Journal of Social and Political
Sciences
ISSN 2615-3718 (Online)
ISSN 2621-5675 (Print)
Published: 29 June 2020
Refugee Contributions Shouldn’t Be Kept a Secret: Hmong United States Relations
Christina V. Luna, Pa Nhia Xiong, Susan M. Tracz
California State University Fresno
Download Full-Text Pdf
10.31014/aior.1991.03.02.192
Pages: 571-583
Keywords: CIA, Clan, Fiv Yeem (Hmong), Laos, Mekong, Paj Ntaub (Hmong)/Story Cloth (English), Refugee Camps, Secret War, Shaman/Shamanism, Vietnam War
Abstract
The Hmong people have endured and overcome great challenges throughout their history before resettling in the US and around the world. Hmong people have unique experiences as a stateless people and people of war and genocide. From 1961 to 1975, the United States (US) Central Intelligence Agency recruited Hmong men and boys to fight alongside the Americans and against the communists in Laos, during the Vietnam War. The participation of the Hmong in Laos is referred to as the Secret War, it was America’s deadliest war. Included in this study are a review of the literature and a narrative inquiry study that highlights the lived experiences of 10 Hmong soldiers who served in the Secret War. This study attempts to educate the many Hmong Americans, and the American society as a whole, about the Hmong people’s historical contributions in the United States military as soldiers in the Secret War. The sacrifices of the soldiers deem their recognition essential to honoring Hmong boys and men who fought fiercely alongside the US soldiers and those who lost their lives. This study exemplifies why these Hmong soldiers deserve a revered place in American history.
References
Budanovic, N. (16 Apr 2018). More bombs were dropped on Laos during the Secret War than on all countries combined during WWII. War History Online.Retrieved from https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/more-bombs-were-dropped-laos.html
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among the five approaches (3rdEd.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Faderman, L., & Xiong, G. (1998). I begin my life all over: The Hmong and the American immigrant experience. Boston: Beacon Press.
Helmbach, E. E. (Ed.). (1980). White Hmong-English Dictionary (No. 75). Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=VXGsO7C5fLsC&pg=RA1-PA160&lpg=RA1-PA160&dq=what+is+hmong+word+fiv+yeem+mean&source=bl&ots=fMb_UrVLPe&sig=ACfU3U2e7YzcM0z574G3DQcK_OJmMiBv-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0u9eWrc7oAhUGLa0KHUpxDLgQ6AEwC3oECA0QLg#v=onepage&q=what%20is%20hmong%20word%20fiv%20yeem%20mean&f=false
Hmongs and Native Americans. (n.d.). Hmong traditions – Clans names. Retrieved from http://www.hmongsandnativeamericans.com/hmong-traditions-clan-names/
Lor, G. (2007). The Vietnam War: Hmong soldiers' personal experiences in the secret war(Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Stout). Retrieved from https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/42393/2007lorg.pdf?sequence=1
Minnesota Historical Society. (n.d.). Hmong timeline. Retrieved from https://www.mnhs.org/hmong/hmong-timeline
Tapp, N. (1989). Hmong religion. Asian Folklore Studies, 59-94.
Vang, C. Y. (2019). Fly until you die: An oral history of Hmong pilots in the Vietnam War. New York: Oxford University Press.
Vang, T., & Flores, J. (1999). The Hmong Americans: Identity, conflict, and opportunity. Multicultural Perspectives, 1(4), 9-14.
Wong, B. K. (2012). The HMONG diaspora and the struggle for an identity (No. AU/ACSC/WONG/AY13). Air Command and Staff College Air University Maxwell Air Force Bas. Montgomery, AL. [Photograph of Pa N. Xiong]. (1985). Pa Nhia Xiong in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, Thailand (Pa N. Xiong, 2020).
Xiong, P. N. (2020). The secret war: The forgotten Hmong heroes (Unpublished Dissertation). California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA.
Yang, K. (2003). Hmong diaspora of the post-war period. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 12(3), p. 271-301