[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNITION AND CITIZENSHIP FOR HMONG-AMERICAN VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 12, 1998

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the years 
of the 105th Congress have been historic for the Hmong and Lao people. 
For the first time in their long history, the Hmong and Lao people have 
received long overdue national recognition from the United States 
Congress and American officials for their pivotal efforts in fighting 
for freedom and helping to defend U.S. national security interests 
during the Southeast Asian conflict. I was honored to play a role, 
along with many bipartisan Congressional colleagues, to honor these 
courageous veterans and speak at both of the two Lao Veterans of 
American National Recognition Day ceremonies held in 1997 and 1998 at 
the Vietnam War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my utmost appreciation to General 
Vang Pao, Colonel Wangyee Vang, Cherzong Vang, Ching Bee Vang, Ying 
Vang, Song Ge Kue, Philip Smith, Grant McClure and Dr. Jane Hamilton-
Merritt of the Lao Veterans of America and the Lao Family Community 
organization for helping to organize these historic ceremonies which 
received national media attention. I would also like to include in the 
Record the following important article from the Washington Times about 
these events, as well as the ongoing patriotic efforts of elderly Hmong 
combat veterans to become American citizens.

               [From the Washington Times, May 15, 1998]

 Hmong Army Veterans Ask for U.S. Citizenship--Want To Take Exam With 
                           Interpreters' Help

                            (By Ben Barber)

       Thousands of Hmong veterans of the CIA's secret army in 
     Laos from 1960 to 1975 assembled in camouflage uniforms at 
     the Vietnam Veterans Memorial yesterday to mark their flight 
     from communism and to ask for U.S. citizenship.
       ``We fought in Laos so that young American soldiers would 
     not have to fight in the mountains,'' said Gen. Vang Pao, 
     leader of the one-time secret Hmong army.
       ``Members of Congress: These former soldiers who escaped 
     death at the hands of the Lao communists and stand here in 
     from of us today appeal for your assistance'' in becoming 
     U.S. citizens.
       Thousands of aging soldiers dressed in camouflage and 
     hundreds of Hmong women wearing traditional colored dresses, 
     jewelry and headcoverings, spread out in a neat formation on 
     the grass of the Mall.
       ``America has been good to us--four of my children have 
     good jobs, another is in college, and one is in high 
     school,'' said former Capt. Lapien Sphabmixay, 64, from 
     Charlotte, N.C.
       Philip Smith, executive director of the Lao Veterans of 
     America, said 4,000 Hmong-Americans arrived in Washington 
     yesterday for the second annual celebration of the start of 
     the Hmong exodus across the Mekong River into Thailand.
       From 1975 until about 1988, some 300,000 Hmong fled Laos 
     after its takeover by Laotian communists, with the help of 
     then-North Vietnamese troops.
       About 25,000 of the refugees came to the United States and 
     largely collected in Fresno, Calif., and St. Paul, Minn.
       Last year was the first time since the war that the Hmong 
     veterans had assembled. Then, as yesterday, members of 
     Congress and former CIA officers honored the sacrifices the 
     Laotian hill tribe made during the war.
       The Hmong continued yesterday to call for passage of a bill 
     to allow the refugees to take U.S. citizenship exams with the 
     help of interpreters, since many of the aging fighters and 
     their spouses still have not mastered English.
       In Laos, most Hmong did not attend school and could not 
     read Hmong or Lao. Fifty-seven members of Congress have co-
     sponsored a bill to grant the Hmong exemptions from the 
     English language exam.
       The Hmong also observed a memorial to victims of a Laotian 
     offensive against Hmong fighters and villages around Phu Bia 
     mountain, where many had retreated after the 1975 communist 
     takeover of the country.



     

                          ____________________