Hmong, Laos Scholar, Author Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt's Remarks Honoring Kham Xiong
Monday, November 9, 2009
Southeast Asia scholar, journalist, author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt has issued a statement memorializing and honoring Pfc. Kham Xiong who was killed at the recent shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
Online PR News – 09-November-2009 – Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia and Ft. Hood, Texas, November 9, 2009
Southeast Asia scholar, journalist, author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt has issued a statement memorializing and honoring Pfc. Kham Xiong who was killed at the recent shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday attended by President Obama, the First Lady and Members of the U.S. Congress in memory of Pfc. Kham Xiong and the shooting victims. Dr. Hamilton-Merritt was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights, refugee and humanitarian work on behalf of the Hmong people in Laos and Thailand. Mr. Xiong was a Hmong refugee born in Thailand following the communist takeover in Laos and Hmong exodus at the end of the Vietnam War.
Private Kham Xiong and many of his family were natives of Minnesota's Twin Cities where there are large Lao Hmong communities in both St. Paul and Minneapolis.
"Kham Xiong joined a long line of Hmong who have chosen to serve U.S. interests," said Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, author of "Tragic Mountains: the Hmong, The Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos" (Indiana University Press).
"Kham Xiong’s father fought in the U.S. secret war in the Lao theater of the Vietnam war. Hmong soldiers, fighting under the command of Hmong Gen Vang Pao, fought the North Vietnamese communists to a stand-still in northern Laos for almost a decade," said Hamilton-Merritt.
"Xiong’s father was fortunate in that he managed to escape the Lao and Vietnamese communist regimes that vowed revenge against those who fought against the North Vietnamese and their Lao supporters during the Vietnam War."
"I recall the words of one young Hmong soldier who helped rescue two wounded American pilots in Laos during the Vietnam War: 'We did everything we could to help the Americans. When the Americans were in trouble, we Hmong made a path with our blood to save them.'"
"This young Hmong American man was also willing to help as well; now he won’t," said Hamilton-Merritt.
"We now recognize that thousands more American names would be inscribed on our Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington if it had not been for the heroism and sacrifices of the Hmong soldiers who chose to ally themselves with the Americans during the Vietnam War," pointed out Hamilton-Merritt, who was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts on behalf of the Hmong soldiers and their families trapped in Laos after the communists took over in Laos.
"In times like this, we feel so powerless to give aid and comfort to the dead soldier’s family. Perhaps something that we could do would be to acknowledge Kham Xiong’s Hmong heritage and to understand the tragedy that brought him to this country," commented Hamilton-Merritt.
The Lao Veterans of America, Inc., Lao Veterans of America Institute, the Center for Public Policy Analysis and a coalition of Lao and Hmong organizations have joined Dr. Hamilton-Merritt in honoring Pfc. Kham Xiong for his service to the United States and U.S. Army.
http://www.tragicmountains.org
"Tragic Mountains: the Hmong, The Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos" (Indiana University Press)" is a pioneering history of the Lao Hmong veterans, and their refugee families, during the Vietnam War in Laos and its aftermath.
http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21032
Over the past year, the Lao Hmong veterans and community from across the United States have held ceremonies honoring Dr. Hamilton-Merritt and the 15th anniversary of the publication of her book. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=PEASI.story&STORY=/www/story/12-27-2008/0004947100&EDATE=SAT+Dec+27+2008,+04:52+PM
In May 1997, a monument was dedicated, for the first time, at annual National Lao Hmong Veterans Recogition Day ceremonies to honor Hmong and Lao veterans and their American advisers in Arlington National Cemetery by the Lao Veterans of America, Lao Veterans of America Institute, Counterparts Veterans Advisers Organization, Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, the Center for Public Policy Analysis and others.
The Lao Veterans of America is the nation’s largest Lao and Hmong veteran’s organization with chapters in Minnesota, California, Wisconsin and across the United States.
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