[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1799]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING AMBASSADOR WILLIAM COLBY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 1996

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, General Vang Pao, the Vietnam war hero 
and Colonel Wangyee Vang, the National President of the Lao Veterans of 
America, organized a major event earlier this year to commemorate the 
sacrifices of the Hmong and Lao combat veterans. Tragically, Ambassador 
William Colby, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency 
[CIA], who was slated to speak at this special event, passed away just 
prior to it.
  In honor of Ambassador Colby, and the Hmong and Lao veterans who 
staunchly fought as allies of the United States to defend freedom from 
Southeast Asia, I request to include the following article from the 
Washington Times in the Congressional Record.

                [From the Washington Times, May 8, 1996]

                Refugees From Laos Mourn a Friend, Colby

                           (By Gary Scheets)

       Chia Kue was born on the CIA base of Long Chieng 24 years 
     ago. She remembers eluding Laotian communist insurgents with 
     her family as they followed a trail of refugees out of Laos 
     and into Thailand, where squalid camps harbored them until, 
     and if, they were lucky enough to get to the United States.
       At that same base, William Colby, who would later direct 
     the Central Intelligence Agency, staged operations using 
     recruited Hmong soldiers to guard America installations and 
     fight the North Vietnamese along the Ho Chi Minh Trail during 
     the Vietnam War.
       Miss Kue's father was a Hmong soldier fighting under Maj. 
     Gen. Vang Pao, commander of the Royal Lao Army Region Two, 
     who took his direction from Mr. Colby.
       This Saturday and Sunday, thousands of Hmong combat 
     veterans and refugee families will gather in Fresno, Calif., 
     to pay tribute to Mr. Colby. At the event, originally 
     designed as a ceremony to honor the actions of Hmong 
     soldiers, Mr. Colby was scheduled to attend and present 
     commendations and citations.
       Instead, Hmong tribal and military honors will be staged in 
     remembrance of Mr. Colby, whose body was found Monday along 
     the banks of the Wicomico River. Authorities believe Mr. 
     Colby drowned after his canoe capsized nine days earlier.
       The Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office won't have 
     autopsy results until the end of the week.
       Miss Kue, of Arlington, is a first-grade teacher at the 
     Fairfax Brewster School, a private school in Baileys 
     Crossroads. She and her family spent four years in Nong Chai, 
     a refugee camp in Thailand that was closed when the Thai 
     government began repatriation of the Laotion refugees.
       She first met Mr. Colby in April 1994 at congressional 
     hearings on the plight of Hmong refugees in the camps and 
     their forced repatriation to Laos to face persecution and 
     possible death for their collaboration with the CIA.
       Miss Kue and Mr. Colby kept in contact on the refugee 
     issue, meeting and talking several times.
       Miss Kue said the death of Mr. Colby will be a significant 
     loss to the Hmong community because he was one of the few in 
     official Washington openly championing their cause.
       ``He was so important to the Hmong because he knew so much 
     of what they did,'' Miss Kue said. ``He was one of their 
     greatest allies.''
       The Hmong most likely will never have someone of Mr. 
     Colby's stature advocating their cause again, she said.
       Miss Kue said Mr. Colby struck her as an honorable man who 
     was not afraid to fight for what he believed in.
       ``He was someone who was willing to stand up for the truth, 
     for what he knows and what he believes in,'' Miss Kue said.
       Gen. Pao, who worked side-by-side with Mr. Colby in Laos 
     during the Vietnam War, called him ``a good friend to the 
     Hmong people.''
       Speaking in a telephone interview from Fresno, where he is 
     preparing for this weekend's program, Gen. Pao said Mr. Colby 
     will be sorely missed by the people he fought for:
       ``Bill Colby's death is a great loss not only for all 
     freedom-loving people,'' Gen. Pao said. ``We are hoping that 
     someone will step forward and fill his shoes.''
       During the war, the two men got to know each other quite 
     well. ``I told him in great respect,'' Gen. Pao said.
       Philip Smith, a Washington representative for the Lao 
     Veterans of American, said Mr. Colby was an integral part of 
     the effort to have the wartime work of the Hmong recognized.
       ``Because Laos is such an obscure country, Bill Colby was 
     so important and why no one will be able to replace him,'' 
     Mr. Smith said.
       Mr. Smith said Mr. Colby understood the contribution of the 
     Hmong and how it fitted into the geostrategic picture of the 
     Cold War.
       Mr. Smith, who will attend the Fresno ceremonies this 
     weekend, had planned to fly to California with Mr. Colby.
       Now, he said, the seat next to him on the plane will be 
     empty.

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