Manuel J. Dume (Manny) (Born 16 January 1957-Present) is the founder and CEO of World United an International Cultural Exchange Organization based in Los Angeles County, California. World United has an Alumni base of over 2000 members in over 35 different countries, with an active staff of professional advisors and consultants in five continents. Outside of the cultural travel programs other projects and consultancy is performed under low visibility and anonymity.
Early Life and Religious Upbringing
Manuel De Jesus Dume (Manny) was born on 16 January 1957 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 4 April 1964 at the age of 7 he became the first Dume to immigrate to the United States by way of the newly named John F. Kennedy Airport, named JFK after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November of 1963. In 1965 at eight years old he was taken by his mother from Corona, Queens New York to Colebrook, New Hampshire and was given to the Brother’s of Christian Instruction to be raised by the religious organization, he attended Our Lady of Grace Academy under the supervision of the Sisters of our Lady of Grace. In 1969 at the age of twelve he was taken to Alfred, Maine where the Brothers of Christian Instruction taught him at Denis Hall Jr. High School, after graduating from Junior High School in 1971 the brothers drove him to Plattsburgh New York to attend Mount Assumption High School. In 1975 he graduated from Mount Assumption and desired to become a Brother of Christian Instruction brother. In 1976 he came to the realization he would not be able to abide by the necessary vows of celibacy. In October of 1976 he enlisted in the United States Army.
Military Service
Korea 1977-1978
After Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Advance Individual Training at Fort Benjamin Harrison Indiana, Dume’ was given orders to serve in the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, Korea in the village of Dongduchon. Upon arrival to Korea Dume was put under the leadership of SGT Nelson Fowler who after reviewing Dume’s records discovered Dume was raised by a religious organization. SGT Fowler asked Dume if he would like to volunteer to teach English to Amerasian children at the village’s orphanage. Dume said yes, the lineage of Dume’s World United is traced back to this orphanage in the village of Dongduchon in April of 1977. During the first three months in Korea Dume met and fell in love with an Amerasian teenage girl whom he promised to take to the United States if she would marry him, the answer was yes and on October 5th 1977 Dume married Ms. Cha Sim Tok who’s American Dad whom she never met gave her the name “Dinah”. In March of 1978 Dume returned to the United States taking his wife Dinah with him.
U.S ARMY RANGER 1979-1980 (First Dominican to serve as a U.S Army Ranger)
In July of 1978 Dume found out that SGT Fowler who was his mentor in Korea had made an attempt to become a U.S Army Ranger and succeeded. The Rangers were the most elite group of soldiers of the time, and pre-Delta Force had the anti-terrorist mission. SGT Fowler contacted Dume and encouraged him to volunteer and take the initial physical assessment, Dume succeeded, he then proceeded to the initial phases of becoming a U.S Army Ranger. He completed the Airborne parachutist course in February of 1979 then proceeded to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah GA for the Ranger Indoctrination Program. The last day of the RIP course Dume missed completing the 5-mile run with combat boots and jungle fatigues to Ranger standard. Dume was given the opportunity to be recycled and do the course all over again or be sent back to a regular military unit. The commander of the RIP course contacted Ranger Headquarters and made the notification that for the first time in the RIP course a soldier has accepted to be recycled and repeat the course. In May of 1979 Dume completed the course and became the first Dominican to become a U.S Army Ranger of the 1/75th Ranger Battalion.
RETURN TO KOREA: 1980
During many months of intensive training with the U.S Army Rangers Dume parachuted into the jungles of panama (Gatun Drop Zone) to become a Jungle Expert, (JOTC) was trained in explosives, became an expert marksman, hand to hand combat, was trained in counter-terrorism and maintained his proficiency in his original Occupational Specialty of Personnel Administration Specialist. He was only 22 years old. Three days before the birth of his first child, his daughter Angela on January 25th his friend and fellow Ranger was killed in a parachute accident, they were returning home from cold weather training in Minnesota. On 28 January the day of his daughter’s birth Dume began the process of requesting another overseas assignment to Korea. In August of 1980 before departing to Korea he visited his teachers at Denis Hall in Alfred, Maine to be blessed by the brothers. Dume wore his military uniform and was introduced to the students by the school principle Brother Roland. One of the students in the group Dume gave words of encouragement was Enrique Pena Nieto. who 32 years later would become the 57th President of Mexico.
