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UPDATE: April 25, 2003 Federal Investigator's visited Gyi....
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Reply-To: "Kevin Martin" From: "Kevin Martin" To: "Chuck and Mary Schantag" <info@pownetwork.org> Subject: Letter for your web site Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 15:08:41 -0400
Chuck and Mary Schantag
After reading American Legion Magazine
article, Men of Dishonor by Dan Allsup I felt compelled to write to
your website.
I came from a long line of Ohio hill men who honorably served their country in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to Korea. I currently have a young cousin serving with the 82nd Airborne. As for myself, I served during the Vietnam War aboard a large Navy ammunition ship, U.S.S. Butte AE 27 chock-full from bow to stern - with every form of bullet and explosive and incendiary ordnance then in the inventories of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Duty was nerve-racking about this floating arsenal, a serious fire or accidental detonation could have resulted in a fireball visible and felt 100 miles away on South or North Vietnam's coastline. In 1984 I started to train the martial system of Bando in Athens Ohio. I met Maung Gyi in a small do-jo the same year, showing his newly required military medals. I was impressed as he had many more than I. Gyi was quite famous in Athens as a world-class martial artist, bullshitter and death merchant. Many in the hills had heard of his military exploits and stories. After years of Bando training I had the misfortune to become Gyi's private student. Requirements of being a private student was to listen and learn. Over and over we heard his WW II stories of rescuing downed American pilots in the jungles of Burma by climbing trees and cutting them down, his killing of Japanese by the hundreds with his kukri as a youth Gurhka and saving shot-up mercenary agents lives by feeding them opium. I listened and believed. Gyi told us he worked for the UN during the Korean War and actually snuck behind enemy lines assassinating unknown Chinese. We practiced every move with empty hands and weapons just as he did in warfare. Later as crowds grew larger, Gyi's story involved time in Southeast Asia. We heard his exploits of walking from Burma to North Vietnam to rescue American POW's while dressed as a monk! I asked him why he didn't report his findings to his handler and his response, "my radio batteries were dead." Gyi's favorite story amongst many, was a formed "special unit" called the "Misfits" a hand picked group of convicts sent from the U.S. Gyi trained them and set out to track and kill a group of Viet Cong who had kidnapped-raped and mutilated young Catholic nuns. Of course Gyi found the Cong and well lets leave the point of the story to your imagination. That was his favorite to share with the young impressionable new bando students, especially during the American Bando Association summer war camps/. Gyi told of being a Ghurkha in Malaysia, training Army Rangers in Panama, SEALS in Granada, assisting "Company" people in Bosnia, and burying 100's of Somalia's with his bare hands and disassembling biological-chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq.
The last Gyi story I listened to was in 1998.
It was also the most ludicrous and damaging... After that night I
swore I would set out to investigate his heroic deeds or misdeeds.
Gyi told us he was skiing in the Olympic Triathlon against a East German in 1954. (didn't mention what country) His stories beat grew faster with life and tempo. Hell I thought I was right beside him in the snow. As his story goes, he stopped his heart while lying in the snow after skiing for miles. Sighting in the Lee-Enfield Mark 4, he slowly pulled the trigger, hitting a 100 x 100 square foot target bull's-eye which was located 6500 METERS AWAY on another mountain. I spoke up in his basement and asked, Gyi do you mean 650 yards? No he screamed, "you have no right to question me, just because your are a life member of the National Rifle Association doesn't mean you know anything, you are going to cause me to have a heart attack!" The winter of 1999 I contacted Mike Anderson (deceased) who operated the website Phony-Veteran. I knew Gyi was lying and needed to be investigated. Shortly after year 2000 Mike did indeed conclude Dr. Maung Gyi was a military phony and fraud. In conclusion: I recently had contact from the Department of Defense. The DOD has investigative branches which "Protect America's Warfighters." Gyi is currently under their microscope and will be for the rest of his life. In addition to a recent visit to Gyi's home by DOD's agents, there is still an exhaustive investigation of Gyi, teaching Marine Corp officers in Virginia while impersonating himself first as a Marine Corp Sergeant then as a General. The DOD has copies of tapes supplied of the entire training. Another "Homeland Security" agency is investigating summer military camps held in Athens Ohio by Gyi and American Bando Association. Last year 2 current U.S Army men attended the summer camp and reported to the FBI. As a life member and Jr. Vice Commander VFW Post 8804, member of Athens American Legion Post 476 and Athens Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 100, I call on any current or former veterans who has or continues to belong to the American Bando Association to step forward, and insist that President John McNeil require Dr. Maung Gyi issue a public apology to all American veterans publicly at the next ABA kickboxing nationals and for him to forever retire as Chief Instructor American Bando Association....to do less is an injustice to all. The American Bando Association might claim to being the longest continuing operating martial arts in the Unites States, however that record is stained with miss-management, deceit, cover-up and world class embellishment of Maung Gyi's supposed heroic military deeds. The ABA's mission statement is to "honor American combat veterans," which is done by supporting, paying, promoting and putting on public display, an Asian impostor who has lied to, stolen from and stepped on the graves of all military men and women who honorably and proudly served the United States of America. I ask of all the men and
women of American Bando Association due you still want to support
such a fraudulent act that your esteemed association tries so hard
to protect?
