PAO KUE
Family, friends, comrades honor Hmong war veteran
By Neil Rhines Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC-Pao Kue of Manitowoc was 61 when he passed away last week; ironically, it was in 1961 that he began fighting for the United States in the Secret War in Laos.
More than 100 people form Manitowoc, the Twin Cities, Detroit, Illinois and other locals attended a wake for Kue on Friday at Pfeffer Funeral Home in Manitowoc. Mourners include his wife Sxia Vang, their 10 children, as well as Kue's brothers and former commander in the Secret War, Victor Hang.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the number of the Hmong army steadily grew in the early 1960s, soldiers in the Secret War. These fighters "acted as guerrillas, blowing up NVA (North Vietnamese Army) supply depots, ambushing trucks, mining roads, and generally harassing the stronger enemy force."
Kue's commander at the time of the incident, Hang said (through translator, Kue's brother, Ger) that it was during very heavy fighting near enemy territory in 1965 or 1966 when Kue lost half his leg. The information they carried: How to cut off the supply train to the Viet Cong. Two American and two Laotian jets laid down suppressive fire as a Kue was rescued on a helicopter.
Kue continued to serve, but not in battle. He, like his brother and fellow veteran "Yankee Station" Kue, and many others among the older men and women at the wake, spent - See VETERAN, A2
VETERAN From A1
years in refugee camps in Thailand, coming to America in the late 1970's.
"When you look at the older generations, you see their scars...it's more than what us young people can comprehend," said 24-year old Kue Kue, the couples oldest son. " I cannot imagine going through that now."
Kue, born in 1944, lived his first 35 years in a land of constant warfare. The French tried to tame the area, and failed, leaving in the mid-1950s; the Secret War, leading to the Vietnam war, followed shortly.
Another of the couple's sons, Leng, a 22-year old graduate of Lincoln High School and member of the U.S. Navy, said coming home helps him realize that there are always people who remember, but they don't always talk about it.
Kue fought for five years, but he kept most of those memories to himself, Leng said.
Younger Kue, a sushi chef at a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., said he did ask his father some questions of his experiences like, "were you sacred?"
"Yes," Kue said. "He was scared."
Kue said his father always dreamed about going back to Laos, a country he didn't leave on a whim.
Thirty years ago Saturday, the last, overloaded helicopter left the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, officially ending the Vietnam War. When the United States left Southeast Asia they left thousands of Hmong on their own to flee to Thailand, or stay and die at the hands of the Communist government.
Years later when America opened its doors, thousand took the opportunity for a better life and joined the great melting pot.
"Many don't understand," Kue said. "Our parents came here for a reason."
In honor of Kue, and his love of his native country, a casket from Laos was imported for the burial. Also, several pieces of traditional Hmong needlework were arranged inside and out of the casket.
"To help him on his journey," Kue said.
Manitowoc Herald Times, Sunday, May 1, 2005 P. 2
Family, friends, comrades honor Hmong war veteran
By Neil Rhines Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC-Pao Kue of Manitowoc was 61 when he passed away last week; ironically, it was in 1961 that he began fighting for the United States in the Secret War in Laos.
More than 100 people form Manitowoc, the Twin Cities, Detroit, Illinois and other locals attended a wake for Kue on Friday at Pfeffer Funeral Home in Manitowoc. Mourners include his wife Sxia Vang, their 10 children, as well as Kue's brothers and former commander in the Secret War, Victor Hang.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the number of the Hmong army steadily grew in the early 1960s, soldiers in the Secret War. These fighters "acted as guerrillas, blowing up NVA (North Vietnamese Army) supply depots, ambushing trucks, mining roads, and generally harassing the stronger enemy force."
Kue's commander at the time of the incident, Hang said (through translator, Kue's brother, Ger) that it was during very heavy fighting near enemy territory in 1965 or 1966 when Kue lost half his leg. The information they carried: How to cut off the supply train to the Viet Cong. Two American and two Laotian jets laid down suppressive fire as a Kue was rescued on a helicopter.
Kue continued to serve, but not in battle. He, like his brother and fellow veteran "Yankee Station" Kue, and many others among the older men and women at the wake, spent - See VETERAN, A2
VETERAN From A1
years in refugee camps in Thailand, coming to America in the late 1970's.
"When you look at the older generations, you see their scars...it's more than what us young people can comprehend," said 24-year old Kue Kue, the couples oldest son. " I cannot imagine going through that now."
Kue, born in 1944, lived his first 35 years in a land of constant warfare. The French tried to tame the area, and failed, leaving in the mid-1950s; the Secret War, leading to the Vietnam war, followed shortly.
Another of the couple's sons, Leng, a 22-year old graduate of Lincoln High School and member of the U.S. Navy, said coming home helps him realize that there are always people who remember, but they don't always talk about it.
Kue fought for five years, but he kept most of those memories to himself, Leng said.
Younger Kue, a sushi chef at a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., said he did ask his father some questions of his experiences like, "were you sacred?"
"Yes," Kue said. "He was scared."
Kue said his father always dreamed about going back to Laos, a country he didn't leave on a whim.
Thirty years ago Saturday, the last, overloaded helicopter left the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, officially ending the Vietnam War. When the United States left Southeast Asia they left thousands of Hmong on their own to flee to Thailand, or stay and die at the hands of the Communist government.
Years later when America opened its doors, thousand took the opportunity for a better life and joined the great melting pot.
"Many don't understand," Kue said. "Our parents came here for a reason."
In honor of Kue, and his love of his native country, a casket from Laos was imported for the burial. Also, several pieces of traditional Hmong needlework were arranged inside and out of the casket.
"To help him on his journey," Kue said.
