Local Hmong community celebrates the New Year

This story begins long ago and far away. In fact, over 50 years ago, in Vietnam. Approximately 60 percent of the Hmong men joined forces with the United States in what is called the “Secret War”. The Hmong, pronounced “Mong”, are an ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. They were recruited and trained by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a Special Guerilla Unit. Their job was to block the Ho Chi Minh Trail which was the main military supply route from the north to the south. Their success in disrupting North Vietnamese shipments, as acknowledged by many military historians, played a key role in reducing American casualties. Their actions cost them dearly.

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