Secret Service
That one person could go from a little boy too afraid to show fear to a man who protects U.S. Presidents is an amazing journey by anyone’s standards.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
LO was 9 when the Khmer Rouge (the Communist Party in Cambodia, Southeast Asia) killed his father and rousted his mother, his sister and him from their home in Cambodia. They were force-marched to slave labor in what became known as Cambodia’s infamous “Killing Fields.”
The Khmer Rouge had seized control of Cambodia from April 1975 through 1979. An estimated 1.7 to 3 million people died from execution, starvation, or disease out of a population of about 8 million.
All LO managed to bring along during their march was his little French bulldog, which seemed to LO as proof of goodness still in the world. But one night, returning from his slave labor, LO found his dog had been killed by the Khmer Rouge “just because they could.” LO buried his dog with his bare hands. He didn’t dare cry, fearful of what the evil enemy soldiers might do next.
CHILDHOOD
While living in Cambodia, LO worked hours on end in rice paddies with almost nothing to eat. He hunted rats to keep from starving. He was tortured. “I’m not going to die today,” became his daily, quiet statement (a ‘mantra’) to himself.
LO, his mother and sister lived in refugee camps until the war ended and the Cambodian government arranged with the U.S. government to send them to the U.S. when LO was 17. For the first 11 years, they lived in Maryland, where LO struggled to learn English, continue his education, and work many jobs.
While working in a mini-mart, LO became friendly with some Secret Service agents who described their jobs and encouraged him to apply to work as a Secret Service agent.
Editor’s note – The U.S. Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security, charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families and visiting heads of state or government. For a brief but detailed overview, check Wikipedia.
In 1994, the family moved to Philadelphia, where relatives arranged jobs for each of them. LO’s mother “found peace” in Philadelphia, where there were many Cambodian refugees she met and could speak with, Asian markets to shop in and a Cambodian Buddhist religious group with whom she could join for worship. Seeing his mother feel at home again meant a great deal to LO.
SETTING GOALS TOWARD A CAREER PATH
While adjusting to life in his new city, LO hammered away at his goals:
- Obtain at least a two-year college degree,
- Work to earn enough to support himself with hopefully a little left over to help his mother and sister,
- Sleep as little as possible to permit being a student while working,
- Keep alive his dream of a career in law enforcement, sparked a few years earlier by friendly Secret Service agents.
EDUCATION
LO’s first venture into post high school education was to enroll at a community college, where in two years, he earned an Associate’s degree. Realizing that he could be a successful college student while continuing to work part-time, LO next enrolled in a nearby area university, to study sociology.
Years later, university professors clearly recall their determined student, LO. “He was really dedicated to learning,” said his sociologist professor. “He wasn’t a screwing around kind of guy. He was on a mission.”
The former chairperson of his sociology department recalled that “LO was an amazing person. He increased the value of my classes by his presence.”
When LO graduated, he was given the sociology department’s top honor even though his wasn’t the highest GPA. “We gave him that award because of his heart.”
FIRST ADULT JOB NEVER A BINDING CAREER COMMITMENT
The first job available to LO was as a social worker. By then married with two children and needing the income to support his family, LO accepted the job offer. But he kept alive his dream of joining the Secret Service, applying and waiting for a response.
CAREER SATISFACTION
Finally, LO received an offer of employment as a Secret Service agent. It would require leaving Philadelphia. This was a hard decision for LO and his family but necessary to accept the job offer which he had always wanted so LO and his family moved to D.C. though his initial training was for a few months out of the city.
LO’s first assignment was to guard the Vice President (then Dick Cheyney). Before long, he was called into a supervisor’s office and asked if he liked dogs.
“I love dogs,” said LO. He was assigned to the K-9 division, to work with a Belgian Malinois dog, skilled at bomb detection. The dog even learned to respond to Khmer, LO’s native Cambodian language though by then, LO spoke English very well.
Almost 40 years after LO had emigrated from Cambodia, he was on a plane with a dog by his side, on an important mission as part of the U.S. Secret Service detail protecting President Barack Obama on the first visit by an American President to Cambodia.
LO was the first native Cambodian, by now a U.S. citizen, accepted into the Secret Service.
LO is still remembered fondly and with respect by all the friends he made while living years ago in Philadelphia. When he visits, people are eager to reintroduce themselves and shake his hand. The local Asian American Chamber of Commerce invited him to speak at its Asian Heritage Month events.
LO has written a book, “A Refugee’s American Dream” which recounts his family’s awful homeland ordeal and his difficult path toward a successful career as an adult in America, who literally started with nothing but his optimism and determination.
The book, for him, is a dream come true. LO plans for the proceeds to be paid to a Cambodian Relief Fund to pay for educational programs for Cambodian people who can’t afford them. He wants those children to believe their dreams are possible, too.
“All the things that happened to me,” he said. “I think if I can survive those things, there’s nothing that I can’t do.”
This career story is based on an article written by Rita Giordano, published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 2/23/23.
