She was the widowof General Vang Pao, a former member of the Royal Lao Armyand prominent Hmong American leader, who died in 2011. That following month, on 11 May 2009, Vang Pao returned to federal court in Sacramento, California with his lawyers to argue the motion. After the French defeat in 1954 and its withdrawal from Indochina, the US military gradually escalated its intervention in Vietnam. The former CIA chief William Colby once called him "the biggest hero of the Vietnam war". The general formed several nonprofits to aid the refugee communities and set up a council to mediate disputes between the 18 Hmong clans, whose president he hand-picked for decades. VP died earlier this year at the age of 81. [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. As you well know, General Vang Pao led the Royal Lao Army during thesecret war in Laos, fighting against the People's Army of Vietnam incooperation with the CIA and US military forces. General Vang Pao offered a reward and ordered the assassination of Shong Lue Yang, who was killed in February 1971 by Nos Toom Yang in the village of Nam Chia. The community is also seeing its demands being championed by members of Congress, some of whom have publicly denounced the mass detentions and deportations of the community. One time, during a visit back to Laos, I woke up especially early to capture the tranquility of that morning. Following Vang's arrest, Smith advocated in Washington, D.C. for the case to be dropped against Vang and other Hmong leaders. One technique was to marry women from different tribes, as multiple marriages were permitted in Laos. He came very close to having a park in Madison City, Wisconsin, named after him in 2002. Quyen Dinh, executive director of SEARAC, said in an email that the community is becoming more civically engaged by running for political office and demanding political accountability in areas including education equity and criminal justice. 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. Central in the controversy, scandals, and lawsuits, including one by the Minnesota Attorney General, was Cha Vang's role with the Vang Pao Foundation, a funeral home, a chamber of commerce in St. Paul, and other financial and political dealings. [18], From 1993 to 2003, Vang relied on Philip Smith for much of his efforts with policymakers in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Congress. 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 in a CIA backed secret army during the Vietnam War, has died. Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov, born 1929) is a former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. When the C.I.A. [50] On 18 June 2007, the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education voted to drop Vang's name from the new school, in light of the federal charges against him and the previous allegations. Love? It also allowed for that broader definition to be applied retroactively. contact customer service He had to divorce all but one of his five wives when he went to the United States in 1975, settling on a ranch in Montana. "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. He was 52 when he arrived and struggled to find a stable job that let him provide for his family. "[46] Vang Pao's long-time adviser and friend Philip Smith hailed the federal government's decision to drop the charges against Vang and the other accused Hmong-American defendants. Smuggled narcotics became a routine cargo transported from Laos and delivered into the corrupt arms of a clique of South Vietnamese generals in Saigon. Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov; 8 December 1929 - 6 January 2011) was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. This excerpt is from Twin Cities PBS's documentaryMinnesota Remembers Vietnam: America's Secret War.Learn more at the bottom of the page. He didn't want them to attract suitors or to get married. Our work isn't possible without your support. recruited General Vang Pao for the job. Family members pray during the Buddhist ceremony for Vang. Family, friends and members of the Hmong community crowd the Fresno Convention Center for the funeral. [23] Despite the U.S. Secretary of the Army's unpopular and widely criticized decision, the CPPA, along with the Lao Veterans of America Institute, Lao Veterans of America, Inc. (LVA), and others helped to organize national veterans ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in May 2011 to honor Vang's contribution to U.S. national security efforts during the Vietnam War. Lianne Milton for NPR This army fought with the US troops in the long, losing campaign against . All 12 have pleaded not guilty since their arrests in 2007. There are many more secrets and tales from the past, so Lee and I call on the eldest sister. Xai is full of energy and youth in her late 70s. On March 9, 2009, Vang Paos lawyers filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charges against him. or call us at 1-617-450-2300. 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. