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Hmong: The Heroes You've Never Heard of


They aided us in the Vietnam war. We abandoned them in the forest.

After the Laotian Civil War, the Hmong were alienated from Asia. Looking for political asylum and a place of their own, they fled to Thailand. Today, most Hmong remain in Asia, but many are scattered throughout the globe in places like Australia, Canada, Argentina, French Guiana and the U.S.

Although often mistaken for Chinese or Vietnamese, the Hmong speak their own language. It is a tone-based language that has a wide range of dialects. When this language is entered into google translate, it is detected as Swedish. The Hmong call this language Hmoob, or Moob.

The Secret Army.

In the early 1960's, the CIA began recruiting Hmong men to help us in the Vietnam war. The Hmong agreed to fight not for us, but for their own freedom. The Hmong felt the threat of the opposing Vietnam forces, and realized there was to be little freedom for them under communist rule. By 1961, the CIA had 9,000 Hmong men to expend where they wished. They mainly stationed the Hmong in Laos because at the time, we had signed a treaty that had forbidden us to fight in Laos. But the opposing communist forces instantaneously violated this agreement and exploited Laos. Some Hmong were used to block the Ho Chi Minh trail which was used by the Vietnamese in Laos as a means of food transportation.

The U.S government basically made a pinky promise with the Hmong. The pinky promise stated that if they fought for us, we would always be there to protect and help them. A promise easily forgotten.

The poorly equipped and trained Hmong continued to fight in Laos under the CIA against dreadful odds. A total of 3,771 Hmong had their lives stolen. The Kennedy administration took notice of this and urged the CIA to recruit more Hmong men.

In 1963, the CIA now had 20,000 Hmong men fighting in Laos. Many were educated and were trained by the CIA to be pilots. The fearless Hmong took to the air and fought vigorously until every single one of them was killed. Their bravery inspired by thirst for freedom seemed to know no bounds. America took advantage of this fact.

An estimated 100,000 Hmong men died while fighting in Laos. Once the war was over and Laos fell to communism, the Hmong tried to escape to Thailand. Un-aided by America, 30,000 men, women and children died - trying to reach safety. The Hmong gave up literally everything to fight for us in Laos. Their homes, their country, their way of life and their families. All for a promise that we forgot to keep.

Finally recognizing the great sacrifice of the Hmong, America began accepting refugees in December, 1975. Today, approximately 250,000 Hmong reside in the United States, while just as many are still living in fear in Laos - residing in jungle camps, still using the artillery that America issued them in Vietnam.

For those still trapped in Laos, every day is like Vietnam.



'If our dream is not big enough to unite us, then people tend to create problems to divide us.'
Hmong proverb.

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