1929-2011. At the time, he held the highest rank ever achieved by a Hmong in the Royal Laotian Army, major general. The monsoon rains had just begun, the farm animals were waking, and Grandma, well, she did what she does best speak her mind. General Vang Pao (Vaj Pov) - hmonglessons.com The captain dictated the answers to Vang so he could join the army. So, during the nine-year bombing campaign the U.S. carried out against Laos from 1964 to 1973 making it the most heavily bombed nation per capita in history Yang said he was in charge of calling some of the 2 million tons of artillery that rained on the country. Congressional committees discussed the war in secret sessions at the time it was being fought, and the press uncovered significant details. [citation needed], While taking an entrance examination, the captain who was the proctor realized that Vang knew almost no written French. She loves to hate. New. A committee unanimously voted against a request to bury Vang Pao at Arlington National Cemetery, Hmong Leadership | Chi You Di | Wu Ba Yue | Zhang Xiu Mei | Lo Blia Yao | Pa Chay Vu | Shong Lue Yang | Tou Geu Lyfoung | Touby Lyfoung, General Vang Pao | Lee Lue | Dr. Yang Dao | Senator Mee Moua | Dr. Vang PobZeb | Hmong Doctorates, Alleged plot to overthrow government of Laos. I don't think it can be filled by one person at this point. Ying is weak, has a bad knee, but manages to smile constantly when she talks to me. general. May Song Vang(February 5, 1951 - August 5, 2013) was an American Hmongcommunity leader and activist. [14][15][16][17], Throughout Vang's residence in the U.S., the Hmong leader diplomatically opposed human rights violations by the communist government of Laos against the Hmong and Laotian people. Our work isn't possible without your support. This army fought with the US troops in the long, losing campaign against . [76] The Lao Veterans of America, Philip Smith, the CPPA and other prominent figures also highlighted and lauded Vang Pao's contribution to U.S. national security interests during the Vietnam War. From that day on, he devoted his life to freeing Hmong people from the chains of poverty. As a . Vang Pao's FBI file, requested by MuckRock user Robert Delaware, reveals that the Bureau had been monitoring the general for nearly 30 years, ever since it first investigated allegations of murder, extortion and kidnapping - all in the name of the Hmong people - in 1985. Following the issuance of the warrants, an estimated 250 federal agents representing numerous U.S. federal law enforcement and other agencies conducted simultaneous raids on homes, offices and other locations throughout central and southern California, arresting Vang Pao and the other nine. (NEWS)(SERIES: THE COVERT WARS OF VANG PAO)", Her, Lucy, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota),(28 November 2003)"McCollum praises policy shift by Hmong general Vang Pao. Many Southeast Asian American refugees continue to struggle nearly half a century later, but have also made strides in various spheres. Vang began his early life as a farmer until Japanese forces invaded and occupied French Indochina in World War II. The government arrested the defendants before understanding all the evidence because they felt a threat was imminent, he said. Following this appearance, on 6 April 2009, federal prosecutors denied all allegations of fabrications in the motion. be a part where they talk about meeting General Vang Pao in person and being. Vang Pao - TIME's People Who Mattered in 2011 - TIME [21][22] (Smith, a foreign policy, human rights and legislative affairs specialist, serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis. Chan. 19802023 The Christian Science Monitor. Thousands more beleaguered Vang Pao supporters fled across the Mekong and ended up in refugee camps. Fadiman added "it is worth noting that in this incident, far from tarnishing Vang Pao's reputation as, for example Ted Kennedy's fudged Spanish exam at Harvard University tarnished his merely added to his mythology: this was the sort of man who could never be held back by such petty impediments as rules."