[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE HMONG AND LAO PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, for the first time in 
their long and proud history, the Hmong and Lao people were honored by 
Members of Congress and U.S. officials at national recognition 
ceremonies in Washington, DC. Many people from the Central Valley and 
around the nation worked to organize and participate in these historic 
ceremonies.
  The Lao Veterans of America National Recognition Day ceremonies were 
held for the first time, in both 1997 and 1998, at the Vietnam War 
Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They were organized by the 
nation's largest non-profit Hmong and Lao veterans organization, the 
Lao Veterans of America, Inc., of Fresno, California, which is 
headquartered in my Congressional district. I was honored to 
participate and lend support to these important ceremonies in which 
many people from the Central Valley participated. Indeed, it has given 
me great pride to join with U.S. officials and American veterans to 
honor the courageous Hmong and Lao soldiers and their families for 
their crucial role in the U.S. ``Secret Army'' assisting American 
clandestine and military operations during the Vietnam War. In 
attendance were many Members of Congress as well as current and former 
State Department, Defense Department and CIA officials associated with 
the Hmong and Lao people.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank and recognize a number of 
important people from the Central Valley and across the United States 
who contributed to the enormous success of these national events 
including Major General Vang Pao, Major General Ron Markarian, Major 
General Paul Carroll, Colonel James Arthur, Colonel Wangyee Vang, Major 
Thai Vang, Captain Grant McClure, Captain Song Pao Yang, Colonel Thai 
Vang, Yer Vang, Cherzong Vang, Chong Bee Vang, Ying Vang, Dr. Jane 
Hamilton-Merritt and Philip Smith. The patriotic contributions of these 
individuals and many others, as well as the leadership efforts of the 
Lao Veterans of America and the Lao Family Community organization, 
helped to raise awareness among U.S. policymakers and the American 
people about the important wartime sacrifices of the Hmong and Lao 
combat veterans. I would, therefore, like to include in the Record the 
following article from the Washington Times.

               [From the Washington Times, May 14, 1997]

                    Hmong Veterans to Receive Medals

                            (By Ben Barber)

       Thousands of ethnic Hmong veterans who fought with the 
     United States in Laos during the Vietnam War will receive 
     congressional medals when they assemble at the Vietnam 
     Veterans Memorial for the first time today.
       About 4,000 veterans--part of the 100,000 Hmong who came as 
     refugees to the United States after the Communists took power 
     in 1975 in Laos--are expected to participate at the ceremony. 
     The Vietnam Veterans National Medal will be awarded to 2,500 
     people.
       Several congressmen and former CIA and Pentagon officials 
     who fought with them will present the medals, said Philip 
     Smith, Washington director of the Lao Veterans of America.
       The Hmong will then march across the Potomac River to 
     Arlington National Cemetery to symbolize their exodus across 
     the Mekong River to Thailand after the Communist victory in 
     1975.
       Tomorrow the Hmong will return to Arlington National 
     Cemetery to unveil the first war memorial to the Hmong and 
     Lao veterans and their American advisers.
       ``I think it is important because I think we are going to 
     show that we have done some critical work for the United 
     States, and this is the first and only time we get together 
     and show it,'' said Xeng Ly, 41, who served as a field medic 
     in the war.
       He said that after the defeat of the American-allied anti-
     Communist forces in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, he crossed 
     the Mekong River and spent 15 months in a refugee camp at 
     Nong Khai, Thailand, before coming to the United States. Five 
     years later his family followed. They now live in Sterling, 
     where three children are in school.
       Part of the reason that the Hmong are coming to Washington 
     is the fear that many benefits are going to be cut under a 
     stringent new immigration law limiting benefits to 
     noncitizens, said Mr. Xeng.
       ``Some of the Hmong are elderly and can't speak English. 
     They can't pass the citizenship exam and will be cut off 
     from help,'' Mr. Smith said.
       Some of the Hmong will meet with congressmen and 
     congressional staffers this evening.
       The Hmong also want the United States to withhold most-
     favored-nation trading status for Laos unless it permits 
     international human rights observers to enter the country. 
     The Hmong who remain in Laos--an estimated 300,000--
     reportedly still face persecution.
       The Hmong-Americans also want the new U.S.-funded Radio 
     Free Asia to add Hmong language programs to its broadcasts, 
     Mr. Smith said.
       The Hmong served under a joint mission operated by the 
     State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of 
     Defense and Agency for International Development. They served 
     as spotters for bombings for Communist forces and in other 
     combat roles.
       With the declassification of documents about the war era, 
     from 1961 to 1973, more facts are coming out about the Hmong 
     role.
       Mr. Smith estimates the secret army could have totaled 
     100,000 people. By the end of the war, because of many 
     deaths, there were many young boys in uniform fighting for 
     the secret army.
       President Reagan signed the bill authorizing the medals for 
     the Hmong in 1986 to honor Vietnam veterans and those who 
     served with them in Southeast Asia. But it took 11 years for 
     the medals to be awarded because the Hmong remained, in some 
     sense, still forgotten, said Mr. Smith.
       ``I think the Hmong are still suffering from the covert 
     nature of the war,'' he said.
       The memorial to be unveiled tomorrow in Arlington will bear 
     the following inscription:
       ``Dedicated to the U.S. Secret Army; Laos, 1961-73; In 
     memory of the Hmong and Lao combat veterans and their 
     American advisors who served freedom's cause in Southeast 
     Asia.''
       The memorial also says in Lao and Hmong language, ``You 
     will never be forgotten.''

     

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