Manitowoc Herald Times, Sunday, May 1, 2005 P. 2
PAO KUE
Family, friends, comrades honor Hmong war veteran
By Neil Rhines Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC-Pao Kue of Manitowoc was 61 when he passed away last week; ironically, it was in 1961 that he began fighting for the United States in the Secret War in Laos.
More than 100 people form Manitowoc, the Twin Cities, Detroit, Illinois and other locals attended a wake for Kue on Friday at Pfeffer Funeral Home in Manitowoc. Mourners include his wife Sxia Vang, their 10 children, as well as Kue's brothers and former commander in the Secret War, Victor Hang.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the number of the Hmong army steadily grew in the early 1960s, soldiers in the Secret War. These fighters "acted as guerrillas, blowing up NVA (North Vietnamese Army) supply depots, ambushing trucks, mining roads, and generally harassing the stronger enemy force."
Kue's commander at the time of the incident, Hang said (through translator, Kue's brother, Ger) that it was during very heavy fighting near enemy territory in 1965 or 1966 when Kue lost half his leg. The information they carried: How to cut off the supply train to the Viet Cong. Two American and two Laotian jets laid down suppressive fire as a Kue was rescued on a helicopter.
Kue continued to serve, but not in battle. He, like his brother and fellow veteran "Yankee Station" Kue, and many others among the older men and women at the wake, spent - See VETERAN, A2
VETERAN From A1
years in refugee camps in Thailand, coming to America in the late 1970's.
"When you look at the older generations, you see their scars...it's more than what us young people can comprehend," said 24-year old Kue Kue, the couples oldest son. " I cannot imagine going through that now."
Kue, born in 1944, lived his first 35 years in a land of constant warfare. The French tried to tame the area, and failed, leaving in the mid-1950s; the Secret War, leading to the Vietnam war, followed shortly.
Another of the couple's sons, Leng, a 22-year old graduate of Lincoln High School and member of the U.S. Navy, said coming home helps him realize that there are always people who remember, but they don't always talk about it.
Kue fought for five years, but he kept most of those memories to himself, Leng said.
Younger Kue, a sushi chef at a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., said he did ask his father some questions of his experiences like, "were you sacred?"
"Yes," Kue said. "He was scared."
Kue said his father always dreamed about going back to Laos, a country he didn't leave on a whim.
Thirty years ago Saturday, the last, overloaded helicopter left the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, officially ending the Vietnam War. When the United States left Southeast Asia they left thousands of Hmong on their own to flee to Thailand, or stay and die at the hands of the Communist government.
Years later when America opened its doors, thousand took the opportunity for a better life and joined the great melting pot.
"Many don't understand," Kue said. "Our parents came here for a reason."
In honor of Kue, and his love of his native country, a casket from Laos was imported for the burial. Also, several pieces of traditional Hmong needlework were arranged inside and out of the casket.
"To help him on his journey," Kue said.
Manitowoc Herald Times, Sunday, May 1, 2005 P. 2
Family, friends, comrades honor Hmong war veteran
By Neil Rhines Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC-Pao Kue of Manitowoc was 61 when he passed away last week; ironically, it was in 1961 that he began fighting for the United States in the Secret War in Laos.
More than 100 people form Manitowoc, the Twin Cities, Detroit, Illinois and other locals attended a wake for Kue on Friday at Pfeffer Funeral Home in Manitowoc. Mourners include his wife Sxia Vang, their 10 children, as well as Kue's brothers and former commander in the Secret War, Victor Hang.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the number of the Hmong army steadily grew in the early 1960s, soldiers in the Secret War. These fighters "acted as guerrillas, blowing up NVA (North Vietnamese Army) supply depots, ambushing trucks, mining roads, and generally harassing the stronger enemy force."
Kue's commander at the time of the incident, Hang said (through translator, Kue's brother, Ger) that it was during very heavy fighting near enemy territory in 1965 or 1966 when Kue lost half his leg. The information they carried: How to cut off the supply train to the Viet Cong. Two American and two Laotian jets laid down suppressive fire as a Kue was rescued on a helicopter.
Kue continued to serve, but not in battle. He, like his brother and fellow veteran "Yankee Station" Kue, and many others among the older men and women at the wake, spent - See VETERAN, A2
VETERAN From A1
years in refugee camps in Thailand, coming to America in the late 1970's.
"When you look at the older generations, you see their scars...it's more than what us young people can comprehend," said 24-year old Kue Kue, the couples oldest son. " I cannot imagine going through that now."
Kue, born in 1944, lived his first 35 years in a land of constant warfare. The French tried to tame the area, and failed, leaving in the mid-1950s; the Secret War, leading to the Vietnam war, followed shortly.
Another of the couple's sons, Leng, a 22-year old graduate of Lincoln High School and member of the U.S. Navy, said coming home helps him realize that there are always people who remember, but they don't always talk about it.
Kue fought for five years, but he kept most of those memories to himself, Leng said.
Younger Kue, a sushi chef at a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., said he did ask his father some questions of his experiences like, "were you sacred?"
"Yes," Kue said. "He was scared."
Kue said his father always dreamed about going back to Laos, a country he didn't leave on a whim.
Thirty years ago Saturday, the last, overloaded helicopter left the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, officially ending the Vietnam War. When the United States left Southeast Asia they left thousands of Hmong on their own to flee to Thailand, or stay and die at the hands of the Communist government.
Years later when America opened its doors, thousand took the opportunity for a better life and joined the great melting pot.
"Many don't understand," Kue said. "Our parents came here for a reason."
In honor of Kue, and his love of his native country, a casket from Laos was imported for the burial. Also, several pieces of traditional Hmong needlework were arranged inside and out of the casket.
"To help him on his journey," Kue said.
Manitowoc Herald Times, Sunday, May 1, 2005 P. 2
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