nwasianweekly.com
Oct. 14, 2006

Honor Hmong vets before it’s too late

Hmong veterans are finally starting to get the respect and recognition they deserve.

In July, a $140,000 memorial was dedicated in Sheboygan, Wisc., to the Hmong soldiers who fought in the Secret War in Laos on behalf of the U.S. Trained in secret by U.S. Special Forces and the CIA, thousands of Hmong and Lao men fought the North Vietnamese in Laos while U.S. troops fought them in South Vietnam.

In return, the U.S. government offered the soldiers and their families American citizenship and safe passage to the United States to begin their lives anew.

For years, the Secret War remained under wraps. It might have been forgotten altogether if the children of these veterans didn’t start coming forward to talk about the sacrifices of these men. After all, these soldiers’ lives were as much at risk as any American-born soldier’s. And yet it was more than a decade before these veterans could begin applying for citizenship. Only now are memorials being erected to honor these veterans and to educate the public about the history of the Hmong American community.

We are glad to know that the Lao, Hmong and American Veterans Memorial in Wisconsin is not the first of its kind. Others exist — small plaques were installed at Arlington National Cemetery and at Hurlburt Field in Florida, and a memorial was erected in Fresno, Calif., recently.

However, we are troubled that 30 years have to pass before these veterans are recognized. Why must it take a grassroots effort to bring attention to these veterans?

The U.S. government seems to make a habit of using foreign soldiers in wars and failing to take care of them afterwards. In World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on 200,000 Filipino men to fight alongside American troops in World War II. They were promised full veterans’ benefits as well as U.S. citizenship — both of which were revoked after the war. Today, the survivors are in their 70s and 80s, but they are still fighting to be treated with the same dignity as other U.S. soldiers.

The Hmong and Lao veterans are not getting any younger either. They deserve to experience firsthand the honor and gratitude that comes with being an American veteran.

The Wisconsin memorial is a step in the right direction, as it lists the names of the soldiers who fought in the war and teaches visitors about how and why the Hmong came to the United States. Now we would like to see their stories told in textbooks so that American children grow up knowing about the Secret War. We also want to see the U.S. government formally acknowledge the contributions of these men.

The memorial makes up for lost time — more than 30 years, to be exact. It should have been done at least a decade ago. These veterans have waited patiently for long enough.

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