Unveiling the fighters of the "Secret War"

In May, MinnPost shared a compelling article about the fight of local Hmong veterans, who played a vital role in the Vietnam War, to achieve full military honors and burial rights in U.S. national cemeteries. As members of a division known as the Special Guerilla Unit, these veterans took part in the so-called “Secret War” by aiding the CIA to prevent passage of supplies along the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos. After the war, many former SGU members fled persecution in Laos, eventually emigrating to the United States. They now make their homes in the country whose military they helped to support and whose soldiers they risked their lives to rescue.

Traditionally, however, U.S. military burial rights are only given to American servicemen and women. This means that currently, despite the thousands who fought and even died alongside American forces almost as an extension of the U.S. military itself, Hmong veterans are not awarded the same opportunity for interment in national cemeteries as their American counterparts.

According to MinnPost, Take Action Minnesota has been involved in the recent push to bring the issue to the public forefront. In the article, organizer Dai Thao concisely explains the importance of extending military burial rights:

"Hmong vets gave up their homeland to defend American freedom," he states. Affording burial rights to this group, says Thao, "will show that the bonds forged by Hmong and American veterans are real, and are not forgotten."

Now, after years of lobbying from SGU member organizations and supporters nationwide, California legislators have come through. This week, they introduced a bill to Congress that would give full military funeral honors to Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War. The bill in many ways recognizes the story and monumental sacrifice of these veterans--a sacrifice so often obscured by history--on a national level for the first time.

With an estimated 7,000 Hmong potentially affected by this bill, the challenge now rests with legislators to build congressional support for fighters and allies who have long been forgotten by, or never even revealed to, the American public.