The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL WANGYEE VANG
______
HON. JIM COSTA
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Lieutenant Colonel Wangyee Vang. Wangyee passed away on January 18, 2021 after many years of service as a Hmong-Laotian and American community leader. Wangyee was a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a friend.
Wangyee was born on November 8, 1947 in Ban Phousabot, Tasseng Phouasabot, Muangkham, Province of Xiengkhouang, Laos. In December of 1960, Wangyee was summoned in the army and sent to Hua Hin, Thailand for training as a field radio operator and parachutist. In January 1963, he was released from the army where he continued to further his education to become a teacher. From 1969 to 1970 Wangyee taught math and science at Samthong College. Later in the summer of 1970, Wangyee was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Defense as Captain for the Special Guerilla Force. He was appointed as the officer liaison and operation assistant with the American Special Officers, received leadership training, and graduated from the Lao National Army Staff School in Vientiane, Laos in 1972.
Wangyee received the Medal of Honor for excellent citizenship from the Majesty of King of Lao, Sri Savang Vathana. In 1973, he returned to the Second Military Region. He transitioned to Major General Yang Pao's team and was appointed as Chief of Personnel Bureau of the First Strike Division Infantry. A year later, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by King Vathana and awarded the Medal of Honor for courage and nominated as the Chief of Staff for the military's Second Brigade Infantry.
After the fall of Laos in 1975, Wangyee and his family left to Nam Phong, Thailand for refuge. Wangyee saw a need to become an advocate for his people and became the Hmong Refugee Representative from l977 to 1979. His top priorities were food, medical care, better living conditions and education. He was responsible for the communication with the United Nations and the United States. His advocacy helped lead the United States to begin accepting 25,000 refugees a year starting in 1978.
In 1979, Wangyee and his family left for political refuge in the United States and settled in Huntington Beach, California, then moved to Fresno, California in 1989, where he established the Lao Veterans of America. His many accomplishments include the establishment of the Lao Veterans Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery to honor Hmong and Lao veterans and their American advisors who served in defense of the Kingdom of Laos and U.S. National Security interests during the Vietnam War, and his advocacy of the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000.
In the Central Valley, Wangyee was instrumental in the establishment of the Lao Hmong American War Memorial at the Fresno Superior Court. From 2000 to 2008, he was the ``Volunteer Expert Team'' for former Fresno Mayor Alan Autry. From 2005 to 2012, he was appointed by the Govenor of California to be on the Board of Directors for the 21st District Agriculture of Fresno and the Big Fresno Fair.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of Lieutenant Colonel Wangyee Vang. Wangyee was a symbol of hard work, dedication and commitment. His influence will live on in the Lao and Hmong community for years to come.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 114
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