3-Day Funeral for Pfc. Kham Xiong

3-Day Funeral for Pfc. Kham Xiong
St. Paul soldier killed in Fort Hood shootings

Published : Tuesday, 10 Nov 2009, 2:53 PM CST

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. - Arrangements have been made for a traditional, three-day Hmong funeral for Pfc. Kham Xiong of St. Paul who was among 13 people killed in the Fort Hood Army Base shootings.

The funeral service for Xiong will start at Legacy Funeral Home's Maplewood chapel starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28. The service will run through the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 30. Xiong will then be buried with military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

"Pfc. Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child," President Barack Obama said during a memorial service at Fort Hood on Tuesday. "He was the husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service. He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan."

Xiong, 23, was married, with three young children. He was at Fort Hood preparing for a January deployment to Afghanistan.

“He died for no reason,” said his father, Chor Xiong. Added Xiong’s sister, Mee, “This is our first time losing someone close in our family. It’s really hard. I can’t explain it. It hurts, it hurts a lot.”

His family says Kham Xiong was always the one who brought smiles to the faces of those close to him. He had three children, all under five years old. According to loved one’s, Xiong was waiting in line for his vaccinations at Fort Hood when gunfire erupted.

The shootings at Fort Hood began at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, when the Army said suspected shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan entered the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center and Howze Theater and opened fire using two handguns.

Source