Kou Saelor, who received a certificate of appreciation from Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, was honored Saturday by members of the local Iu Mien community for his yearlong tour of duty in Iraq. Sacramento Bee/ Manny Crisostomo

By Erika Chavez -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 9, 2006

Kou Saelor is home, and he's safe.

And for Sacramento's Iu Mien community, that's reason to celebrate.

Hundreds of revelers, from as far away as Portland, Ore., and Seattle, gathered at a south Sacramento restaurant Saturday night to honor the veteran of both the U.S. Army and National Guard.

Saelor returned from a yearlong tour of duty in Baghdad in late January. Saelor was a sergeant in the National Guard's 1-184 Infantry Regiment, a unit charged with patrolling a sector of Baghdad, providing security during the crucial elections and carrying out raids.

The young man gamely fielded questions from curious friends and relatives Saturday as music played and little girls in traditional Iu Mien finery scampered through the crowd.

"How was the weather over there?"

"Was it scary?"

"You really don't have time to be scared," Saelor said.

And the weather? "Very, very hot. And very dry," he said with a wry smile.

The 27-year-old Sacramento resident said he was grateful for the recognition from his tight-knit community.

"It's a little overwhelming," said Saelor, who plans to study fire sciences now that he's left the military. "I'm happy and thankful for the support."

Saelor looked tall, trim and impeccable in his military dress uniform. The oldest of five siblings, he is a respectful, good son, said father Choy Saelor.

"He's a good listener," said his father. "He never caused trouble."

After graduating from Sacramento High School in 1997, Kou Saelor decided to join the Army. He was curious about military life and enjoyed watching war-themed movies like "Platoon."

The hardships depicted in such movies, and even his father's own military experience, didn't deter him from completing three years of active duty, including a deployment to Kuwait, and then re-enlisting in the National Guard.

"I was curious to see if I could do it or not," he said.

All his life, he had heard war stories from his father and his friends, who served in the CIA-sponsored Royal Lao Army.

"I was in the military four years, and many of my friends died," said Choy Saelor. "My son asked me if he should join military, and I said I can't control it. I was in military, and I'm still alive. So if you want to go, you can go."

Part of the Iu Mien people from the mountains of Laos, 16-year-old Choy Saelor was one of thousands recruited during the Vietnam War to battle the North Vietnamese army and the communist Pathet Lao for more than 10 years.

After the communists prevailed in 1975, he and his family were among thousands of Iu Mien who fled from persecution, crossing the Mekong River into Thailand. Kou was born in a small Thai village, and the family soon settled in a refugee camp.

After two hard years there and lots of interviews and paperwork, Choy Saelor and his family came to the United States, spending short stints in Detroit and Richmond before settling in Sacramento.

The Saelor family lives in a neat two-story home in south Sacramento; Choy Saelor makes a living working at a Safeway warehouse.

"I'm very happy here," he said. "I just try to build a life for my family."

Muang Saeturn, Kou's mother, cried many tears and couldn't bring herself to watch the news while Kou was deployed. She was especially happy for her son's safe return.

"I was so sad, I cried every day and I prayed every day for God to help my son," Saeturn said. "Now he come home and I feel really, really happy."

Local Iu Mien community leader Kenny Thungc, a cousin of Kou Saelor's, helped organize the celebration.

"We're all proud of him for protecting our country and supporting our freedom," Thungc said. "He proves that in this country, it doesn't matter who you are or how you get here. It matters what you do."