Wangyee Vang

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Colonel of the Army
Wangyee Vang
Born
Wangyee Vang

Laos
EducationDoctor of Business Administration (2004)
OccupationSGU 1st Co Cmdr 1961-1963

Chief of Staff 11th Brigade 1972 Director of Personnel Dept. 1st Div. 1973-1974

Chief of Staff 2nd Div. 1974-1975

Hmong Ref. Rep. in ThaiLand 1977-1979

Wangyee Vang (born November 8, 1947) is a Hmong-American community leader, educator and elder from Fresno, and the Central Valley, of California.

Col. Wangyee Vang was trained as a demolition team member in March 1961 and just at 14 years old he became a demolition expert for the covert CIA-backed Hmong army fighting the North Vietnamese. Col. Wangyee Vang was also a field radio operator, and commander of the very first communication company of the United States secret army in Laos through 1963. He got his bachelor of Science degree and became a professor of math and sciences at Sam Thong College in 1969. He was then called to join the RLA (Royal Lao Army) in October 1970 as a Major. He was chief of staff for the Eleventh Brigade infantry; He graduated from Ecole Supérieure De Guerre et Ecole D'Etat Major on 31 December 1972. He was Director of the Personnel Department of the First Strike Division Infantry from January 1973 to June 1974. He was Chief of Staff of the Second Division Infantry from July 1974 through May 1975. He was also a Hmong and Lao refugee representative in Thailand camps from March 1977 to September 1979.

Col. Wangyee Vang wants legislators to help non-English-speaking Hmong veterans gain U.S. citizenship and public benefits. He came to the United States of America as a political refugee, and resettled in Huntington Beach, California, on 4 October 1979. In the greeting line Col. Wangyee Vang, president of Fresno and the Lao Veterans of America was introduced, explaining in his statement for the 1997 Subcommittee hearing: “Cultural barriers and the fact that a written Hmong language was not used in much of Laos until late in its history have compounded the problems of literacy for the Hmong.”; “We have to let our Congress people know so they can bring our issues to the rest of Congress,” said Wang Yee Vang of Fresno, national president of the Lao Veterans of America Inc. then concluded “It’s a good step for the Laotian people,” said Fresno resident Wangyee Vang, national director of the Lao Veterans of America. “This might help ease their path toward freedom .”

Col. Wangyee Vang was also Vice Chairman for national Lao Family Community, Inc. in Santa Ana, California, 1980-82. He was founder and national president of the Lao Veterans of America, Inc. 1991-2000. He was a member of Volunteer Expert Team for Mr. Alan Autry, mayor of Fresno, California 2000-2008. He was re-elected as president of the Lao Veterans of America, Inc. 2004-2014. He was appointed by the California Governor to be a director for the twenty-first District Agriculture of Fresno and Big Fresno Fair, 2005-2012. He led the Lao Veterans of America's members to lobby Congress to place a Lao vet monument at Arlington National cemetery, 15 May 1997; also led the Lao Veterans of America's members to work with members of Congress to pass the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 2000 (HR. 371), and President Clinton signed it into law, and to work with for the mayor of Fresno to build and unveil Lao-Hmong War Memorial at Fresno County courtyard, 24 December 2005.

Work To Assist Lao & Hmong Veterans & Their Families

Vang is the founder and National President of the Lao Veterans of America Institute,a national non-profit organization headquartered in Fresno, California, which serves Hmong-American, and Lao-American, veterans and their families. In the United States, Wangyee Vang has engaged in refugee and veterans' advocacy, education and training projects as well as efforts to integrate Indochinese refugees into American society and provide them access to social services.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

During the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and in its aftermath, Wangyee Vang served in the "U.S. Secret Army" in the Royal Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War and was trained as an officer in Vientiane, Laos in the Royal Lao Army. He rose to the rank of Colonel. Colonel Wangyee Vang also received military and professional training during the Vietnam War in the Kingdom of Thailand and France. He speaks Hmong, Lao, French and English.[7]

Efforts To Grant Honorary U.S. Citizenship to Lao & Hmong Veterans

Wangyee Vang played a major role in Washington, D.C., and with the Lao- and Hmong-American community, along with his brother Cherzong Vang, in the research, development, advocacy, passage and implementation of the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000. The legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress by U.S. Representative Bruce Vento and Senator Paul Wellstone and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.[8][9][10]

Dedication of Laos Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

In May 1997, Wangyee Vang played a key role in establishing the Laos Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery to honor Hmong and Lao veterans, and their American advisors, who served in defense of the Kingdom of Laos and U.S. national security interests during the Vietnam War.[11]

In 2013, Wangyee Vang's brother, Cherzong Vang, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was eulogized at national veterans' memorial services at the Laos Memorial in Arlington by Lao and Hmong veterans and their former military and clandestine advisors.

