The six-day funeral ended on Feb. 9. Though she's newer to Minnesota and less well-known in the community, she shares a name with her father, the legendary General Vang Pao. Southeast Asian American refugees have survived war, famine and genocide. That's why I never told friends and neighbors about my family's history. The Monitor Daily amplifies and clarifies how we deliver on the Monitors purpose, to benefit humanity by reporting what is happening in the world and why and how this information matters to you. GENERAL VANG PAO SCHOLARSHIP THE PRAYA NORAPARMORK GENERAL VANG PAO LEADERSHIP LEGACY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND APPLICATION PACKET December 8, 1929 - January 6, 2011 PRESENTED BY THE HMONG AMERICAN EDUCATION FUND www.thehaef.org This scholarship was donated by Dr. James Nhia Vang & his wife Vanessa Yang in loving memory of General Vang Pao. Tou Long Yang served alongside Vang Pao, a general in the Royal Lao Army at the time who led the CIAs secret army during the Laotian Civil War -- also known as the Secret War -- for nearly the entire duration of the conflict. John Dominis / Time Life Pictures / Getty Images. It also allowed for that broader definition to be applied retroactively. (modern), Vang Pao was a leader of the Hmong ethnic group in Laos. His job was to protect the CIA at all costs. General Vang Pao lived more recently in Southern California and Minnesota, where many of the 200,000 Hmong that followed him to the United States or were born here live. you are agreeing to our, We underestimated China, US official says after reports of J-20 stealth fighter, Defense budget: to cut $100 billion, Army and Marines will shrink, Spain welcomes Chinese investment even with strings attached, One month free trial to the Monitor Daily. [18], From 1993 to 2003, Vang relied on Philip Smith for much of his efforts with policymakers in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Congress. He was 81. So, during the nine-year bombing campaign the U.S. carried out against Laos from 1964 to 1973 making it the most heavily bombed nation per capita in history Yang said he was in charge of calling some of the 2 million tons of artillery that rained on the country. His eldest son Chao Francois Vang said he had been admitted to the hospital on December 26, 2010, after attending Hmong New Year celebrations in Fresno. Some have called him the "George Washington of the Hmong." During the 1950s, Ho Chi Minh's Vietminh guerrillas, and Lao and Cambodian nationalists united in a struggle to defeat the French empire in Indochina. Vang Pao was a general in the official Laotian Army, the chief of a secret army financed by the Central Intelligence Agency and the undisputed leader of the varied factions of his people, the Hmong. [67][68][69][70], Traditional Hmong funeral services for Vang were scheduled to be held for six days, starting 4 February 2011, at the Fresno Convention Center. Hmong General Vang Pao, a courageous and powerful leader, worked in tandem with the CIA to conduct covert operations in Laos. Following Vang's arrest, Smith advocated in Washington, D.C. for the case to be dropped against Vang and other Hmong leaders. They include retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Youa True Vang and 11 members of California's Hmong community, many of whom fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Tou Long Yang served in the Laotian Civil War and then migrated to America to make $7 an hour. Death. Following the issuance of the warrants, an estimated 250 federal agents representing numerous U.S. federal law enforcement and other agencies conducted simultaneous raids on homes, offices and other locations throughout central and southern California, arresting Vang Pao and the other nine.