[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E727-E728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL WANGYEE VANG

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 30, 2021

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
Lieutenant Colonel Wangyee Vang. Wangyee passed away on January 18, 
2021 after many years of service as a Hmong-Laotian and American 
community leader. Wangyee was a son, a brother, a husband, a father and 
a friend.
  Wangyee was born on November 8, 1947 in Ban Phousabot, Tasseng 
Phouasabot, Muangkham, Province of Xiengkhouang, Laos. In December of 
1960, Wangyee was summoned in the army and sent to Hua Hin, Thailand 
for training as a field radio operator and

[[Page E728]]

parachutist. In January 1963, he was released from the army where he 
continued to further his education to become a teacher. From 1969 to 
1970 Wangyee taught math and science at Samthong College. Later in the 
summer of 1970, Wangyee was transferred from the Ministry of Education 
to the Ministry of Defense as Captain for the Special Guerilla Force. 
He was appointed as the officer liaison and operation assistant with 
the American Special Officers, received leadership training, and 
graduated from the Lao National Army Staff School in Vientiane, Laos in 
1972.
  Wangyee received the Medal of Honor for excellent citizenship from 
the Majesty of King of Lao, Sri Savang Vathana. In 1973, he returned to 
the Second Military Region. He transitioned to Major General Yang Pao's 
team and was appointed as Chief of Personnel Bureau of the First Strike 
Division Infantry. A year later, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel 
by King Vathana and awarded the Medal of Honor for courage and 
nominated as the Chief of Staff for the military's Second Brigade 
Infantry.
  After the fall of Laos in 1975, Wangyee and his family left to Nam 
Phong, Thailand for refuge. Wangyee saw a need to become an advocate 
for his people and became the Hmong Refugee Representative from l977 to 
1979. His top priorities were food, medical care, better living 
conditions and education. He was responsible for the communication with 
the United Nations and the United States. His advocacy helped lead the 
United States to begin accepting 25,000 refugees a year starting in 
1978.
  In 1979, Wangyee and his family left for political refuge in the 
United States and settled in Huntington Beach, California, then moved 
to Fresno, California in 1989, where he established the Lao Veterans of 
America. His many accomplishments include the establishment of the Lao 
Veterans Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery to honor Hmong and Lao 
veterans and their American advisors who served in defense of the 
Kingdom of Laos and U.S. National Security interests during the Vietnam 
War, and his advocacy of the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 
2000.
   In the Central Valley, Wangyee was instrumental in the establishment 
of the Lao Hmong American War Memorial at the Fresno Superior Court. 
From 2000 to 2008, he was the ``Volunteer Expert Team'' for former 
Fresno Mayor Alan Autry. From 2005 to 2012, he was appointed by the 
Govenor of California to be on the Board of Directors for the 21st 
District Agriculture of Fresno and the Big Fresno Fair.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of 
Lieutenant Colonel Wangyee Vang. Wangyee was a symbol of hard work, 
dedication and commitment. His influence will live on in the Lao and 
Hmong community for years to come.

                          ____________________