- ST. PAUL (January 12, 2010) - General Vang Pao passed away in a
Clovis, California hospital on January 6, 2011. He was 81 years old and was reportedly battling pneumonia. The news has
shocked a nation of Hmong, the former veterans who served with him in the War in Southeast Asia, a generation of American
Hmong who have come to know him as an advocate in a new country and for the wellbeing of Hmong back in Laos and Thailand.
These same people support the General two years ago when he was accused of organizing a military coup in Laos. The charges
were dropped.
It had been the hope of local Hmong leaders to bring the body of
Vang Pao to Minnesota to allow final viewings and goodbyes from the city he had visited several times each year. According
to his close friend, Xang Vang, who said it was on the condition that the General's family would receive authorization for
burial in Arlington National Cemetery.
U.S. Congressman Jim Costa requested Vang
Pao be granted eligibility for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The letter, which was also signed by Congressmen
Dennis Cardoza, Madeleine Bordallo and Tim Holden, was sent on behalf of the General's family to both Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.
The visitation arrangements
in Minnesota would have been a stopover. No word on the authorization was given from the family, however, the family has said
a Minnesota trip would not be possible and that funeral services for the general will run February 4th until February 9th
at the Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center in Fresno.
Candle light vigils
will be held nightly from 6:00 p.m. to midnight at 1558 N. 9th Street in Fresno.
Blong
Xiong, the first elected Asian American Councilmember in for the City of Fresno, and the first elected Hmong councilmember
in Fresno and the State of California, was also appointed to the board of the California Volunteer Commission by Governor
Schwarzenegger.
As a Fresno official, Xiong had come to know General Vang Pao
and his family, and said whether an elder or a member of the in-between generation like him, everyone is feeling a great loss
in the community.
"For the last couple years we knew his health condition
was poor, but even when it is expected this is a huge loss with someone of his stature and level to the entire Hmong community,"
said Xiong.
The Fresno community has had a difficult week, he added, and that
it is too soon to tell what impact the mourning will have, as in the past when people worried for the General's health or
wellbeing.
Given his age and the progression of the community, Xiong said people
have come to realize they don't rely on the General as much to be their champion today. However, his leadership during a turbulent
time in the past there is a "connectivity" that comes from expecting him always to be there.
The long term impact from the General's absence is "the million dollar question," said
Xiong. "He is the last of his kind, someone who can translate across generational lines and has a name that commands
respect and deference."
Mee Moua, the first Hmong American to be elected
a State Senator in Minnesota, and who now works in Washington, said she was profoundly saddened at the news of the General's
passing.
"This is a great lost not only to the Hmong American community,
but to all around the world who are friends of our Hmong family."
Moua said
for far too long, Vang Pao carried the burden of a proud people longing to be free and independent. From the day he became
a young officer in the French army in Indochina, to his rise to become a general of the Royal Lao Army, and later as a proud
American in the United States.
"Vang Pao has more than earned a well-deserved
rest," stated Moua.
"As children of the Hmong American family, we mourn
his passing, yet we wish him well on his journey, and may the path ahead of him widen, the winding roads straighten and any
obstacles along the way cleared," she added.
"Even though he is no longer
with us, the best way we can fulfill his legacy, as he often said to us, is that: We must always take care of each other and
remember always, that we are one people, one family."
The new District 67
State Senator, John Harrington, is no stranger to the General. As a Saint Paul Police Officer and later Chief of Police, Harrington
worked closely with the Hmong community on public safety, gang prevention and education issues.
"Over the years, both Major General Vang Pao and the Hmong of St. Paul have continually reached out their
hands to me in friendship and have welcomed me into their community," said Harrington. "With sadness, I join
the Vang family and my fellow Hmong-Americans in mourning the loss of Major General Vang Pao."
Harrington recalled the early days of the Hmong resettlement, and how a bewildered war torn people forced
to leave their homeland began to start again into a new and strange community. Just three decades later, Harrington said he
has witnessed the change form a cautious group of new arrivals to a thriving and contributing community.
"They have provided our community with many of our police, teachers, and civil servant professionals,"
he added. "They were also instrumental in reinvigorating University Avenue when many were afraid to invest in the neighborhood."
