Laos,Hmong Veterans Honored At Arlington National Ceremony

Washington, D.C., Tuesday, May 10, 2007 - The Lao Veterans of America (LVA) and the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) will hold a memorial and wreath laying ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the 32nd Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Laos and to honor Hmong and Laotian veterans who served during the conflict (from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at the Lao Veterans Memorial Monument, Grant Ave., Sec. 2, Arlington National Cemetery). Ethnic Hmong and Laotian veterans and their refugee families, who served in the U.S. Secret Army during the Vietnam War, will participate and attend.

“We will gather at the Lao Veterans of America monument in Arlington Cemetery to honor the memory of our beloved nation of Laos and the many thousands of fallen Lao and Hmong veterans and their families who died fighting to defend their homeland from invasion and attack by Communist Pathet Lao forces,” stated Colonel Wangyee Vang, National President and founder of the Lao Veterans of America, Inc. “It was ten years ago that we first gathered in Arlington Cemetery and in Washington, D.C., for the first ever National Recognition Ceremonies that allowed us to dedicate the sacred monument in Arlington National Cemetery to the Lao and Hmong veterans and their American advisors who served together in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to defend the national security interests and sovereignty of both the Kingdom of Laos and its ally the United States,” Wangyee Vang concluded.

"The special history of the Hmong and Lao veterans of the U.S. Secret War in Laos is important to understand; and it is important to honor those who served so honorably during this conflict," said Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Hmong and Lao scholar and author (of the book Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos).

The memorial service will mark the 32nd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Laos and honor the Laotian and Hmong veterans, and their American advisors, who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Participation will also include an official U.S. military joint armed forces color guard, wreath bearer and bugler.

“It is important to remember and memorialize the enormous sacrifices and suffering of the Laotian and Hmong people during the Vietnam War in support of Royal Lao and U.S. national security interests,” stated Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis. “After the war and today, tens of thousands of people continue to die at the brutal and bloody hands of the Pathet Lao communist regime, a corrupt, one-party military regime that still rules Laos today and continues to persecute and kill its own freedom-loving people—especially peaceful dissidents, student leaders as well as ethnic and religious minority groups,” Smith concluded.

Invited speakers include: Colonel Wangyee Vang, President, Lao Veterans of America, Inc. ( LVA ); Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Hmong & Laotian Scholar; Philip Smith, Executive Director, Center for Public Policy Analysis ( CPPA ); Grant McClure, Counterparts Military Advisors Association; Hugh Tovar, former CIA Station Chief, Laos, and others.

The event is cosponsored by the Lao Veterans of America, the Center for Public Policy Analysis and other organizations.

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Contact:

Mr. Zong Vue Vang or Colonel Wangyee Vang ( 559 ) 252-3921
Lao Veterans of America, Inc.
or
Ms. Anna Jones or Philip Smith
(202)543-1444
Center for Public Policy Analysis
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