30-04-2025
Hmong ‘Secret War' soldiers to get veteran status in Minnesota
The Brief
Minnesota is on the verge of becoming the first state to recognize as veterans the Hmong and Lao soldiers who fought in the CIA's Secret War.
The so-called "Special Guerrilla Units" worked alongside Americans fighting in Laos and North Vietnam, but the U.S. kept their work under wraps until acknowledging the Secret War in 1994.
Analysts estimate about 1,000 of the veterans are still alive and living in Minnesota. Once the bill is signed, they will have access to services and benefits given to all American veterans.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota is about to become the first state to recognize as veterans the men who fought a secret war for the United States.
Slow recognition
The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday night to honor the service of Hmong and Lao soldiers in the Secret War.
It's 50 years now since the CIA stopped using these so-called Special Guerrilla Units (SGUs) to fight communism, mostly in Laos and North Vietnam.
But recognition has been slow, which they blame on the fact that the U.S. kept what they did off the books.
"Every mission, you only know that mission," said Yee Xiong.
Xiong never knew the big picture in Laos, even as he flew more than 1,000 missions as a navigator and translator for American pilots on bombing runs.
All he knew was he was helping the United States and fighting communism.
"We never know that what we did over there was so secret," Xiong said. "We just fight what we're told. Americans said, you do this, and we do this."
Soldiers then refugees
30,000 to 40,000 Hmong soldiers died during the Secret War, but Xiong survived until the end.
The Americans left and the Hmong became unwelcome in their own country.
Two refugee camps later, Xiong made it to the United States, but only now, 50 years later, will he and about 1,000 surviving Hmong veterans get the same rights and services we give American veterans.
"For too long, they've silently, slowly waited for recognition of their honorable service and commitment to protect and uphold democracy, to save American lives, and to safeguard American interests," said Rep. Ethan Cha (DFL-Woodbury), the son of a now-deceased SGU veteran. "What this bill says is what they deserve and it's the least we can do."Rep. Cha says Hmong and Lao people would never have come to the U.S. except for the Secret War and the leadership of General Vang Pao, who dreamed of an educated Hmong people welcomed in a democratic society.
"This is his dream coming full circle of the day he took on that mantle to fight against communism," said Rep. Kaohly Her (DFL-St. Paul), the daughter of a now-deceased SGU veteran. "We are that dream. And they're finally getting recognition for that."
The U.S. gave these war veterans "honorary citizenship" about 25 years ago, but Minnesota will become the first and only state to give them veteran status when the governor signs this bill into law.