It was at the Fourth of July International Hmong Soccer Tournament at Como Park, that Harrington
said he first met Major General Vang Pao.
"It was apparent when I met him
that he was a well respected man," he said.
Harrington said the General was
an important American ally in the Southeast Asian conflict and an important leader in the Hmong community. His steadfast
presence and leadership both here and abroad make his death an historic tragedy for all those who loved him.
Lee Pao Xiong, director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University in St.Paul, said
the General's passing is a great loss not only to the Hmong but to all Southeast Asians.
"For
years, he kept the Communists at bay," said Xiong. "Because General Giep sent the North Vietnamese Army's best troops
to fight against General Vang Pao's forces in Laos, that mean those forces weren't being used in South Vietnam or being used
to invade Thailand."
Xiong said that in the more than 36 years since the
fall of Laos, General Vang Pao has did not waiver from a tireless advocacy for liberty and democracy which continued to provide
inspiration and hope for countless of Hmong and Lao in the United States, Laos and throughout the world.
"His love and passion for his people is something to be remembered," said Xiong. "Some
may not agree with his political views, but I know they respect him as a leader and what he did in the home country.
"He commands great respect among many American GI's that I have met," he added. "Many
lived because of his action. Without the Hmong and his leadership, over 50,000 American lives could have been lost in South
Vietnam. Even the Hmong in Laos and Thailand mourned for his loss."
Xiong
said that during General Vang Pao's final years, he wished for the Hmong to be united and to be good citizens of this country.
He called upon the educated to come together to find a positive solution for the Hmong to both be contributing members of
American society, while also establishing a unifying language and to have a better understanding and value cultural practices.
Xang Vang said the general had caught a virus from attending several Hmong New Year events over several
days in Merced and San Jose, which varied in temperature and humidity. His breathing became labored as it turned into pneumonia
and his family grew more concerned with his weak condition as he has had a heart bypass surgery.
Xang said the General was in critical condition on December 31, and he went to see him thinking it might be
goodbye. He recalled that the general opened his eyes when he called to him and held his hand.
"I looked at him and I could see that his face started to rise a little bit to show he is happy,"
said Xang.
From that point Xang said he felt the General's health began to improve.
The next day he was reassuring others that he was going to get well. On the third day his wife brought him some home cooked
food and he started eating. The following day he was sitting up in bed and could get up for short periods.
As he felt better more visitors began to appear and this concerned the doctors, said Xang. He was
put into a private with limited access to a few family members because of so much flu going around. They were also giving
him heart medication for his heart.
On the sixth day Xang said the General began
to feel tired at about noon, and his condition was reported as serious by mid afternoon. A short time later the nurses started
to call people in from the waiting room and by 4:35 p.m. the General was gone, said Xang.
"He
left fast, and we are all sorry. We asked him to stay with us and he could not."
The
General's last mission was to get the federal government to recognize Hmong veterans for the purpose of receiving military
benefits including burial rights at U.S military cemeteries.
With the Special
Guerrilla Unit Veterans and Families USA, Inc., the General allied with several American veterans and Col. Bill Lair, the
retired CIA officer who worked with Vang Pao in the early 1960s through the war. They began by creating forms to certify the
service of veterans for the purpose of applying for veterans benefits if and when they are approved.
The Hmong Veterans Resolution was passed unanimously (80-0) by the California State Assembly last August,
granting military burial honors in military cemeteries. It was sent to the President to sign, however, the federal legislation
was not so well received.
U.S. House Resolution 5879, introduced by Congressman
Costa last July would extend national cemetery burial benefits to Hmong veterans who fought with the United States in Laos
during the Vietnam War. Xang said the bill did not get anywhere but that the General likely followed up with Costa in
late 2010, and would expect that new legislation will be introduced this session.
"We
believe strongly that U.S. Congressman Jim Costa will continue to sponsor the bill to help the SGU and the military service
personnel in the Secret War in Laos," said Xang, who believes Vang Pao got the ball rolling on this and that enough people
are on board to see it through.