[6]. He became a sergeant in the French colonial army, and, in 1954, an officer in the army of the newly independent Laos. A portrait of Vang sits amidst funeral wreaths at the Fresno Convention Center. Vang Pao - Wikipedia The CIA arranged for flights to bring Vang Pao and his Hmong supporters to the US as refugees via airbases in Thailand. In the US, Vang Pao assembled anti-communist exiles under one banner the United Lao Liberation Front and sent funds and weapons to be ferried across the border from Thailand to the bands of hardcore Hmong determined to resist the new regime. Tony Poe (middle-left) and General Vang Pao (middle right) with an unknown Hmong soldier (far left) and American (far right). Prior to his arrest, Vang Pao was slated to have an elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin named after him, a proposal that met with opposition over Alfred W. McCoys allegations that Vang had been involved in war crimes and drug trafficking, with Gary Yia Lee and other scholars strongly disputing his claims. Col. Wangyee Vang (right) president of the Lao Veterans of America Institute, reunites with other veterans at the funeral procession for Gen. Vang Pao. Following Vang's arrest, Smith advocated in Washington, D.C. for the case to be dropped against Vang and other Hmong leaders. It has been reported Vang Pao fathered more than 20 children. Tens of thousands were killed during the war, and even more lost their lives while attempting to escape to freedom after the war ended. Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov, born 1929) is a former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. Many, like Yang, received little to no assistance in rebuilding their lives, were resettled in underresourced neighborhoods and faced racism. All rights reserved. In this book it's full of each persons biography about immigrating to places, and. Obituary: Vang Pao - BBC News Traditional Hmong funeral services for Vang Pao were scheduled to be held for six days, starting February 4, 2011, at the Fresno Convention Center. Shower? Though she's newer to Minnesota and less well-known in the community, she shares a name with her father, the legendary General Vang Pao. Hmong women wear traditional clothes, a sign of respect, during Vang's funeral. 50K views 1 year ago We go inside of the General Vang Pao's house. Vang Pao dies at 81; exiled Hmong general - Los Angeles Times A report from the civil rights nonprofit Southeast Asia Resource Action Center noted that 45 years after the community established roots in the U.S., nearly 1.1 million Southeast Asian Americans are low-income, and about 460,000 live in poverty. He put the figure at 17,000 dead by 1968. Vang Pao, or 'the General,' was selected for his charisma and leadership skills, honed when the Hmong had previously allied with the French against North Vietnamese forces. Now they Desperately Battle for their Own Survival", "Vang Pao Met with Senior State Department Official", "Hmong Hero Faces Trial in California (audio), "Against All Odds: The Laotian Freedom Fighters", "Hmong American Leadership and Unity in the Post-Vang Pao Era", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vang_Pao&oldid=1151957156, Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Articles with dead external links from July 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2021, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos, U.S. Congress, Center For Public Policy Analysis, Doctors Without Borders, Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) (1 May 2008), Agence France Press (AFP) & Asia One News, (13 May 2011), Agence France Press (AFP) (9 January 2011) "California funeral planned for Hmong general", Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aroports, 2007 Laotian coup d'tat conspiracy allegation, History of the Hmong in Fresno, California, "Vang Pao, Laotian General Who Aided U.S., Dies at 81", "Revered Hmong leader Vang Pao stands tall in two worlds", "The life of General Vang Pao, Hmong guerrilla leader", "May Song Vang, widow of Gen. Vang Pao, dies at 62", "Hmong community, military leader Vang Pao dies at 81", "Hmong community reacts with alarm to charges against Vang Pao", http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18164641.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62628182.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-69595349.html, "3,500 Laotians Head for U.S. after 20 Years in Thailand", http://www.nysun.com/editorials/vang-pao-escapes/86878, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1102/S00609/vietnam-laos-nationalist-fighter-honored-by-lao-hmong.htm, "Suspect in alleged Laos plot had friends, influence on Capitol Hill", Vietnam vet to get US honors after burial snub, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-133816289.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-89481454.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-95001293.