[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN HONOR OF GEN. VANG PAO

                                 ______


                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 1996

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a special 
leader from the 19th Congressional District, Gen. Vang Pao. He is 
deserving of the highest commendations for his many contributions to 
the development of the Hmong and Laotian communities in central 
California.
  In his native country, Gen. Vang Pao served in the military to 
promote democracy and freedom for the Laotian people. He was a young 
military leader in the Royal Lao Army in association with the French 
Government during World War II and the chief military commander of the 
2d Military Division in the Northern Provinces of Laos, 1960-75, in 
partnership with the United States during the Vietnam war. During the 
war, Gen. Vang Pao's troops helped block the supply line running from 
North Vietnam through Laos to South Vietnam, and he and his troops 
helped to save thousands of American lives and rescue hundreds of 
American pilots who had been shot down near the Vietnam/Loas border.
  In 1977, Gen. Vang Pao founded the Lao Family Community and 
established branches throughout the United States to provide employment 
services, vocational training, counseling, cultural orientation, health 
education, English classes, and resettlement services for Southeast 
Asian refugees. In 1982, he founded the Hmong National Council to 
preserve Hmong culture and to help the Hmong people in the United 
States in areas of social adjustment, family services, and integration 
into the American mainstream. Gen. Vang Pao founded the Lao Movement 
for Democracy to seek and promote peace, democracy, and human rights 
for the Southeast Asian nations.
  The contributions that Gen. Vang Pao has made to the Hmong and 
Laotian people of California have been invaluable. He was made a 
lasting impression on those individuals with whom he has been 
associated. I am pleased to have him as a constituent in California's 
Central Valley.

                          ____________________