Who did more in trying to protect Laos during the Vietnam War, the Lao or Hmong?
Who did more in trying to protect Laos during the Vietnam War, the Lao or Hmong?
I have always wondered this. Whenever I learn about the Vietnam war in school, I only hear about the Hmong and not the Lao. Did the Hmong do more to try and protect the Kingdom of Laos than the Lao themselves?
The Hmong were considered "savages" by both the Vietnamese (both North and South) and the lowland Lao (who are ethnically Thai). Before the French occupied Indochina in the mid 19th century the Hmong were often attacked with no reason by their lowland neighbors and were not allowed to live in peace. The French put a stop to these attacks, and Hmong were just as happy to have them as colonial occupiers.
When the French pulled out the Hmong found themselves under pressure form the ethnic Lao and Vietnamese again. Then the American showed up on the scene. The Hmong saw them as a replacement for the French, and made an alliance with the Americans. In turn the Americans gave the Hmong modern weapons with which they could defend themselves and trained their young men how to effectively use these weapons.
When American advisers were pulled out of Laos in 1963 or 64 (I don't remember the exact date off the top of my head), the Americans (through the CIA) kept their contacts with the Hmong in Laos. About the same time JFK deployed the Green Berets to South Vietnam where they made the same kinds of contacts and arrangements with the Hmong living in the central highlands of South Vietnam.
In Laos the Ho Chi Mihn Trail ran through the heart of the the lands occupied by the Hmong. The use of the so-called "neutral" Laos broke the treaty signed to remove the American presence. The CIA continued to supply the Hmong with weapons and advisers (often retired or undercover Special Forces troops) to put military pressure on the NVA troops guarding their supply route up the Ho Chi Mihn Trail.
It is my feeling that the Hmong actually did more fighting in Laos then the lowland Laos during the course of the war in Vietnam.
Lao National Anthem (Kingdom of Laos, 1947 - 1975)
kingdom of laos
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