Vang Pao
Encyclopedia
Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General
in the Royal Lao Army
. He was an ethnic Hmong
and a leader of the Hmong American
community in the United States
.
, where his father, Neng Chu Vang, was a county leader. He began his early life as a farmer until Japanese
forces invaded and occupied French Indochina
in World War II
. His father sent him away to school from the age of 10 to 15 before he launched his military career, joining the French Military to protect fellow Hmong during the Japanese invasion.
When Vang Pao was taking an entrance examination, the captain who was the proctor realized that Vang Pao knew almost no written French
. The captain dictated the answers to Vang so that he could join the army. Vang Pao insisted that the captain told him the answers, and that the captain did not actually guide his hand on the paper. Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
, said that Vang Pao did not express any embarrassment for his cheating. Fadiman added that "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
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."
" was originally used by Free French and Allied intelligence
officers to describe the Hmong resistance forces working against the Japanese forces occupying Indochina
and China
during World War II. After WWII, French
GCMA
authorities recruited Vang Pao as a lieutenant during the First Indochina War
to combat the Viet Minh
(archive video by Col. Jean Sassi
). Although French forces lost the war in 1954, Vang remained in the army of the newly independent Kingdom of Laos
in 1949. He was the only ethnic Hmong to attain the rank of General officer in the Royal Lao Army
, and he was loyal to the King of Laos while remaining a champion of the Hmong people
. During the 1960s and 1970s General Vang commanded the Secret Army, a highly-effective CIA-trained and supported force that fought against the Pathet Lao
and People's Army of Vietnam. According to some former CIA Air America pilots, he made a small fortune as an opium warlord as they regularly flew his planeloads of opium to Saigon, he engaged in summary executions, and ran a Hmong Army with child soldiers as young as 14.(ref. The Ravens-Christopher Robbins 1987)
after the communists seized power in Laos in 1975. He remained widely respected by his fellow Hmong and was an esteemed elder of the American Hmong people
, many of whom experienced the war or the reprisals
that followed. 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.
While in exile, Vang Pao assembled other Lao and Hmong leaders from around the world to create the United Lao National Liberation Front (ULNF), also known as Lao National Liberation Movement and Neo Hom, to bring attention to atrocities happening in Laos and urge support for the military resistance.
The government of Laos, along with the governments of Vietnam
, the People's Republic of China
, Cuba
and North Korea
are the world's few remaining bastions of communism
. In the mid-1990s, Vang Pao, aided by influential American diplomatic allies and vast numbers of Hmong-Americans, halted forced United Nations
-sponsored repatriation back to Laos
of thousands of Hmong refugees in Thailand
. It was a major human rights victory for the Hmong. 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.
Throughout Vang Pao's residence in the U.S., the Hmong leader has diplomatically opposed human rights violations by the communist government of Laos
against the Hmong. 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
.
, arresting Vang Pao and the other nine. The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47
s, smoke grenade
s, and Stinger missile
s, 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. The one non-Hmong person among the nine arrested, Harrison Jack, a 1968 West Point
graduate and retired Army infantry officer, allegedly attempted to recruit Special Operations
veterans to act as mercenaries in an invasion of Laos.
On June 15, the defendants were indicted by a grand jury and an 11th man was arrested in connection with the alleged plot. The defendants face possible life prison terms for violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act and various weapons charges. 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.
Since the June 4, 2007 federal raid, Vang Pao's arrest had been the subject of mounting criticism. Vang Pao's 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. Several of Vang Pao's high-level U.S. supporters have criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang Pao is a historically important American ally and valued current leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. Numerous calls for the Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
to dismiss the case went unheeded, but in 2009 all of the federal charges against Pao were dropped.
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. McCoy
's allegations that Vang had been involved in war crimes and drug trafficking, with Gary Yia Lee
and other scholars strongly disputing his claims Vang's June 2007 arrest later led the Madison School to reopen discussion on the school's naming. On June 18, 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.
with his lawyers to argue the motion. Judge Frank Damrell stated, after hearing the arguments for the motion, that there was not sufficient evidence from the defense to justify a dismissal.
