The Vietnam era was a time of hardship for many, this was especially true for the Hmong people of Laos. During the start of the war, the US was prohibited from stationing troops in the country due to the declaration on the neutrality of Laos signed in 1962.

The US government would circumvent this issue by way of the CIA who were put in charge of recruiting and funding a “secret army” of Hmong soldiers placed under the command of General Vang Pao who were tasked with the disruption of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

In return for their service the Hmong people were promised both the protection of themselves and their families, along with assistance in relocating if the need were to arrive.

The Hmong soldiers of the war faced immensely high casualties during the conflict, with some estimates suggesting their death rates were ten times higher than that of their American counterparts, with one-fourth of all Hmong boys and men dying in combat.

Hmong civilians also faced heavy casualties during the war. Reports of chemical warfare were commonplace with many villages documenting cases of being sprayed with chemical devices, or finding themselves victims of napalm bombing runs by North Vietnamese and Pathet Laos forces.

Nearing the end of the war and following the fall of the Royal Lao Government, the local Hmong population found themselves facing further persecution at the hands of the Communist Pathet Lao who declared them enemies of the state due to their shared allegiance with US forces during the war.

Turning to their US allies for the help promised to them at the beginning of the war, they found only empty words and barren airfields, with the US having decided to pull out all troops from Vietnam and end its military actions in the country following the 1973 Paris Peace Accord.

Now under the threat of being put into forced labor camps and struggling with the recent famine in the area, tens of thousands of Hmongs fled Laos seeking asylum in neighboring Thailand. Many of those who embarked on the dangerous journey would wind up dead from factors such as starvation, exposure to the harsh elements or diseases including tuberculosis and malaria amongst many others.

My friend’s father, Teng Xiong, a first generation Hmong immigrant and former soldier who fought under the command of General Pao, recounted his struggles along with struggles of his fellow Hmong on their treacherous journey out of the country they once called home.

“We were just children. Wrapped up in a war that we never started and didn’t quite understand. After the war the communist army went from village to village massacring every Hmong family they came across, not even sparing the babies or children.”

“We fled to the jungles seeking refuge in the wild. My family survived off whatever we could forage like bamboo shoots, banana stems and on lucky days wild yams. One day I came across a wild flock of chickens who were distracted by a recent meal they found. As I snuck my way through the tall grass a couple yards behind them I found myself frozen. The meal these wild birds were feasting was the corpse of a fellow Hmong refugee. I never have been able to look at chickens the same since that day.”

There are thousands with stories similar to Mr.Xiong’s that are in jeopardy of being lost to history. Tossed aside by the US government and treated as out of date ordnance, the Hmong soldiers who were lucky enough to end up in the States found themselves being denied benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

With many having no formal education before migrating to the US and very little trade skills that were considered in demand for the western economy, the vast majority of the Hmong immigrants found themselves facing yet another up hill battle when it came to the process of assimilating into America.

So the next time you see an elderly Hmong person, stop and take into consideration all the hardships they faced in order to give both themselves and their respective families the opportunities afforded to us by this great nation that we all call home.