Remembering a 'Secret War'

About 60 Hmong-American veterans attended a news conference in St. Paul on Friday on the eve of their trip to Washington, D.C., to mark the 20th anniversary of the Lao Veterans of America Monument. Nao Yang Lee, above, and Ying Yang, at right, were among the veterans who discussed their leadership of and participation in the national events. Activities include Department of Defense and congressional wreath-laying and memorial ceremonies at the Laos Memorial, a granite monument and cedar tree near the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The veterans also planned to travel to Capitol Hill and to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial during their trip. They are survivors of the CIA’s Secret War in Laos, recruited to help find fallen U.S. pilots and hold back North Vietnamese troops operating in Laos. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)