Reporter Doualy Xaykaothao
is his great-niece
with heart complications on January 6, 2011, at Clovis Community Medical Center 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. A hospital spokesman said his family had been at the hospital at the time of his death.
Traditional Hmong funeral
services for Vang Pao were scheduled to be held for six days, starting February 4, 2011, at the Fresno Convention Center. More than 10,000 Hmong mourned the leader on the first day of the funeral.
A committee unanimously voted against a request to bury Vang Pao at Arlington National Cemetery
.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
in the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
. He was an ethnic Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
and a leader of the Hmong American
Hmong American
A Hmong American is a resident of the United States who is of ethnic Hmong descent. Hmong Americans are one group of Asian Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975...
community in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life
Vang Pao was born in December 8, 1929, in a Hmong village named Nonghet, located in Central Xiangkhuang Province, in the northeastern region of LaosLaos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, where his father, Neng Chu Vang, was a county leader. He began his early life as a farmer until Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
forces invaded and occupied French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His father sent him away to school from the age of 10 to 15 before he launched his military career, joining the French Military to protect fellow Hmong during the Japanese invasion.
When Vang Pao was taking an entrance examination, the captain who was the proctor realized that Vang Pao knew almost no written French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. The captain dictated the answers to Vang so that he could join the army. Vang Pao insisted that the captain told him the answers, and that the captain did not actually guide his hand on the paper. Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures is a 1997 book by Anne Fadiman that chronicles the struggles of a Hmong refugee family from Sainyabuli Province, Laos, the Lees, and their interactions with the health care system in...
, said that Vang Pao did not express any embarrassment for his cheating. Fadiman added that "it is worth noting that in this incident, far from tarnishing Vang Pao's reputation—as, for example Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
's fudged Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
exam at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
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."
Military career
The term "Mèo MaquisMaquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
" was originally used by Free French and Allied intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
officers to describe the Hmong resistance forces working against the Japanese forces occupying Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during World War II. After WWII, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
GCMA
Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés
The Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés commonly referred as just GCMA, was the "Action Service" of the SDECE French counter-intelligence service active during the Cold War...
authorities recruited Vang Pao as a lieutenant during the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
to combat the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
(archive video by Col. Jean Sassi
Jean Sassi
Jean Sassi was a French Army colonel and intelligence service officer, former "Jedburgh" of France and Far East. Commando chief of the SDECE's 11th Shock Parachutist Regiment...
). Although French forces lost the war in 1954, Vang remained in the army of the newly independent Kingdom of Laos
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a sovereign state from 1953 until December 1975, when Pathet Lao overthrew the government and created the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Given self-rule in 1949 as part of a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a...
in 1949. He was the only ethnic Hmong to attain the rank of General officer in the Royal Lao Army
Royal Lao Army
The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...
, and he was loyal to the King of Laos while remaining a champion of the Hmong people
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
. During the 1960s and 1970s General Vang commanded the Secret Army, a highly-effective CIA-trained and supported force that fought against the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
and People's Army of Vietnam. According to some former CIA Air America pilots, he made a small fortune as an opium warlord as they regularly flew his planeloads of opium to Saigon, he engaged in summary executions, and ran a Hmong Army with child soldiers as young as 14.(ref. The Ravens-Christopher Robbins 1987)
Vang Pao in the United States
Vang immigrated to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the communists seized power in Laos in 1975. He remained widely respected by his fellow Hmong and was an esteemed elder of the American Hmong people
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
, many of whom experienced the war or the reprisals
Conflict in Laos involving the Hmong
The insurgency in Laos refers to the ongoing, albeit sporadic, military conflict between the Lao People's Army and primarily members of the former "Secret Army" or the Hmong people, who have faced governmental reprisals due to Hmong support for the American-led, anti-communist campaigns in Laos...
that followed. 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.
While in exile, Vang Pao assembled other Lao and Hmong leaders from around the world to create the United Lao National Liberation Front (ULNF), also known as Lao National Liberation Movement and Neo Hom, to bring attention to atrocities happening in Laos and urge support for the military resistance.
