Captain Richard Neng Vang Collection
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Captain Richard Neng Vang in his words: ”I am Captain Richard Neng Vang. I was born in 1950 in the remote village of Nam Tha, Mouang Ngat, Laos, to Tong Seng Vang and Mai Hang. My parents cultivated the land to grow crops and raised livestock for a living. As a kid, I did not go to school because there was no school near our village.

“In the early 1960s, the fighting in the Secret War was reaching our village. Soldiers began to die. Some families had moved south. We went west. In our new village, I attended school for a short period. This was in 1965. By this time, Hmong men were desperately needed at the frontline to counter the communists Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese Army from conquering Laos. I still had a choice between going to school or join the army. I joined the CIA’s Secret Army, Special Guerrilla Units. I was assigned the SGU No. 296292.

“I started out as a radio operator. In 1967, I was headed to Long Tieng for radio and communication training. In the next four years, I was constantly deployed to the frontline. In 1971, I was promoted as 2nd Lieutenant and was transferred to Company 3, Battalion 228B. My uncle commanded this battalion. We were in charge of security at General Vang Pao’s residence. Several times we prevented and killed NVA commandoes from entering the General’s properties. I was promoted to Captain.

“As a soldier, I also continued my education in leadership, military, and government affairs. Before Laos collapsed into communist hand in May 1975, I was appointed as the acting chao mouang (mayor) for the village of Pha Khe.

“This Secret War was awful. I loss many friends. When the war concluded, my family and I left for Thailand. We stayed at the refugee camp Ban Vinai for several years. In 1979, we journeyed out of the refugee camp to America. I landed in Texas. Then my family and I moved to Minneapolis, Minn.

“Life was difficult at first in my new homeland [Minnesota]. With the opportunities provided me, I went to college, earned a degree, and became a successful business owner. My Hmong people have survived through decades of hardship, so I tried to support my community as much as I can, even to today.”

Captain Vang passed away peacefully in 2022.

St. Paul, MN
2023