IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 797 
Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of 
the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces 
during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human 
rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 22, 2018 
Mr. BUDD (for himself, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. 
KHANNA, and Ms. LOFGREN) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous 
tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the 
United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, 
and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights 
by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
Whereas the Montagnards are an indigenous tribespeople liv-
ing in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region; 
Whereas the Montagnards were driven into the mountains by 
invading Vietnamese and Cambodians in the 9th century; 
Whereas French Roman Catholic missionaries converted 
many of the Montagnards in the 19th century and Amer-
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•HRES 797 IH 
ican Protestant missionaries subsequently converted 
many to various Protestant sects; 
Whereas, during the 1960s, the United States Mission in Sai-
gon, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United 
States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green 
Berets, trained the Montagnards in unconventional war-
fare; 
Whereas an estimated 61,000 Montagnards, out of an esti-
mated population of 1,000,000, fought alongside the 
United States and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 
(ARVN) forces against the North Vietnamese Army and 
the Viet Cong; 
Whereas the CIA, United States Special Forces, and the 
Montagnards cooperated on the Village Defense Program, 
a forerunner to the War’s Strategic Hamlet Program, 
and an estimated 43,000 Montagnards were organized 
into Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) to pro-
vide protection for the areas around the CIDGs’ oper-
ational bases; 
Whereas, at its peak, the CIDGs had approximately 50 oper-
ational bases, with each base containing a contingent of 
two United States Army officers and ten enlisted men, 
and an ARVN unit of the same size, and each base 
trained 200 to 700 Montagnards or ‘‘strikers’’; 
Whereas another 18,000 Montagnards were reportedly en-
listed into mobile strike forces and various historical ac-
counts describe a strong bond between the United States 
Special Forces and the Montagnards, in contrast to Viet-
namese Special Forces and ARVN troops; 
Whereas the lives of thousands of members of the United 
States Armed Forces were saved as a result of the heroic 
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•HRES 797 IH 
actions of the Montagnards, who fought loyally and 
bravely alongside United States Special Forces in the 
Vietnam War; 
Whereas, after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, 
thousands of Montagnards fled across the border into 
Cambodia to escape persecution; 
Whereas the government of the reunified Vietnamese nation, 
renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, deeply dis-
trusted the Montagnards who had sided with the United 
States and ARVN forces, and subjected them to impris-
onment and various forms of discrimination and oppres-
sion after the Vietnam War ended; 
Whereas, after the Vietnam War, the United States Govern-
ment resettled large numbers of Montagnards in several 
States and an estimated several thousand Montagnards 
currently reside in North Carolina, which is the largest 
population of Montagnards residing outside of Vietnam; 
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam currently remains 
a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the Communist 
Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to restrict free-
dom of religion, movement, land and property rights, and 
political expression; 
Whereas some Montagnard-Americans have shared their per-
sonal stories about Vietnamese authorities either pre-
venting them from visiting Vietnam or subjecting them to 
interrogation upon re-entering the country on visits; 
Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices documents the Government of 
Vietnam’s claim that Montagnards fleeing to Cambodia 
and Thailand are illegal migrants in pursuit of economic 
opportunities, and human rights groups assess that the 
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Government has pressured Cambodian and Thai authori-
ties to refuse Montagnards refugee or temporary asylum- 
seeker status and repatriate them to Vietnam; 
Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices states that, although Viet-
namese law prohibits discrimination against ethnic mi-
norities and despite Vietnam’s significant economic 
growth, the economic gap between many ethnic minority 
communities and ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) communities 
persisted as a result of longstanding and persistent dis-
crimination; 
Whereas the Department of State’s 2016 Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices further states that ethnic mi-
nority populations in Vietnam also experienced significant 
health challenges as maternal and child mortality rates 
were significantly higher in ethnic minority areas, in com-
parison with urban and coastal areas; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2016 Annual Report 
states that ‘‘Montagnards, many of whom are Protestant, 
face numerous restrictions’’ such as being prevented from 
holding religious ceremonies, harassed or punished, and 
‘‘many are summoned to meet with local authorities and 
pressured to cease practicing their ‘poisonous’ faith’’; 
Whereas Montagnards have stated that this kind of ongoing 
social and religious persecution drove them to flee to 
Cambodia; 
Whereas USCIRF reports that, since October 2014, ‘‘up to 
300 Montagnards have fled Vietnam to Cambodia, many 
because of religious persecution’’ but ‘‘only 13 have been 
granted refugee status with the United Nations High 
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