Vietnam War Memorial, Hmong Veterans, Ceremony Marking Anniversary of the Fall of Laos

Mr. Pang Mang Thao, President, of the Minnesota Lao Veterans, spoke at the 40th anniversary wreath-laying ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery, to honor Lao- and Hmong-American veterans and their U.S. advisers.
 
WASHINGTON - May 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Washington, D.C. & Arlington, Virginia, May 15, 2015

The following is the text of the statement issued by Mr. Pang Mang Thao, President, of the Minnesota Lao Veterans, at the 40th anniversary wreath-laying ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery, hosted by the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA), Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Department of Defense, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Members of Congress:

Statement of Pang Mang Thao
Arlington National Cemetery
& the Vietnam War Memorial
May 15, 2015


Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow veterans, and honorable officials:

Welcome to today’s Lao and Hmong veterans memorial ceremony, marking the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in the Kingdom of Laos, and thank you for joining us this morning.  It is an honor for me to stand before you on this important occasion.  My name is Pang Mang Thao.  I am currently serving as the President of the Lao Veterans of Minnesota.  Before I share a bit about my background, I would like to thank all of the organizers and hosts of this momentous gathering.  Without all the supporters this event would not have been possible.

I would like to thank Arlington National Cemetery, Members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, and our American veterans, and comrades of the Vietnam War, for their support today.

We are very grateful to U.S. Congressmen Jim Costa, Paul Cook, Don Young, Sean Duffy, Devin Nunes, and many others for their leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives in introducing and supporting the “Hmong Veterans Service Recognition Act” and the events here today. In the U.S. Senate, we want to especially thank Senators Lisa Murkowski, Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar, Tammy Baldwin, Sheldon Whitehouse, and many others for their efforts on Capitol Hill in introducing the bill just prior to today's ceremony and for their support for our memorial service and wreath laying-ceremony here today.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr. Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) for his leadership efforts in the U.S. Congress and Washington, D.C., and to help make these events in Arlington National Cemetery possible. We appreciate his assistance over the years to the Lao and Hmong people, our refugee families in Thailand and Laos, and to the Lao Veterans of America and Lao Veterans of America Institute. Since the beginning, he has served as the Washington D.C. Director and National Liaison for the Lao Veterans of America, for over 20 years, to help our communities.

With that said, I would like to share a bit about myself and how I got here today.  My history began in 1968 when I turned 18. You can say that is when most people graduated from high school with a diploma and ready to move on to college.  I also graduated from high school but moved on to be an educator and a soldier.  I served from 1968 to 1975 wholeheartedly.  As a young soldier who served on the battlefields of the Vietnam War in Laos, I felt it was my duty to stay and fight to the end.  Unfortunately many of our fellow soldiers were left behind.  I was one of those.  We roamed the jungles/mountains until 1979 trying to survive on whatever we could get our hands on.  We traveled on foot to Thailand and arrived in Ban Vinai camp on February 7, 1979.  After just three days, I became one of the leaders in the camp who helped distribute food to the people.  It was wonderful being able to serve my people in the camp but I knew that my opportunities would be limited if I remain in the camp.  In 1980, I decided to find a better life with more opportunities.  My family and I arrived in Saint Paul, Minnesota on April 28, 1980.  Since then I have served at least 20 terms as a leader in the Hmong communities.

My most recent position as stated earlier is the President of Lao Veterans since May 5, 2013.  As President of Lao Veterans, my vision was to reunite all the veterans.  Therefore, we had our first annual Hmong & Lao Veterans conference on November 26, 2014 in Minnesota.  On May 24, 2015 will be our second annual Hmong & Lao Veterans conference which will also be held in Minnesota.  My passion to help the Hmong communities remains constructive and strong until now.  I know that I am called to not just bring the Hmong people to the next level but also to better the country I live in now.  That is why I am here today.

But most important of all, there are three reasons why I am here today:

First of all, I want to honor and remember all the soldiers men and women who had sacrificed their lives during the Vietnam War in Laos.  I also want to pay tributes to our Lao and Hmong veterans, who served in the war, and to thank our U.S. allied who had done so much to bring the Lao and Hmong refugees to America.

Secondly, I want to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in the Kingdom of Laos and the fall of Long Cheng (Long Chieng), the U.S. CIA and Hmong headquarters base by being present today at the Hmong and Laos Memorial Monument, the Lao Veterans of America monument ("Laos Monument"), in Arlington National Cemetery, as we mark this somber occasion.

Thirdly, I am here to represent all the voices of our Hmong veterans asking the United States government to support us in passing our bills involving appropriate burial honors for Lao- and Hmong-American veterans and fair medical/Medicaid benefits for the veterans and their families.  As we know over the 40 years, many had left us.  But for many who are still with us we want to offer them what we can to show that we would forever be grateful for their sacrificial act so our country could remain at peace.

It seems like just yesterday, but we have been in America for 40 years already. Over these four decades, our people are thriving. We have moved from what was once believed that we were the least assimilated Southeast Asian refugees to one of the most educated groups. Many of us and our children are proud, tax paying U.S. citizens voting to put the first Hmong school board member and the first state senator in office.  In every office, hospital, and school where the Hmong reside, there is always a familiar face who shares the same ancestry background.  Today, we are proud to call ourselves Americans.  All because of our new government and country, the United States!  So on behalf of our people, I want to thank you and acknowledge our leaders in this country for believing in us and giving us a chance for a better life in this land of many open-ended opportunities. We hope you continue to stand by us when we call upon you.

God bless you!

-
Contact(s):  Christy Lee or Philip Smith
(202)543-1444
info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

Contact
Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA)
info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
(202)543-1444
End
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