The government of Laos, along with the governments of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
are the world's few remaining bastions of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. In the mid-1990s, Vang Pao, aided by influential American diplomatic allies and vast numbers of Hmong-Americans, halted forced United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-sponsored repatriation back to Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
of thousands of Hmong refugees in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It was a major human rights victory for the Hmong. The Thailand-based refugees, many of whom had been living in refugee camps at Wat Tham Krabok
Wat Tham Krabok
Wat Tham Krabok is a Buddhist temple in Thailand, located in the Phra Phutthabat district of Saraburi Province.The temple was first established as a monastery in 1958 by the Buddhist nun Mae Chee Boonruen. It was upgraded to temple status 17 years later, in 1975...
, a Buddhist temple in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, were afforded the right to avoid the forced return to Laos and instead were offered relocation rights and assistance to the U.S.
Throughout Vang Pao's residence in the U.S., the Hmong leader has diplomatically opposed human rights violations by the communist government of Laos
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
against the Hmong. 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
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
.
Alleged plot to overthrow government of Laos
On June 4, 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 communist government of Laos, an enemy the United States government trained Vang Pao to fight some thirty years ago, in violation of the federal Neutrality Acts. 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 CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, arresting Vang Pao and the other nine. The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s, smoke grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, and Stinger missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where they allegedly would be shipped to anti-Laotian governmental resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
forces inside Laos. The one non-Hmong person among the nine arrested, Harrison Jack, a 1968 West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
graduate and retired Army infantry officer, allegedly attempted to recruit Special Operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
veterans to act as mercenaries in an invasion of Laos.
On June 15, the defendants were indicted by a grand jury and an 11th man was arrested in connection with the alleged plot. The defendants face possible life prison terms for violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act and various weapons charges. 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.
Since the June 4, 2007 federal raid, Vang Pao's arrest had been the subject of mounting criticism. Vang Pao's 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. Several of Vang Pao's high-level U.S. supporters have criticized the California court that issued the arrest warrants, arguing that Vang Pao is a historically important American ally and valued current leader of U.S. and foreign-based Hmong. Numerous calls for the Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
to dismiss the case went unheeded, but in 2009 all of the federal charges against Pao were dropped.
Prior to his arrest, Vang Pao was slated to have an elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
named after him, a proposal that met with opposition over Alfred W. McCoy
Alfred W. McCoy
Alfred William McCoy is a historian of Southeast Asia. He is the J.R.W. Smail Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. McCoy graduated from the Kent School in 1964. He earned his B.A...
's allegations that Vang had been involved in war crimes and drug trafficking, with Gary Yia Lee
Gary Yia Lee
Gary Yia Lee is a Hmong anthropologist and author based in Australia. Lee was born in Ban Houei Kouang, Muong Mok, Xieng Khouang, Laos. In 1961, his family was displaced by the civil war and they joined other Hmong refugees in the city of Vientiane. He excelled in a Lao school system run by the...
and other scholars strongly disputing his claims Vang's June 2007 arrest later led the Madison School to reopen discussion on the school's naming. On June 18, 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.
Release from jail
On July 12, 2007, under significant pressure from Vang Pao's 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. The Hmong were joyful to hear this news; many had participated in numerous protests over several weeks in California and elsewhere, calling for Vang Pao's release from the date of his incarceration until his release under bail nearly a month later.Return to court
On March 9, 2009, Vang Pao's lawyers filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charges against him. His lawyers claimed that the charges were fabricated and had no bearing in court. Following this appearance, on April 6, 2009, federal prosecutors denied all allegations of fabrications in the motion. That following month, on May 11, 2009, Vang Pao returned to federal court in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
with his lawyers to argue the motion. Judge Frank Damrell stated, after hearing the arguments for the motion, that there was not sufficient evidence from the defense to justify a dismissal.
Charges dropped
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.”Personal life
Vang Pao had 25 children with several wives.Reporter Doualy Xaykaothao
Doualy Xaykaothao
Doualy Xaykaothao is a freelance American journalist and radio producer known for her work with NPR.A native of Laos, Xaykaothao is of Hmong descent, and grew up in Texas. She attended Ithaca College and Empire State College, where she studied television, radio, political science, and ethnic studies...
is his great-niece
Death
Vang Pao, who battled diabetes and heart problems, died aged 81 of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
with heart complications on January 6, 2011, at Clovis Community Medical Center 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. A hospital spokesman said his family had been at the hospital at the time of his death.
