Release Date: 2008-05-16
Original Link: http://presszoom.com/story_145173.html
Source: Center for Public Policy Analysis
The Lao Veterans of America (LVA) and the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) will hold a memorial and wreath laying ceremonies in Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Laos and to honor the Laotian and Hmong veterans, and their American advisors, who served during the conflict.
(PressZoom.com) - The Lao Veterans of America (LVA) and the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) will hold memorial and wreath laying ceremonies in Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Laos and to honor Hmong and Laotian veterans who served during the conflict (from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., on Friday, May 16 , 2008, at the Lao Veterans of America Memorial Monument, Arlington National Cemetery & from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. at the Vietnam War Memorial).
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held from 1:00 P.M.-2:00 P.M. following the Arlington Cemetery events at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. The events will conclude with a Lao and Hmong veterans wreath-laying procession to the apex of the Vietnam Memorial.
"As veterans who served in Laos, we have promised our fellow Lao, Hmong and American veterans who sacrifices, served and died in Laos fighting for the cause of freedom and the defense of our beloved land, that we will always remember them and never forget them," stated Colonel Wangyee Vang, National President and Founder of the Lao Veterans of America in Fresno California. "The monument that we dedicated in Arlington National Cemetery and the tree that we planted 11 years ago to honor and remember the Lao and Hmong veterans and their American advisors who served in Laos during the Vietnam war is a sacred place and an important symbol of our contributions to the defense of the Kingdom of Laos and U.S. national security during the Vietnam War; we cannot forget those courageous loved ones, our families and friends, who suffered and died in Laos and all those people that we left behind", Colonel Wangyee Vang concluded.
Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis stated: �The historic contributions of the Lao and Hmong veterans to U.S. national security during the Vietnam War and the defense of the Kingdom of Laos and the Kingdom of Thailand is important to understand, memorialize and remember, especially in the context of the larger conflict in Vietnam and geostrategic superpower struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War and the Cold War.�
Ethnic Hmong and Laotian veterans and their refugee families, who served in the U.S. Secret Army during the Vietnam War, will participate and attend from across the United States including the states of California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North Carolina, New York, Alabama, Louisiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts and other states.
The memorial services will mark the 33rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Laos and honor the Laotian and Hmong veterans,and their American advisors, who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Participation will also include an official U.S.military joint armed forces color guard, wreath bearer and bugler.
Speakers include Colonel Wangyee Vang, National President of the Lao Veterans of America (LVA) in Fresno, California; Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Laos and Hmong Scholar; Philip Smith, Executive Director, Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) and Washington Director, Lao Veterans of America, Inc.; The Honorable John Barnum, Esq. Former Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Attorney at McGuire Woods Law Offices; Attorney B. Jenkins Middleton, Former Vice President, Export-Import Bank; Ambassador James Lilley, Former Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC); Mike Benge, Former POW and Montagnard human rights advocate; Grant McClure, Counterparts Veterans Association; Schuyler Merritt, Research Director, CPPA, and others.
Hugh Tovar, former CIA Station Chief in Laos during key years of the Vietnam War stated: �It is very appropriate and fitting that this ceremony of honor and remembrance should be taking place at the Arlington National Cemetery, and in the shadow of the Vietnam Memorial, on soil that is sacred to all Americans. It is also fitting that the granite monument, the placard and the tree honoring the Lao and Hmong veterans and their American comrades-in-arms should be situated close to the eternal flame burning in memory of President John F. Kennedy. It was under the authority of President Kennedy that our clandestine support to General Vang Pao and the Hmong irregular fighters began, and which continued until the ceasefire in 1973. I want to assure you that many of us on the American side who were your comrades-in-arms during those turbulent years will not forget the contribution of the Lao and Hmong soldiers to back up the American effort in South Vietnam.
Mr. Tovar continue: In northern Laos alone the Hmong forces fought two first-class North Vietnamese Army divisions to a standstill. In south Laos the Lao irregulars tied up a third NVA division during years of fierce fighting. It should not be forgotten that after the ceasefire of 1973 those powerful North Vietnamese forces were freed to return to South Vietnasm , where they became key elements of the NVA onslaught which finally overpowered South Vietnam. This is clear testimony to the importance of the contribution which the peoples of Laos made to the cause of freedom in Southeast Asia, a cause which in those years we believed to be vital to the security of the United States.
�It is proper that the Lao Veterans of America continue to uphold a proud history and an honorable past. In the history of American arms, this country has enjoyed few allies of the lasting courage and loyalty of the Laotian Hmong,� stated former U.S. Ambassador H. Eugene Douglas who served as United States Coordinator for Refugee Affairs (1980 � 1985 ) during the Reagan Administration.
Ambassador Douglas continued: �The past has been hard. Far too many of you have known bitter suffering and loss. Yet, you continue to believe that the future will be better. It will be. We must make it so in memory of past sacrifice and in recognition of justice and our shared ideals.�
Schuyler Merritt, Research Director for the Center for Public Policy Analysis stated: �Today, we remember the sacrifice of the Lao and Hmong who helped defend United States military interests in Laos during the Vietnam War. For 15 years, the Hmong were the eyes, ears, and fist of American military action in Laos. In 1975, the Hmong stopped representing the personification of defense and became �enemies of the states� as communist forces rolled through the Laotian countryside and took the nation by force. Thirty-three years ago, many Lao and Hmong veterans and their families become refugees and their exodus from Laos began.�
International human rights Attorney John W. Barnum. and former Deputy Secretary of Transportation(1974-77) will address the ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Memorial. In the1980s and 90's, Barnum, then a partner of White & Case represented pro bono human rights work for the Lao and Hmong people in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt will also serve as one of the keynote speakers at the events in Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam Memorial. She is a distinguished Southeast Asian scholar, writer and author, specializing in the country of Laos and Hmong people. She is the author of the highly acclaimed historical book on the plight of the Hmong, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos (Indiana University Press). Dr. Hamilton-Merritt is a former Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. She was nominated for her human rights and humanitarian work on behalf the Lao and Hmong people. She has frequently testified in the U.S. Congress on the plight of the Lao and Hmong people
Ambassador James Lilley, former U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1989-1991 and to the Republic of Korea from 1986-1989,and author of several books, including his most recent China Hands, will join Hmong and Lao veterans who will assemble in Washington this week for those who served in the Lao theater of the Vietnam War.
The events are cosponsored by the Lao Veterans of America Institute, the Lao Veterans of America, Inc., Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA),Counterparts Military Advisors Association, Arlington National Cemetery and others.
Contact:
Ms. Anna Jones or Mr. Philip Smith
Center for Public Policy Analysis
(202) 543-1444 Fax (202) 207-9871
e-mail: info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
--
Contact:
Ms. Anna Jones or Mr. Philip Smith
Center for Public Policy Analysis
2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite #212
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 543-1444 Fax (202) 207-9871
e-mail: info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
research@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org