HMONG SOLDIERS HONORED AT HONOR THE EARTH

HMONG SOLDIERS HONORED AT HONOR THE EARTH

BY PAUL DEMAIN

A delegation of Lao Veterans of America and United States Special Guerilla Unit members from Wisconsin and Minnesota were honored during the Veterans’ Recognition Ceremony at this year’s Honor The Earth Pow Wow on Saturday morning, July 18th.

Flanked by Lt. Colonel Tou Fue Vang, standing to the right of Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Vice Chairman Rusty Barber, and on the left by Captain Nao Shoua Xiong, the Lt. Colonel outlined their history of service to the United States and made a presentation of the book “General Vang Pao.”

The book provides a chronology of when the United States government recruited the Laotian Hmong to wage a war against the

Communist Pathet Lao in the mountains of Laos and a secret war in support of the United States against the North Vietnamese in the 1960’s during the Vietnam War.

In that capacity, the Lao Vets were involved in search and rescue of downed American pilots, search and rescue of prisoners of war, interception of supplies being sent from China and North Vietnam to the south, and disruption of enemy troop movements into the south.

The entire effort was paid for by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US Government.  The Laotian Veterans are NOT eligible for U.S. military medical services nor burial in a veterans’ cemetery because they do not have U.S. military discharge papers.           

Photos by D.Kakkak

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