“After the signing of the Vientiane Agreement on Sept. 21, 1973, a new Lao government was formed between the rightist and leftist as well as ceased all fighting throughout the country. I knew then that the new government with the Neo Lao Hak Sak (or the Communist Party) they would not unite the country. At first, I felt the agreement would be the next step towards peace, but there was another side of me felt that this would not happen. In the fading of that year, I knew Laos would collapse soon. It became evident inside Long Cheng by October 1974 that we either have to relocate or fight on. For sure the US was pulling out. Top officials already outlined a plan to have the 2,500 Hmong move to Mae Hong Son, Thailand. The US did not guarantee refuge for all Hmong except for the 2,500 Hmong. As Cambodia and Vietnam fell under Communist rule, the Laotians did not panic. I did. The Hmong did. As Hmong fighting with the US inside Laos, we feared for our lives. On May 1, 1975, I received a call from Jerry Daniels from Long Cheng as I was still in Vientiane. He urgently said, ‘It looks like we are not able to stay here anymore.’ In the wake of all of this chaos, I quickly reacted by looking for a place in Thailand for our war-torn people. I used the $15,000USD I saved for college to help built a refugee center near an old Buddhist temple called Wat Xamakee near the Thailand border. On May 14, the first 150 people arrived. Within a few days, the wat reached as many as 2,000 occupants from the war seeking political asylum. During the Secret War, we fought to defend our country. We wanted to keep our freedom, but I knew we would become prisoners or be sent to re-education camp if we stayed.”

Captain Yang See worked closely with CIA case officers in Long Tieng and was credited as a pioneer in advocating the U.S. Government to resettle the Hmong refugees from Thailand to this country.