[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID L. MOORE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ILHAN OMAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2026

  Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of David L. 
Moore (1936-2025), for his boundless dedication to servicing the Hmong-
American community through scouting education. As a lifelong educator 
and recognized community leader, David exemplified the greatest 
qualities of Minnesotan character, offering compassion and welcomeness 
to a first-generation Hmong-American community.
  As a native resident of Minneapolis, David exhibited strong academic 
and leadership qualities, carving a pathway from his alma mater of 
Southwest High School to the prestigious Yale University, earning a 
B.A. in History and an M.A. in Teaching, planting a strong foundation 
for what would become an extensive educational career, teaching at 
various schools, domestically and internationally, eventually returning 
to his hometown to teach at Edison High School, where he would become 
witness to an emerging Hmong-American community torn from their homes 
by a horrific regional conflict across Southeast Asia. Having already 
been the Director of Camp Ajawah and Troop 33 Scoutmaster for two 
decades, David decided to use his wealth of experience to foster a new 
scouting chapter, Troop 100, the first Hmong Scout troop in the Nation.
  David also recognized the importance of preserving the history of his 
growing Hmong troopers and their families, prompting him to collect 
stories of the troopers' gruesome survival experiences escaping Pathet 
Lao occupied Hmong villages, serving as military operatives against 
Pathet Lao forces, living between refugee camps in Laos and Thailand, 
and so much more. These stories would later be compiled into a singular 
book--Dark Sky, Dark Lands: Stories of The Hmong Boy Scouts of Troop 
100. He would continue documenting their progress in the book 
Trustworthy Loyal Brave, and the stories of local Hmong elders in a 
third book, A Free People: Tracing Our Hmong Roots. David even went as 
far as traveling to Thai refugee camps near Mekong River, a route used 
by Hmong villagers from Laos to escape oppositional forces, where many 
of his scouts lived during the Laotian Civil War.
  David Moore's impact is listless and continues to resonate through 
the lives of thousands of Minnesotans even after his passing, his 
former scouters growing into respective leaders of their own 
communities in a plethora of different fields, surely influenced by the 
values instilled in their scouting days with David. Please join me in 
recognizing the life of David L. Moore.

                          ____________________