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My View

By John Zutz

It's time for Vietnam veterans to stand up for our brothers. Leadership is needed, and 'Nam vets, including VVAW, ought to provide it. The problem? In one word: Hmong.

In Milwaukee, a group of Vietnam veterans attempted to buy a brick to be placed at the Southeast Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial for a Hmong ex-colonel. To test existing restrictions, they requested it be placed in the "inner circle" alongside the bricks of other Vietnam veterans. That request was refused. The test exposed what the veterans expected.

In Sheboygan, a citizens' group has worked for over a year to erect a Hmong memorial slated for a park near existing Civil War and Spanish-American War memorials. At the last minute the VFW state junior vice commander (whose wife is a Sheboygan alderperson) along with the VFW state commander persuaded the city council to bog the action down in committees.

Many, including some veterans, seem eager to arbitrarily deny any recognition of the services provided, and sacrifices endured, by the Hmong during our war in Vietnam.

Before U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, the Hmong lived a family-based tribal life sustained by hunting and farming, similar to our Native Americans, in the mountains of Laos. The United States realized that the North Vietnamese were using Cambodia and Laos to infiltrate men and supplies into the South. At the time, it was politically unacceptable for the United States to put troops into those "neutral" countries, so the CIA secretly recruited the Hmong to act for us. The Hmong helped prevent that infiltration.

We overflew Laos daily with B-52s, cargo planes, fighters, and choppers. The Hmong rescued downed flyers. They fought for their own reasons. Just as we did.

They were trained and equipped by the United States, just as we were. They followed orders from the United States and were paid from the U.S. treasury, just as we were. Many lost parts of their bodies, or parts of their minds, just as we did.

Our government promised to remember them and take care of them, just as they promised us. They received a Vietnam Service Ribbon, just like the one we got, and then they were forgotten, just as we were. But the Hmong risked more than we did, and they lost so much more. Many lost family members, some lost whole families. Some lost whole villages. Over 40,000 lost their lives. All of those now in the United States lost their homeland. Congress recognized that sacrifice by giving those who fought a special medal.

More Hmong ended up in Wisconsin than in many other states, but their problems are nationwide.

Some efforts have been made, over the twenty-five years since the war ended, to repay our debt to the Hmong. U.W. Stout is working on a Hmong cultural center, and teaches Hmong classes. Wisconsin recently approved a Hmong veteran license plate. Congress has finally allowed Hmong immigrants to take citizenship tests in their native language. Still, twenty-five years after the war ended, the Hmong feel like outsiders. Considering the incidents cited above, it's easy to understand why.

It's time for Vietnam veterans to stand up as a positive force, and embrace our fellow veterans. Local chapters need to integrate with local Hmong groups, reinforcing each other and holding joint ceremonies. Individual veterans need to provide leadership and political leverage as necessary to reinforce this movement. Give a clear signal that we accept the Hmong as Vietnam veterans. Accept Hmong veterans as full members of veterans' groups. It's time to wish the Hmong "welcome home."