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Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:03 PM
Undoubtedly many of you and your students received that latest email blast initiated by a former member who has set as his goal tarnishing Dr. Gyi in any way he can. As I told many of you at the May meeting this individual and the ABA have parted ways forever. I personally informed him of this via letter and direct phone call. Please keep in mind that one of my responsibilities as president is to speak on behalf of the ABA. Following this I am requesting that no Full or Student Member respond in any manner to this or other communications like it that may follow. I know it will be tempting-but I'm asking you directly not to do this. Jealousy, hate, anger and ignorance like this person has you can find any day. Individuals of Dr. Gyi's intellect, skill, knowledge and experience are extremely rare. I'd like each Full and Student Member to commit themselves to learning as much from Dr. Gyi before he retires from active teaching in 2005. John McNeill ABA President 1.440.915.8002 |
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June 19, 2003
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| Dr. Gyi's Ocult-like following of years
past is dwindling ATHENS, OHIO (Aug. 28, 2002) The American Bando Association's annual summer camp was held earlier this month outside Athens in the wonderful Stroud's Run State Park, one of Ohio's best-kept secrets. The annual Bando (Burmese martial system) event was conducted by war-hero impersonator Maung Gyi. He remains the chief instructor of the American Bando Association despite a 2000 investigation and exposé of his outlandish and undocumented military-service claims. A retired Ohio University professor of interpersonal communication, Dr. Gyi has yet to publicly respond to the allegations of fraud and deception that have been made by U.S. veterans groups and even some of his former Bando students. Despite challenges by these groups, he has produced no authentic military or governmental records to back his claims. Recent word from Athens strongly suggests the international exposé of Gyi via the Internet is having an effect on his martial following. A gifted storyteller and convincing liar, Gyi for years claimed he had been a special operative for U.S. government agencies and that he had served honorably in the U.S. Marines and Army. His military "career" supposedly began in World War II in Burma as a Gurkha rifleman/medic/translator; in print, he claimed he entered the service at the age of 16 in 1942. However, the investigation turned up records showing he was a number of years younger than that during the war, meaning he could not have performed those front-line duties. Gyi also has spun tales of being an allied POW in both Korea and Vietnam. The 2002 "Bando Military Camp" drew perhaps 60-percent fewer participants compared to 2001's event. A participant this year, Cleave Andes, an Ohio University professor emeritus and long-time resident of Athens, commented: "It is interesting to note that Gyi no longer has the cult-like following of years past. Gyi is finding it hasn't been that easy to keep the faithful and recruit new blood in his little private group. I feel that the [veterans groups'] Web sites have done a real job telling the world that Maung is a legend in his own mind." A former Bando student, Wendell Christoff, entered this year's camp anonymously. "The annual military camp this year was almost empty," he reported. "Gyi didn't have the military flags flying this year. He was trying to distance himself from his past; he didn't mention all that much about his great accomplishment in the military." This year¹s camp was void of the normal pomp and circumstance of past camps, and the American military's colors were replaced with colorful little swaths of cloth. "Just about everybody missed the camp this time," Christoff said. "Last year on Saturday night, there were over 100 students in camp; last night, there was maybe 30. Gyi is an old man that only his blind-faithful students believe." END ================================= Other news - The board members of the
American Bando Association may have pulled an intervention and told Gyi
to resign by the end of 2002. |
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