EP 24: From the Killing Fields to Protecting Presidents: Leth Oun and Ingrid Centurion

In this powerful and inspiring episode, Ingrid Centurion sits down with Leth Oun, a Cambodian-American veteran of the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, K-9 bomb detection handler, and co-author of A Refugee's American Dream. His life is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the opportunities that America provides to those who refuse to give up. Leth shares his remarkable journey from surviving nearly four years under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia's Killing Fields, enduring refugee camps and homelessness, to immigrating to the United States at age 17 with little more than hope and determination. Through perseverance, education, and unwavering faith in the American Dream, he became the first Cambodian-American to serve in the United States Secret Service, protecting Presidents and Vice Presidents through four administrations. The conversation explores the people who believed in him when he needed it most, the challenges of adapting to life in an American high school, and the lessons that shaped his character. Leth also offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at his years serving with highly trained Secret Service K-9 teams, explaining the extraordinary bond between handler and dog and what leadership, loyalty, discipline, and trust can teach us all. This episode is more than a story of survival—it's a story of purpose, service, gratitude, and the enduring promise that America remains a land where dreams can become reality.