KOREA 1980-1988
MILITARY INSTRUCTOR…. ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR & MASTER OF CEREMONIES LOTTE HOTEL…INITIATED
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA…
CULTURAL ATTACHE…FIRST SECRETARY…. CHARGE D’ AFFAIRES A.I
INTRO: Dume arrived to Korea for the second time in August of 1980 and was assigned as the Administration Sergeant and Instructor of Status of forces agreement Law and Ration control regulations at the NCO Academy. After one year as Instructor at the NCO Academy Dume was reassigned to Korea’s U.S Army Special Troops Command in anticipation of Korea’s successful submission of a bid for the 1988 summer Olympics. Dume was given a temporary leave of absence, he was flown to the nearest U.S territory of Hawaii where he took the oath of allegiance and expeditiously was granted U.S citizenship. On 30 September 1981 Seoul, Korea was awarded the 1988 Olympics and Dume was chosen to discreetly oversee the security of visiting dignitaries, during this period he also began to initiate informal cultural exchanges between his native country the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Korea.
HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
1982: Dume greets Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron on his goodwill visit to Seoul
1982 (Oct) Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks arrive to Seoul and grant trust to Dume for the escort and safety of their sons Lary Aaron, Joey Banks, future Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Milt Thompson.
Dume initiates International Cultural Exchange between the Dominican Republic and the
Republic of Korea.
1982 Sep 4 to 15 Welcomes and coordinates the activities and security of the Dominican Republic’s National Baseball Team which included players (El Gato Felix Fermin) and (Ramon Pena)
1982 (May) Dume Welcomes and coordinates the activities, security and escort of Dominican Musical Artist Sergio Hernandez and Journalist Joseph Caceres.
1982 Dume Welcomes and provides security and escort to visiting Dominican dignitaries Ambassador Aumary Dargam and Vice Minister of Sports Temistocles Metz
1982 (October) Dume completes his 6th year military enlistment and begins an assignment with the Department of Defense responsible for the safety and security of Military and DOD dependent school children. (83-84)
1983 March THE LOTTE CORPORATION (LOTTE HOTEL) CONTRACTS MANUEL DUME AS THEIR FULL TIME ENLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR
1983 (March) Dume is interviewed by Song Yong Duk future Lotte Hotel CEO and Vice Chairman of the Lotte to be the full time English Instructor to all the Hotel Staff, the Lotte Chairman’s Daughter Ms. Shin Young-Ja and her young son, he also spontaneously is given the honor to perform as the Lotte Hotel’s Master of Ceremonies. He establishes a close but professional relationship with the Chairman’s daughter Ms. Shin Young Ja.
1983 Dume welcomes the first appointed Dominican Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Jose Angel Savinon, he facilitates the establishment of the Embassy and hiring of the local staff. 1 September 1983 Korean Airlines flight 007 is shot down, on 9 October an assassination attempt against the Korean president Chung Doo Hwan is made with the bombing in Rangoon, Dume makes the decision with the Ambassadors agreement to take control of the Ambassador’s security and transportation to all Diplomatic functions, tensions in Korea as the country prepared for the 1988 summer Olympics that were five years away led to four Dominican Ambassadors changes in those 5 years.
1983 July 1, Glenn E Morrel Dume’s Command Sergeant Major while at the Ranger Battalion in 1979 and Dume’s mentor is appointed Sergeant Major of the Army for President Reagan’s Administration and begins to work at the Pentagon.
1983 Oct 23, The Libyans Bomb Beirut Barracks (Beirut, Lebanon) 241 U.S service members are killed, total 307 Dead
1983 Nov 12, President Reagan arrives in Korea on a Presidential visit, Dume welcomed and assist with the secret service advance party logistics and security.
1984 (January) Dume begins the development of private English language programs at Korea University, Seoul National University and Yonsei University
1984 Ambassador Amaury Dargam is appointed Ambassador to Seoul and Ambassador Jose Angel Savinon returns to the Dominican Republic. Dume welcomes Ambassador Dargam and his family and coordinates housing and security.
1984 (April 10th) Dominican Republic President Salvador Jorge Blanco has a Presidential State Dinner with President Reagan in Washington D.C. Glenn E. Morrel, Sergeant Major of the Army is in attendance.
1985 (December) Mr. Song Yong Deok , present Vice Chairman of the Lotte Group asks Dume to be the Master of Ceremony for the first annual New Years Celebration for the U.S Military and their
families.
