Reassessing War

Chapter 9 presents interviewees’ reflections as they reassess the war and its impact. The interviewees explore the unintended consequences of the Hmong’s entanglement with the CIA during the US war in Southeast Asia. They measure the losses and upheavals of the war against an appreciation of the subsequent opportunities that came with resettlement in the United States. They revisit betrayals and resentments and express gratitude and pride. Their recollections consist of contradictory viewpoints and perspectives as they struggle to make sense of the war and its enduring legacy. Additionally, the chapter addresses their competing memories and varied truths as narrators.

Learning to Fly

Once selected for pilot training, most participants entered the CIA’s covert Project Water Pump with much excitement, but chapter 3 reveals that they subsequently went through a tumultuous process. Surviving pilots identified internal and external factors that influenced how well they progressed through the aviation program. Academic background helped some to perform well in ground school, especially in learning English. Their narratives, however, suggest that academic abilities alone did not determine who would succeed in learning to fly. Physical and mental health conditions often impacted their training experiences. Surviving pilots describe the obstacles they confronted when interacting with instructors and recall that trainees and instructors generally did not socialize together because of language barriers, as well as a culture of Americans and Lao regarding Hmong as inferior. Instructor pilot narratives unveiled an unorthodox training program that required flexibility from all involved.

Starting Over

The difficulties of starting over in a new country are discussed in chapter 8. Former pilots and their families describe their departure from Southeast Asia: filling out the paperwork required for departure, making the long journey to the United States, and settling in to their new homes. They were assisted by sponsors and provided with jobs in situations that were sometimes successful and sometimes not. Many faced language barriers and isolation. Some of the Hmong refugees have remained in the state where they were originally sponsored. Others have moved to new places, or from place to place, to rejoin family or find better jobs or live in more agreeable climates. The transition from having a financially comfortable life as a revered pilot to being a displaced person working in a blue-collar job was difficult for some. Most put their wartime experiences behind them and quietly settled throughout the United States.

The Origin of Hmong Entanglement in the Vietnam War

Chapter 1 explores how the United States moved in to Indochina to replace the French following the latter’s defeat in 1954, which resulted in those who collaborated with Americans becoming dependent on US military and humanitarian aid from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. The chapter illustrates calculated decisions by American policy makers to continue colonial policies to divide and conquer their subjects, which enabled decisions made at the highest level to promote the use of ethnic minorities in counterinsurgency operations. Such decisions were precisely what facilitated Hmong men’s participation in the covert Project Water Pump that trained Lao fighter pilots. The chapter further explains how CIA officers circumvented resistance from ethnic Lao military leaders and American officials to establish an air operation in the region under Hmong military leadership.

Escape

Chapter 7 explores the chaotic air evacuation from Long Cheng to Udorn air base in Thailand in early May 1975, in which throngs of Hmong fought to get on planes intended for Hmong military leadership and some selected others. It describes the subsequent flight of thousands more Hmong who were not fortunate enough to gain exit in the airlift; those left behind feared retribution from the communist Pathet Lao regime for having aligned with the United States. The chapter discusses refugee life in Thai camps such as Ban Vinai and the difficult decisions that escapees had to make about resettling elsewhere, since they could not remain in the camps permanently. Some refugees describe the process of finding sponsors for their resettlement in the United States, and a prisoner of war tells how decreased surveillance enabled him to slip away and cross the Mekong River to freedom.

Grief and Remembrance

In chapter 6, family and friends of the Hmong pilots who flew missions for the CIA during the Secret War in Laos remember those killed in action or deceased. Given the limited knowledge that people have about the men involved in this air operation, loved ones and colleagues reflect about what their sacrifices meant then and now. They recall how they found out about the deaths of their loved ones who were shot down or died in aviation accidents. The emotional recollections of family members are presented throughout the chapter. The narratives of grief and remembrance reveal ongoing suffering decades later, even as these friends and surviving family members have established successful lives in the United States.

Widowhood

Chapter 5 reveals that pilots’ salaries greatly improved their families’ livelihoods. Following the death of a pilot, however, his widow and children confronted significant challenges. Widows revealed when they were young women, corrupt military officers and in-laws often denied them full death benefits. The women shared heartfelt memories of their husbands and talked about the moment when they learned about their husbands’ deaths. Some of the pilots were killed in action, whereas others died in aviation accidents of various causes. Regardless of the circumstances by which they had become widows, the wives were filled with conflicting sentiments about the losses and suffering caused by the Secret War. For many, the wounds remain and time has not eased their pain.

Long Cheng Air

Chapter 4 details Hmong experiences in combat aviation in the Secret War. It examines the dangerous flying conditions they faced in northern Laos, where, in addition to enemy antiaircraft artillery, freak accidents claimed the lives of some pilots. Poor quality aircraft, a hazardous runway, problematic leadership at all levels, and varied skills resulted in low chances for survival for Hmong pilots. Because of their close proximity to enemy territories, pilots on active duty from 1968 to 1972 were forced to participate in combat missions daily. The chapter also presents the many problems that unfolded in the CIA’s secret city, Long Cheng. Whereas American airmen came and went on tours of duty, Hmong pilots flew until they were either killed in action or injured. Either outcome harmed their families. Injured pilots were no longer considered useful, resulting in military leaders cutting them off financially and socially.

Conclusion

People who experienced the war in Laos have differed in the ways they have attempted to make sense of the conflict and their postwar lives. The conclusion describes the contested and contradictory ways that Hmong individuals and groups formally remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who survived; one important memorial to the legacy of the Hmong T-28 pilots was established at the Aviation Heritage Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. When the Hmong people went into exile, they thought they were seeking temporary refuge. What unfolded became permanent displacement from their homeland. The conclusion ends with a discussion of Hmong American cultural productions that continue to make reference to the transformative war years.

The Road to Pilot Training

Existing literature persistently refers to Hmong people in the 1960s as “illiterate.” Chapter 2 presents surviving pilots’ life experiences before they entered the Project Water Pump training program. The complex path that each took to secure a spot on the training roster was influenced by their family backgrounds, education levels, and work experiences. Some made their own decisions while others were thrust into service as a result of their social relations with military leaders. Their pretraining experiences reveal that it was their ability to read and write that enabled the several dozen individuals to participate in aviation training. Most were single young men looking for opportunities to improve their socioeconomic status. Some were married men who had been soldiers. The harsh conditions on the front line motivated them to seek what they thought were better working conditions.