TRIBUTE TO HMONG AMERICAN VETERANS

Quick facts

Record: Senate Floor
Section type: Recognition
Chamber: Senate
Date: August 5, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.

Readable version of the official text

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, today we honor the extraordinary bravery, sacrifice, and devotion of Hmong American veterans who stood alongside the United States during the Vietnam war.

From 1961 to 1975, Hmong soldiers fought in the CIA-backed operation

known as the Secret War in Laos under the leadership of Vang Pao, risking everything to defend freedom and support American forces.

Hmong forces carried out dangerous missions, gathered intelligence,

disrupted enemy supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and rescued downed American pilots. Thousands of American lives were saved because of the courage and perseverance of Hmong soldiers.

The Hmong people paid an enormous price for their alliance with the

United States. More than 40,000 Hmong fighters were killed or wounded during the conflict.

For many years, the contributions of Hmong veterans remained largely

unknown because the conflict in Laos was classified as the “Secret War.”

Today, we ensure that history remembers their service and that future

generations understand the sacrifices they made in defense of freedom.

Alaska is proud to be home to a robust Hmong community whose members

continue to serve our State through military service, business ownership, public service, education, and community leadership.

We recognize veterans such as Pasert Lee, a resident of the Mountain

View neighborhood in Anchorage, AK, who served as a lieutenant under General Vang Pao and helped rescue American pilots during the war. As communist forces took control of Laos, those who had stood with the United States faced persecution, imprisonment, and even death. The beginning of the exodus of the Hmong people from their homes in Laos began following the May 1975 Communist takeover.

Many Hmong families were forced to flee Laos to escape persecution. Many veterans and their families have never been able to safely return to their homeland.

Mr. Lee, like most of our Hmong American veterans, has never returned home, even to visit, in fear for their lives.