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations. Gen. Vang Pao's sisters (from left to right) include Der Vang, Xai Vang and Lee Vang. His lawyers claimed that the charges were fabricated and had no bearing in court. Far from uniting the Hmong, they say, he divided them. He was also known as General Vang Pao to the people in the Hmong community. Although French forces lost the war, Vang remained in the army of the newly independent Kingdom of Laos. We tackle difficult conversations and divisive issueswe dont shy away from hard problems. GENERAL VANG PAO SCHOLARSHIP THE PRAYA NORAPARMORK GENERAL VANG PAO LEADERSHIP LEGACY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND APPLICATION PACKET December 8, 1929 - January 6, 2011 PRESENTED BY THE HMONG AMERICAN EDUCATION FUND www.thehaef.org This scholarship was donated by Dr. James Nhia Vang & his wife Vanessa Yang in loving memory of General Vang Pao. In truth, Grandma did believe she would have been a better commander than her brother. York: Temple UP, 1994. That year, Gen. Vang Pao was charged with plotting to provide $10 million in arms to antigovernment forces in Laos in a conspiracy of such dimensions that American prosecutors compared it to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Primary Location During Vietnam: Long Tieng. Dictionary of the modern politics of South-East Asia, Michael Leifer (2001) Taylor & Francis, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 08:23. [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]. 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. [42][43], On 4 June 2007, following a lengthy federal investigation labeled "Operation Tarnished Eagle", warrants were issued by U.S. federal courts ordering the arrest of Vang Pao and nine others for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Pathet Lao communist government of Laos, in violation of the federal Neutrality Acts. Shower? Vang Pao has been widely portrayed by his Hmong supporters and the US media as an American war hero and venerated leader of the Hmong people. Its importance grew immensely during the Vietnam War, when most of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the serpentine route that North Vietnam used to funnel supplies southward, ran through Laotian territory. Hmong people believed that the Heavens sent Vang Pao to be our leader. He was charged under the U.S. Neutrality Act, a security clause that prohibits actions on domestic soil against foreign governments with whom Washington is at peace. The general led troops into combat personally, suffered serious wounds and was known to declare: If we die, we die together. [citation needed], On 18 September 2009, the federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted. 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. He was 81 . in those biography that one person write about their experiences, there would. [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. [44] The federal charges alleged that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand, where they allegedly would be shipped to anti-Laotian governmental resistance movement forces inside Laos. Pao led the CIA-funded "secret war" in Laos, and then shepherded many Hmong people into life outside of Southeast Asia when the Vietnam War ended. That man was my great-uncle, the late Gen. Vang Pao. Reality soon dispersed that dreamworld. Since the 4 June 2007 federal raid, the arrests became the subject of mounting criticism. His lawyers claimed that the charges were fabricated and had no bearing in court. 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. A hospital spokesman said his family had been at the hospital at the time of his death. She died four years ago, but people used to tell me that if she had been born a boy, she would have been the one tapped by the CIA to help them during the Vietnam War. 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. As a . Vang Pao, the former general and leader of his Hmong ethnic group in Laos, has died in exile in the US, aged 81. He was invited to speak at the U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos, with Members of Congress, about the persecution of the Laotian and Hmong people on several occasions in the U.S. Congress from 1999 to 2003. [25][26] Vang, in close cooperation with one of his highly controversial sons, Cha Vang, reversed his long-standing position and began to publicly advocate normalization of U.S.-Laotian trade relations with Laos in a highly controversial move that involved secret meetings with communist Vietnamese military and political officials and complex and questionable financial dealings involving Cha Vang and others. Vang Pao and the other Hmong were also initially denied bail by the California federal court, which cited each of them as a flight risk. If you are part of a community that is overwhelmingly poor, that struggles with employment, that has to rely on the welfare state and that is living in urban areas with substandard housing, then your chances at social mobility are slim, said Eric Tang, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the book Unsettled: Cambodian Refugees in the New York City Hyperghetto. And this is true not just for Cambodians, not just for Laotians, but for any population that lives within the inner city under these conditions.. (of a rule, principle, etc.) He kept searching, Lee says, for someone like his first wife, apparently his true love, who died unexpectedly. General Vang Pao, who battled diabetes and heart problems, died aged 81 of pneumonia with heart complications on January 6, 2011, at Clovis Community Medical Center. Tens of thousands died, both in the fight and in the escape. When the CIA needed an ally, they found a charismatic, passionate young man not afraid to die. In the 1950s, he joined the French in the war against the North Vietnamese who were dominating Laos and later worked with the CIA to wage a covert war there. But youll find in each Monitor news story qualities that can lead to solutions and unite usqualities such as respect, resilience, hope, and fairness. Vietnam People's Army forces were also involved with military attacks on the Hmong people in Laos and illegal logging activities driving many Hmong from their mountain homelands. unless you renew or The term "Mo Maquis" was originally used by Free French and Allied intelligence officers to describe the Hmong resistance forces working against Japanese forces occupying Indochina and China during World War II. Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. Among the hardest hit by this Secret War were the Hmong of northern Laos. Following Pao's meeting with communist generals and officials from Vietnam, Vang's so-called "New Doctrine" was widely opposed by many of his closest advisers, family, supporters, and former veterans, and many in the Lao and Hmong-American community. The CIA arranged for flights to bring Vang Pao and his Hmong supporters to the US as refugees via airbases in Thailand. Former U.S. soldiers surround a portrait of Gen. Vang Pao. VP cried witnessing this humiliating moment. ng tng c mnh danh l vua Mo ti Thng Lo t nm 1960. A hospital spokesman . "He's the last of his kind, the last of the leadership that carries that reference that everyone holds dear," said Blong Xiong, a Fresno city councilman and the first Hmong-American in California to win a city council seat. But when the questions begin, the laughter stops, and tears start to fall. For many people, especially my parents generation, its horrifying to learn that the U.S. would be willing to return them to the very country that they fled due to threats of violence, torture and death, she said. [60][61][62][63][64], Vang Pao reportedly had at least 25 children by several wives, and spoke English besides his native Lao, although in later years in interviews he did not seem to use the language as much anymore. NPR reporter Doualy Xaykaothao speaks with her great-aunts Gen. Vang Pao's sisters in Fresno, Calif. Hmong women wear traditional clothes, a sign of respect, during Vang's funeral. Meanwhile in neighbouring neutral Laos, Washington's strategists opted for a secret war against North Vietnam, without ground troops. She noted that community-led groups are organizing food dropoffs for elders and food banks for low-income families, and ensuring a complete count for the census. 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. Vang Paos fellow friends, including Hmong, Mienh, Lao, Vietnamese, and Americans individuals who knew Vang Pao protested the arrest and rallied throughout California, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The Lao and Hmong refugees were allowed to resettle in the United States, France, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. 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. In the 1970s, Vang led Hmong guerrillas in a CIA-backed battle against communist forces in Laos and helped tens of thousands of Hmong immigrants resettle in American cities. hide caption. Vang Pao ( RPA: Vaj Pov [v p], Lao: ; 8 December 1929 - 6 January 2011) [1] was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. The Minnesota Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press reported extensively on these matters. by General Vang Pao On behalf of the members of the United Lao National liberation Front, the Laotian people, and the freedom fighters in Laos, I would like to take this opportunity to express our . Vang Pao was a charismatic Laotian general who commanded a secret army of his mountain people. They were among the more than 1 million Southeast Asian refugees who resettled in the U.S. following the end of the Southeast Asian conflicts that the U.S. was involved in. [citation needed], While taking an entrance examination, the captain who was the proctor realized that Vang knew almost no written French. 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. This opened the door for the CIA to take charge in the 1960s. [citation needed], Thousands of Vang's former ethnic Laotian and Hmong veterans, and their refugee families, in the United States also formed the non-profit veterans and advocacy organizations the Lao Veterans of America and the Lao Veterans of America Institute. ", "THE COVERT WAR OF VANG PAO; SECOND OF THREE PARTS; Reality gets in the way of loyalty; For years thousands of Hmong have given money to Gen. Vang Pao for what appears to be an implausible goal: Retaking Laos from the Communists", http://www.centreforpublicpolicyanalysis.org. This message will appear once per week His military career began in the French colonial army that fought the Japanese and then Lao nationalists. The U.S. government declassified some of the documents relating to Poe and his activities in Laos, but hardly mention the operative by name. In 2009, charges were quietly dropped against Vang Pao. The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand, where they allegedly would be shipped to anti-Laotian governmental resistance movement forces inside Laos. He needed to ensure his familys survival, but it was heartbreaking to leave everything he owned and knew behind, he said. Major General Vang immigrated to the United States after the communists seized power in Laos in 1975. [11] Though he was somewhat less influential among younger Hmong-Americans who have grown up primarily in the United States, he generally was considered an influential leader of U.S.-based Hmong, enjoying great loyalty for his position of leadership and respect for his military accomplishments. Every night since Vang Pao, 81, passed away on Jan. 6, groups of refugees . Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese youth came from war-torn countries and had a tough time adjusting, said Sam Vong, curator of Asian Pacific American History at the Smithsonian Institute and former assistant professor of Asian American history at the University of Texas, Austin. He had been in hospital for about 10 days before his death late on Thursday. Early life [ edit] Vang Pao later admitted that his Hmong soldiers suffered appalling losses fighting around the Plain of Jars, in Xieng Khouang province. He said he has healed from his experiences and adapted to life in America, yet still misses his home country decades later. I decided to record her. Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento, said she had no immediate comment. Time notes that the general's "relationship with the U.S. as with his homeland -- was always complicated": "In 2007, after a lengthy investigation known as Operation Tarnished Eagle, the ex-CIA operative was arrested for plotting to overthrow the Laotian government. In 2001, Vang Pao began to moderate this position, publicly advocating normalization of U.S.-Laotian relations in hope of alleviating the human rights abuses by the Laotian government against the indigenous Hmong people. Vang Pao (Hmong: Vaj Pov, born 1929) is a former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. Asked by the news agency Agence France-Presse to comment on his death, the Communist government of Laos said, He was an ordinary person, so we do not have any reaction., Gen. Vang Pao, Laotian Who Aided U.S., Dies at 81, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/world/asia/08vangpao.html. All rights reserved. Vang and the other Hmong were initially denied bail by the California federal court, which cited each of them as a flight risk. The Hmong are a tribe in the fog-shrouded mountains separating Laos from southern China, and they were natural allies for the C.I.A. He died on Jan. 6 at age 81. Southeast Asian American refugees have survived war, famine and genocide. Luke Frazza /AFP/Getty Images She loves to hate. [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. Vang Pao (RPA: Vaj Pov [v p], Lao: ; 8 December 1929 6 January 2011)[1] was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. There are so many stories to tell, she says, but right now this is a time to mourn. General Vang Pao died in California, Thursday. Tens of thousands of them followed him in his flight to Thailand after the Communist victory in 1975. Later, he fell under suspicion by both Hmong groups who supported the Royal Lao Government (including members of Vang Pao's army) and by those Hmong who supported the communist Pathet Lao. Gen. Vang Pao in 1961. you are agreeing to our, We underestimated China, US official says after reports of J-20 stealth fighter, Defense budget: to cut $100 billion, Army and Marines will shrink, Spain welcomes Chinese investment even with strings attached, One month free trial to the Monitor Daily. On September 18, 2009, the federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted.. Nobody will be left behind. About 35,000 Hmong died in battle. When I turn on my recorder, she says this is her chance to become famous. ", "Hmong project worried some from start; Mayor Randy Kelly's advisers fretted about the Vang Pao Foundation's ability to raise funds to build a funeral home, and about political fallout. Vang, an ethnic Hmong, was born on 8 December 1929,[3][4] in a Hmong village named Nonghet,[5] located in Central Xiangkhuang Province, in the northeastern region of Laos, where his father, Neng Chu Vang, was a county leader. "Whether they're young or old, they hear his name, there's the respect that goes with it.". More than 16,000 Southeast Asian Americans have received final orders of removal since 1998 as a result of a 1996 immigration law that expanded the definition of what types of crimes could result in detention and deportation. (NEWS)", Associated Press (3 April 2004) "Hmong Tribesmen Seek Resettlement in Laos", Kennedy, Tony, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota) (5 July 2005) "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. If you have questions about your account, please U.S. Drops Case Against Exiled Hmong Leader", "Parents Pack Meeting To Object To New School's Name", "McCoy challenged on Vang Pao; he fires back", "Sen. George Asks UW For Probe On Vang Pao", "Board To Revisit New School's Name After Hmong General's Arrest", "School Board Drops New School's Name, OKs Teacher Contract", "General Vang Pao Elementary School: A First for Fresno", "Federal charges dropped against Hmong leader Vang Pao: The exiled general was accused of plotting to overthrow the communist regime in Laos", "IMPORTANCE OF THE ONGOING U.S. CONGRESSIONAL FORUM ON LAOS", "Statement of the Honorable Patrick Kennedy: US Congressional Forum on Laos", "Laos: Massacre of unarmed Hmong women and children", "Laos Regime Urged to Release Hakit Yang, Hmong Tortured in Vientiane Prison", http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org, "Fearing a Forced Return: The Situation of the Lao Hmong Refugees in Petchabun, Thailand", "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle - Hmong under threat", Fresno New Year festivities honor Hmong 'mother', "Hmong leader remains in critical condition", "AFP: Vietnam War 'secret army' chief dies in US hospital", "Vang Pao, Guerilla Fighter and Hmong Leader, Dead at 81", "Laos general and Hmong leader Vang Pao dies in exile", "Thousands mourn Gen. Vang Pao in Fresno", "Vang Pao Gets Arlington Ceremony After Burial Snub", "Vietnam vet to get US honors after burial snub", http://www.thefreelibrary.com/California+funeral+planned+for+Hmong+general-a01612410970, http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20110513-278644.html, "Arlington ceremony honors Gen. Vang Pao".