Our History
“Without our SGU soldiers’ bloodshed for America during the Vietnam War, America would have never opened the door and brought our Hmong people to this great nation. It is our moral responsibility to honor and remember our soldiers for their ultimate sacrifices for giving us this incredible opportunity.”
— General Vang Pao
Minnesota
2006
When John F. Kennedy took over as President, he dispatched CIA agents into Laos to start recruiting Hmong men as a part of the U.S. secret army. Here, JFK spoke on the subject of Laos at State Department Auditorium in Washington, D.C., March 23, 1961. (Courtesy JFK Library)
After WWII, China closed its doors to foreigners and built an alliance with Communist Russia. The two super-power countries attempted to conquer Asia and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile the Westerners were preparing to return home in peace and give independence to the French Indochina countries after the North Vietnamese Vietminh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Subsequently, Laos was newly established as an independent and neutral state by the 1954 Geneva Accords. (Courtesy Col. Nhia Xou Yang)
“May 14 of each year is designated as Hmong Special Guerrilla Units Remembrance Day in honor of Southeast Asians, Americans, and their allies who served, suffered, sacrificed, or died in the Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War in the years 1961 to 1975 in support of the armed forces of the United States, and in recognition of the significance of May 14, 1975, the last day that the overall American-trained Hmong command structure over the Special Guerrilla Units in Laos was operational.” (Photo courtesy Andrew L. Xiong)