Humanitarian & Refugee Assistance

As National President of the Lao Veterans of America Institute, Wangyee Vang has worked to support Indochinese refugees, including Lao and Hmong refugees, and asylum seekers, fleeing persecution by the communist government in Laos after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. He has been outspoken in opposition to the forced repatriation of Hmong and Lao refugees from the Royal Kingdom Thailand back to the Marxist government in Laos that they fled.[12][13]

Lao- & Hmong-American Veterans Burial Honors

Vang supported burial honors for Lao- and Hmong-American veterans who seek to be buried in U.S. national veterans cemeteries administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.[14] The measure is currently pending in Congress.[15][16][17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Refugee Services Directory, Fresno County, California, Official website (26 January 2015) http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/departmentpage.aspx?id=34025
  2. ^ California Companies List, California Secretary of State Companies Listings, http://www.californiacompanieslist.com (24 January 2015), Lao Veterans of America Institute, http://www.californiacompanieslist.com/the-lao-veterans-of-america-institute-1nw87/
  3. ^ Vang, Wangyee, Lao Veterans of America Institute, Charitable Organization Annual 990 Reporting, Tax Exempt World, http://www.taxexemptworld.com, http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organization.asp?tn=1341299
  4. ^ Costa, Jim, U.S. Congressional Record, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., "Recognizing the Lao and Hmong-American Community"(12 December 2014) http://gov.mtopgroup.com/art1/record/delta/2014/12/12/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/E1840-1
  5. ^ Smith, Philip, Washington, D.C., (14 December 2014),Lao Veterans of America,Inc. http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org
  6. ^ Xaykaothao, Doualy, National Public Radio (NPR), (27 May 2011) "Family History: The General, His Sisters And Me" https://www.npr.org/2011/05/27/133664172/family-history-the-general-his-sisters-and-me
  7. ^ LaGarretta, Raina, Elk Grove Citizen Newspaper, (Sacramento, Elk Grove, California), (15 November 2011), "Stand Up, Speak Out: Cocal Combat Veterans Remember Service, Coming Home" http://www.egcitizen.com/articles/2011/11/15/news/doc4ebc6a46a1068423998216.txt
  8. ^ Sean, Madigan, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, (31 March 2000) "Hmong citizenship bill clears House committee." http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62421818.html
  9. ^ Smith, Philip, Washington, D.C., (14 December 2014), Lao Veterans of America,Inc. http://www.laoveteransofamerica.org
  10. ^ Webb, Tom, Knight Ridder / Tribune News Service ( 29 May 2000) "After a decade of trying, Hmong veterans win a citizenship boost." http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62411133.html
  11. ^ China Weekly News (28 May 2013) "Laos, Hmong Veterans of Vietnam War Honored at National Ceremonies" http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-331514584.html
  12. ^ Agence France Press (AFP), (10 May 2009) "Hmong lobby US for emergency aid in Thailand" http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hmong+lobby+US+for+emergency+aid+in+Thailand-a01611877732
  13. ^ Science Letter Publications (30 June 2009) "Congress Appeals to Obama Administration, Thailand: Stop Hmong Returns to Laos."http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-202896613.html
  14. ^ Business Journal (California), (08 February 2013), "Murkowski, Costa introduce Lao and Hmong veterans bill" http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/government-and-politics/4920-murkowski-costa-introduce-lao-and-hmong-veterans-bill
  15. ^ Doyle, Michael, McClatchy News (28 October 2009) "Hmong, Lao veterans seek burials in national cemeteries" http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/10/28/77920_hmong-lao-veterans-seek-burials.html
  16. ^ Business Wire, Businesswire.com, Washington, D.C. (28 July 2010) "Laos, Hmong Veterans of Vietnam War Honored by Congress with National Burial Bill." http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laos,+Hmong+Veterans+of+Vietnam+War+Honored+by+Congress+with+National...-a0232906561
  17. ^ Business Wire, Businesswire.com, Washington, D.C. (07 February 2014) "Laos, Hmong Veterans Burial Honors Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate" http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130207006579/en/Laos-Hmong-Veterans-Burial-Honors-Bill-Introduced
  18. ^ Simon, Richard, Los Angeles Times (27 February 2014) "Hmong vets suffer setback in quest for burial at U.S. cemeteries" http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-vietnam-war-hmong-20140227-story.html
  • Letter from his excellence Monsieur Valéry Giscard D’Estaing, Président de la République de France, regarding his request to take Hmong vet of the French-Indochina war into France and/or French Guyana, signed by J.D. LEVITTE, Chargé de Mission, dated Paris, le 19 Jan 1978.
  • Letter from Dr. Larry Ward, president of Food for the Hungry International, Inc., April 25, 1978.
  • Letter from Dr. Dulal Borpujari, Asia Director, Food the Hungry International, May 15, 1978.
  • The ‘Forgotten’ Asian Victims by Susan Page of Newsday, The Long Island Newspaper, Wash. DC. 20006, August 1979.
  • Gas Warfare in Laos: Communism’s Drive to Annihilate a People and Behind the Lines by Jane Hamilton-Merritt ub the Reader’s Digest, 1980.
  • The White House: Bill Clinton, President of the United States’ letter dated December 23, 1996.
  • Hmong pushing welfare relief by Karla Bruner, The Fresno Bee, February 22, 1997.
  • Hmong Leader lobbies Washington by Pablo Lopez, Bee Washington bureau, The Fresno Bee, October 27, 1997.
  • Statement on Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act by Congressman Henry J. Hyde, Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, March 30, 2000.
  • Covert CIA-recruited Hmong Army, by Sharon Behn, Agence France Press, April 28, 2000.
  • Bush sprints on to Sequoia, by Barbara Anderson and Jim Davis, The Fresno Bee, May 30, 2001.
  • The White House: George W. Bush, President of the United States’ letter dated November 19, 2001.
  • Congress blasts Laos on human rights, by Michael Doyle, McClatchy Washington Bureau, May 7, 20002.
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