During the Vietnam War, the United States Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) ran a covert counterinsurgency operation in Laos that became known as the Secret War. From
1961 to 1975, approximately 40,000 Hmong individuals were recruited by the CIA to join this effort.
The SGU in Laos had three primary missions. The first was to rescue downed American pilots shot down between
Vietnam and Laos. The second was to disrupt the supply route along the Ho Chi Minh Trail from North to South Vietnam. The
third was to protect the radar stations that directed all American aircraft going to Hanoi and the far North Vietnam.
Following the 1975 communist takeover of Laos, approximately 130,000 Hmong soldiers and their families
relocated to the United States as political refugees. Today, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 65,000 Hmong
live in California, with the highest concentrations living in Fresno and Sacramento counties.
Seexeng Lee, a local artist and educator in Minneapolis Public Schools, last July created the "Hmong
Icon" to honor General Vang Pao at the 4th of July Hmong Sports Tournament in St. Paul.
The
24K gold relief painting was meant as an 80th birthday from people across the generations that signed the work - but
Lee was able to present it to him at the event.
Lee said there will not be another
leader like General Vang Pao and that he will be missed. He said courage in battle has defined Vang Pao's legacy and his life
will be long studied and honored by compatriots and historians in Laos and in America.
"There
is no denying the fact that I, along with many of my fellow Hmong mourn the loss of a courageous and resilient warrior who
at times has shown to all of us that he too is subject to human frailties," said Lee. "His death represents
an end of an era for Hmong in America.
Oskar Ly, interim executive director,
Shades Of Yellow, the Hmong GLBT organization in Minnesota, said SOY members are thankful they are able to experience and
live the life based on what Vang Pao's commitment and contributions has achieved throughout the years.
"His leadership has helped lay the foundation that has enabled us to advance as a people
as diverse as we are all over the globe," said Ly.
"On behalf of SOY,
we honor General Vang Pao's life and significant role in the Hmong community," she added. "Our hearts
go out the family, friends and all mourning his loss across the world."
U.S.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-4) on the passing of General Vang Pao on January 7, entered a statement into the Congressional
Record, recognizing the Hmong military leader and his lifetime of service to his people and loyalty to the United States,
forever immortalizing his memory in the Library of Congress.
McCollum said General
Vang Pao was an historic Hmong military leader who led his people against communist forces during a turbulent time in Laos
from 1961 to 1975. In this country, she said he served as a civilian leader who continued to lead the Hmong-American
community for nearly four decades.
"My heart-felt sympathy goes out to General
Vang Pao's family and to all the Hmong- American families in Minnesota and across the U.S.," McCollum stated. "Over
the years, I had the honor of joining General Vang Pao at many events such as: the Hmong American New Year celebrations and
the July Soccer Festival celebrations in St. Paul, as he had always come to the Twin Cities to join the Hmong community for
those events."
McCollum was also present with General Vang Pao at the October
grand opening of the Hmong Village Center in Eastside St. Paul.
"Although
frail from his failing health and sitting in his chair, the General was in good spirit and spoke eloquently to a large gathering
crowd at the celebrations," she added. "Sadly, this was the last time I saw him."
McCollum said General Vang Pao's influence has touched the Hmong-Americans deeply, and that she knows the
community will continue to share and cherish the memories of his legacy for future generations to come.
U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), said both he and his spouse, Franni, join Minnesota's Hmong-American
community in mourning the passing of General.
"We send our sincerest condolences
to his family," state Franken. "General Vang Pao was a leader in the Hmong community who provided critical leadership
during an important time in history."
The family of General Vang Pao wants
the public to be aware that the only official Memorial Fund is arranged with Wells Fargo Bank because of its convenience nationwide
and its past work with the community.
Contributions may be mailed to The General
Vang Pao Memorial Fund, Attn: Chao Vang, 565 S. Filbert Avenue, Fresno, CA, 93727, or by contacting any Wells Fargo branch
to make a direct deposit. Please check for updated information, at www.GVPMemorial.com.The General Vang Pao Memorial Fund, Attn: Chao Vang, 565 S. Filbert Avenue, Fresno, CA, 93727, or by contacting any Wells
Fargo branch to make a direct deposit. Please check for updated information, at www.GVPMemorial.com.
