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By Conan H. Chang, Captain, USMC
On March 19, 2003, President Bush ordered coalition forces to begin Operation Iraqi Freedom. History was made. Many of us are part of the history in the front line. Our parents and relatives formed Chinese American Military Support (CAMS) to support us in the home country. They shared common emotions and experiences on enduring the stresses of their loved ones serving in the war zones. They organized meetings, social events, and activities to honor our sacrifices and accomplishments during the operation. The responses from Chinese American communities in Southern California have been far exceeding what we originally expected.
As the war is entering into the stage of peacekeeping and rebuilding Iraq, many of us have returned home safely. In several social events organized by CAMS, I have met several fellow Marine combat veterans. I am very proud to call those of you, my brothers and sisters, who served honorably in the face of combat. There are still sons and daughters of CAMS members who remain in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan. We will be here to welcome them into our midst when they return.
As you can see our common experiences and background as Chinese Americans serves as a strong foundation for a fraternal organization. By organizing, we can help each other out in personal and professional life. We each have unique skills and experiences and much to offer to each other as well as our society. As detailed in the attached mission statements, we are beginning a new group, called Chinese American Military Alliance, for all Chinese American military service members and veterans. This group will be associated with CAMS administratively and financially, but function in a manner independent of CAMS activities.
Like many of you, I am an active duty Marine so my time is limited. Therefore, I would like to organize one social gathering every two to three months. The first event will be on 16 August (Saturday) at my parents' house in West LA. This is a kick-off event for all Chinese American military service members and veterans. All of your families will be invited. Our feature events under planning may include a night out for the veterans to meet each other, hang out, and party up, and a formal establishment of Chinese American Military Alliance, probably in a dinner party with great publicity. In the later event, I will invite community leaders, Chinese American celebrities, and war heroes to speak at this event. The size and importance of this event will be dependent on how many veterans join our organization. I see a lot of potential and a chance to make lifetime friendships here. If you feel similar, I ask you to show up and hang out with us. SEMPER
FI.
CHINESE AMERICAN MILITARY ALLIANCE
Background and Mission Statements
Since the beginning of our country different communities have formed organizations, such as labor unions, fraternities, NAACP, to better represent their interest. Minority groups such as Japanese and Latino Americans have done a better job than Chinese Americans in forming established interest groups, including organizations for military service members and veterans. These groups have recognized the sacrifices and achievements of warriors born from their communities. By increasing the visibility of the accomplishments of their warriors, they have helped secure better political representation for their minority as a whole. As a result they have increased the welfare of their community and served as positive role models for younger generations. To the best of our knowledge, there is no military organization for Chinese American in the Southern California areas. Therefore, we are starting CHINESE AMERICAN MILITARY ALLIANCE (CAMA). CAMA will be specifically for all types of military personnel, including currently active military members, military reservists, military and war veterans, and those in military academies.
MISSIONS
The followings are the missions for CAMA:
1. Honor the memories and sacrifice of Chinese American veterans past and present. Increase the visibility of the accomplishments of Chinese American war veterans to American society, so that Chinese Americans of past, present, and future generations will benefit.
2. Foster brotherhood and camaraderie between Chinese American military service members and veterans. Enhance personal and professional life goals through exchanging military experiences and information about military educational and career opportunities.
3. Increase the visibility and organization's power to benefit military service members and veterans.
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