SJR18,1,52 Whereas, the Hmong-Lao, once an agrarian community from the mountainous
3regions of northern Laos, were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to fight
4for American interests, and thousands of Hmong-Lao men and young boys fought
5bravely alongside Americans; and

SJR18,1,86 Whereas, the primary missions of the Hmong-Lao were to rescue downed
7American pilots, gather intelligence, safeguard U.S. radar installations, and conduct
8both guerrilla and conventional combat; and

SJR18,1,129 Whereas, when Americans withdrew from Vietnam in the early 1970s, the
10Hmong-Lao were left to face the vengeance of the communist Lao and Vietnamese
11governments, who sought to destroy Hmong-Lao in retaliation for their support of
12the United States; and

SJR18,1,1513 Whereas, many Hmong-Lao fled Laos to live in refugee camps in Thailand and
14then settled in the United States and other countries, of which more than 250,000
15are living in the United States; and

SJR18,2,6

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1Whereas, General Vang Pao and other Hmong-Lao soldiers and people in Laos
2first fled Laos on May 14, 1975, to Thailand and then resettled in the United States
3and other countries. There are estimated to be 500,000 Hmong and Lao Americans
4in the United States in 2002. These numbers include the refugees who came from
5Laos and Thailand and the subsequent children born to these refugees in the United
6states in the last 26 years; and

SJR18,2,97 Whereas, the U.S. government and Hmong and Lao soldiers and people worked
8together to defend peace, security, freedom, and democracy for the United States and
9the rest of the free world during the Vietnam War; and

SJR18,2,1210 Whereas, after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong and Lao
11soldiers were arrested, imprisoned, and killed by the communist Lao and
12Vietnamese governments; now, therefore, be it