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116193843.html, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-91813746.html, "Amnesty Urges Laos to Treat Hmong Humanely", "U.S. Secretary of State says he will talk to U.N. chief about Hmong in Laos", http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110671550.html, "ST. PAUL; VANG PAO FOUNDATION; Chamber says money was for trade missions", THE COVERT WARS OF VANG PAO; Ex-guerrilla's gamble for peace backfires; With his empire unraveling, Gen. Vang Pao met with the enemy, a tactic that to his people felt like a total betrayal. I tell them I promise to be the keeper of their stories, so they smile proudly and agree to meet again soon. Former Central Intelligence Agency chief William Colby once called [Vang] 'the biggest hero of the Vietnam War'.". [56][57][58][59], Amnesty International and other human rights organizations and experts testified about their research efforts, along with Members of Congress, including U.S. His fellow friends, including Hmong, Mienh, Lao, Vietnamese, and Americans individuals who knew Vang protested the arrests, rallying in California, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin. During the 1950s, Ho Chi Minh's Vietminh guerrillas, and Lao and Cambodian nationalists united in a struggle to defeat the French empire in Indochina. To family, friends and many in the CIA, VP was a military hero, but I hardly knew him. [46], Prior to his arrest, Vang was scheduled to have an elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin named after him, a proposal that met with opposition over historian Alfred W. McCoy's allegations that Vang had been involved in war crimes and drug trafficking,[47] with Hmong scholars Gary Yia Lee[48] and Jane Hamilton-Merritt, as well as former Air America Association president Jack Knott, strongly disputing his claims. His death was confirmed by Michael Bailey, a spokesman for the Clovis Community Medical Center. [73][74][75], In March 2011, following Vang's death, the CPPA issued an editorial, published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, critical of the decision by the U.S. Secretary of the Army not permitting Vang's burial in Arlington National Cemetery. [1] He was admitted to the hospital on 26 December 2010, after attending Hmong New Year celebrations in Fresno. The Gvp Project Since the 4 June 2007 federal raid, the arrests became the subject of mounting criticism. Hmong General Vang Pao, a courageous and powerful leader, worked in tandem with the CIA to conduct covert operations in Laos. This was a woman of rare qualities, and piercing words. He is survived by his son, Chu Vang. True for all or most cases. He had been in hospital for about 10 days before his death late on Thursday. [65], Diana Aguilera of the Fresno Bee wrote that May Song Vang, who was Vang Pao's wife at the time of his death, "became the face of the Hmong community" after Vang Pao died. [49] Pao's June 2007 arrest later led the Madison School to reopen discussion on the school's naming. His eldest son Chao Francois Vang said he had been admitted to the hospital on December 26, 2010, after attending Hmong New Year celebrations in Fresno. [53], On 9 March 2009, Vang's lawyers filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charges against him. "When there was a funeral, a party or a special dinner," says Xai, "VP would be invited to speak. Tue 22 Feb 2011 17.17 EST. Many of Vang's former veterans formed the Lao Veterans of America, Inc. and the Lao Veterans of America Institute, with offices in Fresno, California, Washington, D.C. and other locales. Vang Pao later admitted that his Hmong soldiers suffered appalling losses fighting around the Plain of Jars, in Xieng Khouang province. On July 12, 2007, under significant pressure from Vang Paos Hmong and influential American supporters, the California federal court ordered the release of the Hmong leader on a US$1.5 million bond secured by property owned by members of his family. He served his country for many years in his homeland, and he continued to serve it in America," said attorney William Portanova, who represents one of the remaining Hmong defendants. The Christian Science Monitor is an international news organization offering calm, thoughtful, award-winning coverage for independent thinkers. subscription yet. [2] He was a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. If you have questions about your account, please Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov, born 1929) is a former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. Air America pilots have since admitted that their planes not only transported rice, bullets and weapons, but also sacks of opium grown by the Hmong villages. Love? Regarded by Hmong immigrants as an exiled head of state, Vang Pao made frequent appearances at Hmong cultural and religious festivals and often was asked to mediate disputes or solve problems. Vang Pao, the Laotian general who marshalled a CIA mercenary army to fight a "secret war" against communist insurgents in the remote mountains of Laos in the 1960s, has died aged 81. His picture hangs in thousands of homes. When the CIA needed an ally, they found a charismatic, passionate young man not afraid to die. John Dominis/Time Life Pictures Getty Images. Family, friends and members of the Hmong community crowd the Fresno Convention Center for the funeral. logged you out. Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento, said she had no immediate comment. Certainly his attempt to align all the Hmong clans with the US military and its war strategy divided his people, with the Hmong tribal minority clans fighting on both sides, for and against the communist-led Pathet Lao movement. Former Laotian General Vang Pao at the Hmong International New Year's Celebration in Fresno, Calif. Pao, a former general in the Royal Army of Laos who led thousands of Hmong mercenaries. Jane Hamilton-Merritt (1993 - Indiana University Press ). In his early teen years, Vang Pao launched his military career, joining the French Military to protect fellow Hmong during the Japanese invasion. Vang Pao: Unfinished business | The Economist [28][29] The Lao Marxist government, and hardline Pathet Lao elements in the Lao military and government, backed by the military in Vietnam, continued to engage in military attacks and human rights violations against the Hmong in Laos. General Vang Pao. Even before President Dwight D. Eisenhowers vow in 1960 that Laos must not fall to the Communists, the country was immersed in bloody conflict. That's why I never told friends and neighbors about my family's history. The United States wanted to interdict the supply route, rescue American pilots shot down over Laos and aid anti-Communist forces in a continuing civil war, but was hampered in doing so publicly because Laos was officially neutral, so the C.I.A. Against All Odds: The Laotian Freedom Fighters Pao [8] Vang's ethnic Hmong and Laotian veterans and their refugee families who served in the U.S. "Secret Army" were eventually granted the status of political refugees by the United Nations because of alleged persecution by the Lao Marxist government and communist Vietnam who took control in 1975[citation needed]. Vang Pao, Laotian General, Has Died - CBS Sacramento Every night since Vang Pao, 81, passed away on Jan. 6, groups of refugees . This website uses cookies to In fact, she was proud that she smelled. This year, the community commemorates its 45th anniversary. He was also known as General Vang Pao to the people in the Hmong community. NPR reporter Doualy Xaykaothao speaks with her great-aunts Gen. Vang Pao's sisters in Fresno, Calif. Lee starts talking about her brother and then tells me a secret: Her brother did not marry eight wives to unite the many Hmong clans, as legend has it. Gen. Vang Pao's sisters (from left to right) include Der Vang, Xai Vang and Lee Vang. The Hmong were joyful to hear this news; many had participated in numerous protests over several weeks in California and elsewhere, calling for Vang Paos release from the date of his incarceration until his release under bail nearly a month later. Tens of thousands died, both in the fight and in the escape. The defendants face possible life prison terms for violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act and various weapons charges. He was 81. The Thailand-based refugees, many of whom had been living in refugee camps at Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist temple in Thailand, were afforded the right to avoid the forced return to Laos and instead were offered relocation rights and assistance to the U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, U.S. Vang Pao | Military Wiki | Fandom "Laos Hmong Refugee Crisis", Center for Public Policy Analysis, Washington, D.C. Lao Veterans of America, Inc., Washington, D.C. "Welcome to the Jungle: Recruited by the CIA to be a Secret Army During the Vietnam War, the Hmong Rebels of Laos Fought Communism. Thousands Gather To Mourn Hmong Leader Vang Pao : NPR (modern), Vang Pao was a leader of the Hmong ethnic group in Laos. She even claimed to scare ghosts. Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov, born 1929) is a former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. But youll find in each Monitor news story qualities that can lead to solutions and unite usqualities such as respect, resilience, hope, and fairness.
