. Take pride in what you as a member have helped to accomplish. Take care!