A Picture from History: The Hmong and the Secret War
In this Picture from History, we take a look at the Hmong and their efforts to fight communism during the Vietnam War.
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The year was 1964, and the Vietnam War raged.
Eisenhower’s domino theory drastically influenced American policy in Asia, with the belief that if smaller nations around Vietnam were permitted to fall to communism, then all of Asia would soon follow.
With this policy in mind, America shifted its focus to Laos.
Next Door Neighbors
Neighboring Vietnam is Laos, a country that the North Vietnamese used as a land bridge to ship communist insurgents and supplies into South Vietnam.
If these resupply lines could be stopped, not only would it keep communists out of essential gear, but fewer American men would be getting shot at.
So the key to stopping the threat — mobilize the people in the mountains of Laos.
A Secret War
The Hmong people had long been persecuted.
Accused of being “collaborators” with the West, communists took every chance they could to kidnap, torture, rape, and murder the Hmong wherever they found them.
Knowing there was a natural animosity between the groups, the CIA began Project Momentum — a secret plan to train and equip the Hmong people to fight.
The plan was a wild success, with approximately 18,000 fighters trained to destroy resupply trains throughout the region.
One Hmong man, Vang Pao, showed incredible promise throughout the region, leading effective attacks against communists everywhere he went.
The Exit
But then America pulled out of Vietnam.
Left without American money, training, and arms, the Hmong gradually whittled away to nothing.
Many fled their homes to seek asylum in the United States, while others retreated to the jungles to continue to wage war.
These brave men saved thousands of our fathers and grandfathers from death in the jungles of Vietnam — yet they were left alone.
But stacked against the military might of the North Vietnamese, the Pathet Lao army, and the Chinese, the Hmong gradually were ground down to nothing.
The survivors ceased their warfare against the communists and began a life of “bugging out,” doing the best they could to live off of the land while in hiding.
The Purge
When communists officially took over the country, a genocidal policy was incorporated against the Hmong people.
Communist-backed newspapers throughout the country began to advertise that the Hmong would be “exterminated to the last root.” And that’s exactly what happened.
Mao Zedong’s policies of terror were the rulebook by which Laos began to operate.
The Hmong ran and ran…and ran.
They hid where they could, but the soldiers were too many, and the technology employed against them improved more and more.
However, many of them still live in hiding in the jungles of Laos today. But despite the war being long over, they are still being slaughtered.
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