1986 February Ms. Shin Young Ja the Lotte Group’s founder’s daughter asks Dume if he would like to go to the U.S and assist in relocating the Lotte U.S Office from the Empire State Building to Teterboro, New Jersey, Dume tells her he had been in Korea for 6 straight years and he would like to have an opportunity to spend a short time with his family in the U.S. he was very thankful for the opportunity, but the trip would be short lived.
1986 March Dume departs Lotte Korea and reports to Lotte U.S, Lotte Office is moved from the Empire State Building to Teterboro, New Jersey
1986 April 5th Libya Bombs a Night Club in West Berlin, Michael Kuligowski Dume’s Alumni Brother from Denis Hall, Brothers of Christian Instruction is assigned to the U.S Embassy in Seoul as the Information Officer.
1986 April 16th Dominican President Salvador Jorge Blanco looses his reelection to President Joaquin Balaguer, but before he leaves office he signs DECRETO 275-86 appointing Dume as Cultural Attache’ in Seoul, Korea.
1987 February 24th President Joaquin Balaguer’s DECRETO 85-87 appoints Dume as First Secretary
1988 January 16, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic confirms to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea that Dume is Charge D’ Affairs A.I as of January 16, 1988
1988 February 15, President Joaquin Balaguer’s DECRETO 82-88 selects Dume as Special Delegate to the special mission that represented the Dominican Republic in the inauguration of the Republic of Korea’s newly elected President Roh Tae-Woo.
The Caribbean 1988 to 1990
He arrived in the Dominican Republic turned in his Diplomatic Passport and headed for the duty free zone territory of the country, for two years (1988 to 1990) his actions resulted in changes in the foreign companies treatment of factory workers and the policies they had established for their supervisors who arrived in the country to train Dominican workers. Policies considered to be violations of human rights. While serving in the Foreign service he had introduced the benefits of the Free Trade Zones to a number of the foreign companies that established their manufacturing operations in the Dominican Republic. Until now Twenty-eight years later those that were part of the development of the Duty-Free Zone in the Dominican Republic talk about his actions and the positive changes it created. He was credited with improving the working conditions of the factory workers and the social interaction with their foreign colleagues.
Mexico and South America 1992 to 2003
He returned to the United States in 1990 and settled his family in the Space coast Port. St. John's Florida, two miles from his Mentor's residence retired Sergeant Major of the Army Glen E Morell. The following two years he was educated in criminal justice in the State of Florida Department of Corrections, in Logistics and Personnel property management at the now Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and in other specialized training while serving in the active U.S Army Reserves. In 1992 two years before the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect and four years before the first American Super Retail store would open its doors south of U.S borders, he was on an airplane on the way to Mexico/Latin America. This decade long tenure of activities while serving as an International Business and security consultant make way for enjoyable and entertaining conversation. In Mexico, Millions of Dollars of the products he introduced during the years of the North American Free Trade Agreement are still being sold today. In 2003 after eleven years he left Mexico & Central America.
United States 2003 to Present
In 2003 he returned to the U.S and settled in a remote town in Northern California, on the North shores of Lake Tahoe. In Lake Tahoe he developed and coordinated community programs for high-risk Latino young men. In March of 2004, he entered Mexico found and negotiated the rescue of the Garcia sisters who were being held by a group of human traffickers in Tijuana. Kept secret for 12 years the family has given the consent for the story to be told, CEO Craigar Grosvenor of Puply Entertainment in Hollywood has film rights to the story. Immediately after the Tijuana rescue, he departed the United States to the U.S Embassy in the Dominican Republic where he served in a Foreign Service National position as assistant GSO receiving warehouse supervisor. Utilizing the logistical training he received at Joint base langley Eustis prior to his departure to Latin America in 1992 he successfully prepared the receiving warehouse of the U.S Embassy for its Inspector General Inspection.
He returned home once again in 2005 and with support from visible and anonymous fellow veterans and Alumni of those taught by the Brothers of Christian Instruction he founded and is the CEO of World United an International Cultural Exchange Organization founded on Christian believes, love for your fellow man, world unity and mutual understanding. Dume lives an individual vow of poverty similar to that of the Brothers of Christian Instruction that raised him. 2020 marks the 15th year anniversary of the World United Cultural Travel Programs. The lineage of World United began in 1977 in the village of Dongduchon in the Republic of Korea when Dume taught English to orphan Amerasian children. World United has an Alumni Group of over 2,000 young men and women in more than 40 countries. World United is registered and based in Los Angeles County and has a active Alumni professional advisors and consultants all around the World. We are World United.