Statue Tells Story of How Lao and Hmong Soldiers Served Along Side the America Soldiers

More than 60 uniformed Hmong and Lao veterans stood in ranks at Fresno County Courthouse Park on Wednesday to celebrate the unveiling of a monument honoring their efforts in the Vietnam War.

Mayor Alan Autry and Gen. Vang Pao, who led Lao military efforts during the war, gently removed a sheet covering the shiny monument. The sculpture sits on a 3-foot granite base at the Fresno County Courthouse Park, where the ceremony took place.

The 6-foot bronze statue depicts two Hmong soldiers rescuing a wounded American pilot. One soldier is holding a hand radio as if calling for help, and the other has an arm wrapped around the pilot and is looking down at him with a compassionate stare. The monument weighs about 29 tons.

Col. Thai C. Vang, who wore 13 medals including a Purple Heart, said after the dedication that he rescued many American pilots under situations similar to that depicted in the sculpture when he served from 1961 to 1975. Vang said through an interpreter: "It's important [to us] because we fought for freedom and fought to protect this country."

Many of the Hmong and Lao fighters settled in the Central Valley after the Vietnam War. More than 55,000 Hmong live in the Central Valley, and Fresno has become home to one of the largest Hmong populations outside of Laos.

The Hmong and Lao people helped the United States fight Communism from 1961 to 1975 in Laos and Vietnam. The CIA recruited Hmong and Lao groups and created a special guerrilla unit under Pao's leadership. After Laos fell to the Communists, the Hmong fled their country and became political refugees.

"We never won a war without allies," Fresno Mayor Alan Autry, right, said, referring to Hmong soldiers who fought alongside American troops. Autry and Gen. Vang Pao, left, who led Lao military efforts during the war, also helped unveil a monument Wednesday in downtown Fresno.

Mayor Alan Autry and Gen. Vang Pao, who led Lao military efforts during the war, gently removed a sheet covering the shiny monument. The sculpture sits on a 3-foot granite base at the Fresno County Courthouse Park, where the ceremony took place.

Gilbert DeLaPena, left, Department of California Commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, salutes Lt. Seng Vue, a Lao Hmong veteran soldier after the sculpture dedication Wednesday. About 60 Lao and Hmong veterans dressed in military camouflage attended the event. They served with the American military during the Vietnam conflict as members of a special guerrilla unit, or SGU.