thedrifter
04-06-08, 05:45 AM
Hmong homecoming embraces Marine
By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian
Long Moua stood in the community room of Atonement Lutheran Church, dressed crisply in the beige fatigues of the U.S. Marines, his muscular forearms covered in a growing tangle of ceremonial white cords.
“It's good to be back,” he said with a smile to one in a long queue of well-wishers.
Sgt. Moua's return to Missoula after three tours of duty in Iraq was the occasion that brought together more than 100 people, mostly from the local Hmong community but including local law enforcement personnel and other friends, for a dinner and ceremony at the south Missoula church Saturday afternoon.
It was an event that celebrated not only Moua's safe return from harm's way, but also the role that Missoula's Hmong community plays in the U.S. military.
“(Moua) isn't the first person to serve our country from the Hmong community, and ... we know he won't be the last,” said Missoula Police Chief Rusty Wickman, who spoke at the event. “This service to our country is about just that - it is our country that we share.”
Numerous members of the Missoula law enforcement community attended the event, in part because Moua's father-in-law, Chu Ly, is a friend of Wickman's and a supervisor of the crews that clean Missoula City Hall and the City Council Chambers.
Moua, a 27-year-old Missoula native who now resides in San Diego, returned to town for the ceremony after serving three seven-month tours in Iraq. Speaking to the assembled crowd, Moua said that serving in Iraq was both an honor and a challenge.
“There's a lot of challenges there. ... It really hurts you mentally, so keeping yourself occupied is important,” Moua said.
Addressing the assembled group of friends and relatives, he noted, “Without your support it'd be a much harder battle, this war on terrorism.”
The celebration included a traditional “khi tes,” or “hand-tying” ceremony, in which attendees tied short pieces of cord around Moua's wrist, as a type of blessing.
“It's a ceremony that we use in a similar way that other Americans use prayer,” explained Moua's aunt, Kham Moua, of Billings. A local Txiv Neeb, or shaman, blessed the cords, which were distributed to the assembled crowd, who then tied them around Moua's wrists.
“Prior to his departure to Iraq, we asked our ancestors to help and guide him,” said Kham Moua. “That's why we have this ceremony now, to thank our ancestors for bringing him home safely.”
“We're also doing it to let him know that we're proud of him,” she added. “He has come a long way.”
That sentiment was echoed by Moua's mother, who spoke to the assembled crowd in Hmong.
“It seems like yesterday that he was a little boy,” she said, choking back tears. “Now he's a grown man with a wife and daughter, and I'm so proud of him.”
(A special note of thanks to Kham Moua, who served as an impromptu translator for the portions of the celebration conducted in Hmong.)
In addition to being honored by the hand-tying ceremony, Moua was presented with a challenge coin by members of the Montana Military Appreciation Project.
Moua even received a job offer at the event.
“When you're finished with your military career, I think you need to come back to Missoula and join the Missoula police force,” said Wickman, to appreciative laughter from the crowd.
Though he was short on words about his experiences - “I don't know what else to say about Iraq, except it's hot,” Moua told the crowd - he was nonetheless long on appreciation for the celebration of his safe return.
“This turnout is great,” he said. “It's a great honor.”
Ellie
By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian
Long Moua stood in the community room of Atonement Lutheran Church, dressed crisply in the beige fatigues of the U.S. Marines, his muscular forearms covered in a growing tangle of ceremonial white cords.
“It's good to be back,” he said with a smile to one in a long queue of well-wishers.
Sgt. Moua's return to Missoula after three tours of duty in Iraq was the occasion that brought together more than 100 people, mostly from the local Hmong community but including local law enforcement personnel and other friends, for a dinner and ceremony at the south Missoula church Saturday afternoon.
It was an event that celebrated not only Moua's safe return from harm's way, but also the role that Missoula's Hmong community plays in the U.S. military.
“(Moua) isn't the first person to serve our country from the Hmong community, and ... we know he won't be the last,” said Missoula Police Chief Rusty Wickman, who spoke at the event. “This service to our country is about just that - it is our country that we share.”
Numerous members of the Missoula law enforcement community attended the event, in part because Moua's father-in-law, Chu Ly, is a friend of Wickman's and a supervisor of the crews that clean Missoula City Hall and the City Council Chambers.
Moua, a 27-year-old Missoula native who now resides in San Diego, returned to town for the ceremony after serving three seven-month tours in Iraq. Speaking to the assembled crowd, Moua said that serving in Iraq was both an honor and a challenge.
“There's a lot of challenges there. ... It really hurts you mentally, so keeping yourself occupied is important,” Moua said.
Addressing the assembled group of friends and relatives, he noted, “Without your support it'd be a much harder battle, this war on terrorism.”
The celebration included a traditional “khi tes,” or “hand-tying” ceremony, in which attendees tied short pieces of cord around Moua's wrist, as a type of blessing.
“It's a ceremony that we use in a similar way that other Americans use prayer,” explained Moua's aunt, Kham Moua, of Billings. A local Txiv Neeb, or shaman, blessed the cords, which were distributed to the assembled crowd, who then tied them around Moua's wrists.
“Prior to his departure to Iraq, we asked our ancestors to help and guide him,” said Kham Moua. “That's why we have this ceremony now, to thank our ancestors for bringing him home safely.”
“We're also doing it to let him know that we're proud of him,” she added. “He has come a long way.”
That sentiment was echoed by Moua's mother, who spoke to the assembled crowd in Hmong.
“It seems like yesterday that he was a little boy,” she said, choking back tears. “Now he's a grown man with a wife and daughter, and I'm so proud of him.”
(A special note of thanks to Kham Moua, who served as an impromptu translator for the portions of the celebration conducted in Hmong.)
In addition to being honored by the hand-tying ceremony, Moua was presented with a challenge coin by members of the Montana Military Appreciation Project.
Moua even received a job offer at the event.
“When you're finished with your military career, I think you need to come back to Missoula and join the Missoula police force,” said Wickman, to appreciative laughter from the crowd.
Though he was short on words about his experiences - “I don't know what else to say about Iraq, except it's hot,” Moua told the crowd - he was nonetheless long on appreciation for the celebration of his safe return.
“This turnout is great,” he said. “It's a great honor.”
Ellie