Vang Pao was a major general in the Royal Lao Army and later a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.
Vang in 2004
Programs Evaluation Office (PEO) adviser Jack F. Mathews with then Major Vang Pao, commander of the 10éme Bataillon de Infanterie (10 BI), at Nong Net, July 1960.
The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theater during the Vietnam War with
Vang Pao
…in the Royal Lao Army, and he was loyal to the King of Laos while remaining a champion of the Hmong people. During the 1960s/70s, he commanded the Secret Army, also known as the Hmong Army, a highly effective Central Intelligence Agency-trained and supported force that fought against the Pathet Lao and People's…
Pathet Lao's Laotian People's Liberation Army (LPLA) Anti-aircraft artillery crew, 1967.
Pathet Lao's LPLA guerrillas assemble at Sam Neua, April 1953.
The Geneva Conference of 1954
The Ho Chi Minh trail was used by both the North Vietnamese military and Laotian people from the very beginning. Captured North Vietnamese photo, c.1959.