2003 Assembly Joint Resolution 32
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: declaring May 14 Hmong-Lao Appreciation Day.
Whereas, the Hmong-Lao, once an agrarian community from the mountainous regions of northern Laos, were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to fight for American interests, and thousands of Hmong-Lao men and young boys fought bravely alongside Americans; and
Whereas, the primary missions of the Hmong-Lao were to rescue downed American pilots, gather intelligence, safeguard U.S. radar installations, and conduct both guerrilla and conventional combat; and
Whereas, when Americans withdrew from Vietnam in the early 1970s, the Hmong-Lao were left to face the vengeance of the communist Lao and Vietnamese governments, who sought to destroy Hmong-Lao in retaliation for their support of the United States; and
Whereas, many Hmong-Lao fled Laos to live in refugee camps in Thailand and then settled in the United States and other countries, of which more than 250,000 are living in the United States; and
Whereas, General Vang Pao and other Hmong-Lao soldiers and people in Laos first fled Laos on May 14, 1975, to Thailand and then resettled in the United States and other countries. There are estimated to be 500,000 Hmong and Lao Americans in the United States in 2002. These numbers include the refugees who came from Laos and Thailand and the subsequent children born to these refugees in the United States in the last 26 years; and
Whereas, the U.S. government and Hmong and Lao soldiers and people worked together to defend peace, security, freedom, and democracy for the United States and the rest of the free world during the Vietnam War; and
Whereas, after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong and Lao soldiers were arrested, imprisoned, and killed by the communist Lao and Vietnamese governments; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature declare May 14 "Hmong-Lao Appreciation Day" for their heroic contributions on behalf of the United States during the Vietnam War.
