[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2278-E2279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   TRIBUTE TO HMONG AND LAO VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 1998

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Hmong and Lao 
Veterans and their supporters from St. Paul and across the United 
States. Working together as patriotic and civic-minded citizens, they 
have successfully pressed H.R. 371, the Hmong Veterans Naturalization 
Act, forward through the House Judiciary Committee with 77 bi-partisan 
cosponsors. More importantly, they have helped to bring overdue 
national recognition to the Hmong and Lao people and the noble cause 
that they served during the Vietnam War.
  I would like to salute and bring to the attention of my colleagues a 
number of those individuals who worked tirelessly during this 105th 
Congress, spearheading efforts to help educate the public and Members 
of Congress about the plight of the Hmong Veterans and promoting the 
importance of H.R. 371, a bill which I was again proud to introduce. I 
would like to thank the Lao Veterans of America, the nation's largest 
Hmong and Lao non-profit organization, for its leadership role on these 
crucial matters; Colonel Wangyee Vang, the National President; Cherzong 
Vang, Chairman of the Minnesota State Chapter; Philip Smith, who serves 
as the Washington, D.C. director; Angela McCaffrey, Attorney at law; 
and Chris Johnson, a Hamline University law school student. I would 
also like to thank the Lao Family Community in Minnesota, Inc., whose 
headquarters are in St. Paul, for their special efforts, specifically: 
Chong Bee Vang, President;

[[Page E2279]]

Ying Vang, Executive Director; Yao Lo, Special Projects Director; and 
Mr. Kue Xiong, Special Assistant.
  Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud that Hmong veterans and their 
families, under the leadership of these two St. Paul-based, non-profit 
community organizations, helped to organize national recognition 
ceremonies in recent years to honor the Hmong and Lao veterans at both 
the Vietnam War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. These events 
were the first of their kind and attracted international media 
coverage. They drew thousands of people from Minnesota and across the 
nation to Washington, D.C. I was deeply honored to provide remarks and 
participate in these historic events, including the dedication of the 
monument at Arlington National Cemetery, which prompted the following 
editorial in the Washington Post which I would like to include in the 
Record at this time.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of the Southeast Asian community in St. Paul 
are playing an increasingly positive role as they pursue education, 
home ownership and fill key roles in our society. Although serious 
challenges persist, this generation will have a magnificent impact upon 
shaping tomorrow's Minnesota. It is important that Congress honor their 
history, culture and background today.
  Once again, I would like to salute all those who supported and 
cosponsored H.R. 371 which I plan to reintroduce during the 106th 
Congress.

                [From the Washington Post, May 20, 1998]

                           Debts to the Hmong

       To anyone with a memory and a commitment to keeping one's 
     word, it is bound to come as a shock that the United States 
     is still not fulfilling its obligations to its Hmong and Lao 
     allies in the Vietnam War. Eleven years ago, Congress 
     authorized the Vietnam Veterans National Medal for the now-
     American survivors of the secret army that helped America 
     fight its battles in Laos in 1961-73 and that paid dearly for 
     it. Yet only the other day was the medal actually bestowed on 
     the few thousand veterans of that army who had gathered in 
     Washington. In a march meant to recall their earlier escape 
     across the Mekong River to Thailand, the Hmong group crossed 
     the Potomac to the grave of John F. Kennedy, the first 
     American president their units had served.
       The Hmong, or ``Meo,'' and Lao recruits formed under CIA 
     direction at a time when their very presence and role were 
     officially denied. Diverting large numbers of North 
     Vietnamese soldiers from their primary (American) targets, 
     the secret army gathered intelligence, protected U.S. 
     navigational sites and rescued hundreds of downed American 
     pilots. In turn, the United States took on specific 
     protective obligations and of course an overwhelming moral 
     obligation. These debts were fulfilled only raggedly when 
     Communist North Vietnam swept over Laos. Hmong and Lao 
     soldiers and the families were alternately repressed by the 
     victorious forces and forced into exile. Some 135,000 now 
     live in the United States.
       Their current complaints go well beyond the tardy receipt 
     of medals for their valor. A concern for their kin has made 
     them advocates of an American policy to press the Laotian 
     government harder to ensure fair treatment for those left 
     behind and to begin Hmong-language broadcasts on the now 
     American-supported Radio Free Asia. They also protest the 
     recent immigration-law changes that limit benefits to non-
     citizens, including elderly Hmong who have been unable to 
     learn English for the citizenship exam.
       In Arlington Cemetery, the Hmong unveiled a memorial to 
     their combat veterans and Ameican advisers. In the Lao and 
     Hmong languages the writing on the monument states, ``You 
     will never be forgotten.'' They almost were.

     

                          ____________________