At a dinner in honor of the end of the Turkish-American Work Council's project in Turkey, the US Consulate General in Istanbul, David Arnett, noted that is was quite possible that he himself carried Turkish blood, and then said: "There could be no greater honor than knowing that there is Turkish blood in my veins." Arnett, whose tour of duty in Istanbul comes to an end in August, said that he thought some of his ancestors might be "Melanjans," a group of early American settlers who were brought to the US by the Portuguese, but who were Turkish in origin.

Arnett noted that he had traveled over all of Turkey, and that he had thoroughly read the history of the Melanjuns in the US. In describing his father and grandfather, who grew up in the borderlands between Tennessee and Kentucky, Arnett said "If you had seen my grandfather, you would have said he was a Turk. Later, I learned that my father's mother's family came from Melanjan roots....Whether or not there is Turkish blood in my veins, Turkey will always have a place in my heart." Arnett then said: "We will never forget this most beautiful city in the world. We will always remember this wonderful country and its incredible people."