Lt. Ya P. Lee
SGU Veteran
Big Lake, MN
File No: 27/50
March 2024

Ya P. Lee was born in 1953 in Xieng Khouang, Laos. In 1960, a coup d’état started in Vientiane and spreaded to his hometown. This caused a stir, and his family relocated to Pha Khao. Lee eventually left for Vientiane to go to school. He also studied English. In the final years of the war, there was a need for more Hmong bomber pilots to support ground troops at the frontline. Towards the end of 1970, Lee was recruited and qualified for the T-28 pilot training program in Thailand. Despite his motion sickness in the air, Lee finally excelled and earned top rank among his class. When he returned to Long Cheng, he flew more than 20 missions, bombing North Vietnamese Army and Pathet Lao targets before the war ended in 1975. Lee knew he would face imminent danger if he stayed in Laos. He and his family left their homeland for the refugee camp in Thailand. In March 1976, they immigrated to the US. They resettled in Mississippi where Lee started working for General Motors. Lee retired in 2011 and now resides in Minnesota with his family. ∆

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