Traditional Hmong funeral
Hmong funeral
Hmong people have a culture built on animistic beliefs and a strong faith that after death the soul reincarnates as one of many forms such as humans, plants, rocks and ghosts . Death is often considered the most important time for practicing rituals in the Hmong community because without practicing...
services for Vang Pao were scheduled to be held for six days, starting February 4, 2011, at the Fresno Convention Center. More than 10,000 Hmong mourned the leader on the first day of the funeral.
A committee unanimously voted against a request to bury Vang Pao at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
See also
- Battle of Lima Site 85Battle of Lima Site 85The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the Vietnam People’s Army and the Pathet Lao, against airmen of the United States Air Force 1st Combat Evaluation Group, elements of the ...
- Eugene DeBruinEugene DeBruinEugene Henry DeBruin was a US Air Force staff sergeant, and a member of Air America serving in Laos during the Second Indochina War. "Gene" DeBruin was working as a "kicker" for Air America in 1963 when his C-46 was shot down. He was a POW at a Pathet Lao prison camp in Laos until he and other...
- Groupement de Commandos Mixtes AéroportésGroupement de Commandos Mixtes AéroportésThe Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés commonly referred as just GCMA, was the "Action Service" of the SDECE French counter-intelligence service active during the Cold War...
GCMA Laos - History of Laos since 1945History of Laos since 1945For Laotian history before 1945, see History of Laos to 1945.Note: this article follows the system for transliterating Lao names used in Martin Stuart-Fox's History of Laos...
- Ho Chi Minh trailHo Chi Minh trailThe Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
- Laos MemorialLaos MemorialThe Laos Memorial is a small memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, located between the path to the JFK memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns, in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The memorial commemorates the veterans of the "Secret War" in Laos....
- Laotian Civil War, also known as the Secret War in Laos
- Lee LueLee LueCaptain Lee Lue was a Laotian Hmong fighter bomber pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the Kingdom of Laos. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missions a day and averaging 120 combat missions a month to build a total of more than 5,000 sorties...
- North Vietnamese invasion of LaosNorth Vietnamese invasion of LaosThe North Vietnamese invaded Laos between 1958–1959.Souvanna Phouma announced that with the holding of elections the Royal Lao Government had fulfilled the political obligations it had assumed at Geneva, and the International Control Commission adjourned sine die...
- Raven FACsRaven FACsThe Raven Forward Air Controllers, also known as The Ravens, were fighter pilots used in a covert operation in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States in Laos during America's Vietnam War...
Further reading
- Jane Hamilton-Merritt (1999). Tragic Mountains. ISBN 0-253-20756-8
- Robert Curry (2004). Whispering Death, "Tuag Nco Ntsoov": ...Our Journey with the Hmong in the Secret War for Laos ...Lub caij peb thiab Hmoob koom tes ua ntsug rog ntsiag to nyob Los Tsuas teb. ISBN 0-595-31809-6
- General Vang Pao's Last War New York Times Magazine, May 11, 2008
- Nightmare in Laos - The True Story of a Woman Imprisoned in a communist gulag ISBN 1-905379-08-0
- Dictionary of the modern politics of South-East Asia, Michael Leifer (2001) Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0415238757, Page 287 (biography entry for Vang Pao)
External links
- "Against All Odds: The Laotian Freedom Fighters," by General Vang Pao, Heritage FoundationHeritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
Lecture #96, March 19, 1987. - "Welcome to the Jungle: Recruited by the CIA to be a Secret Army During the Vietnam War, the Hmong Rebels of Laos Fought Communism. Now they Desperately Battle for their Own Survival," Time magazine, May 5, 2003.
- "Vang Pao Met with Senior State Department Official," by Sing Bourommavong, Voice of America news, January 28, 2004.
- "The Covert Wars of Vang Pao," by Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 2, 2005.
- "Hmong Hero Faces Trial in California (audio)," The World, June 14, 2007.
- Lao National Liberation Front information agency