Pastor Sia Ge Kong
Lt., SGU Veteran
North St. Paul, MN
File No.: 17/50
May 2024

Sia Ge Kong was born in Laos in 1948. At the age of 13, he was recruited to join the CIA’s secret army, the Special Guerrilla Units. The first time he carried a carbine during training, the weapon’s weight forced him to sit down. As a soldier, he spent most of his time in combat and worked with American pilots, who flew for the CIA-contracted airline Air America, to drop munitions and supplies to those at the frontlines and remote civilian populations. Also, he studied to become a pastor. Kong met and married his wife, Der Yang, in the war zone. In Long Cheng, he also started a small business to support his family. When Laos collapsed into communist control in 1975, he and his family fled immediately to Thailand. In 1976, they came to the US as refugees and settled in Texas. He went to work for the military manufacturing company called Virginia that paid him $3.25 per hour while his wife was making $2.25 an hour in assembly labor. In 1979, Kong and his family moved to Minnesota to be near relatives and dedicating his life as a pastor to serving God. ∆

*** Video has been edited and modified, which the correspondence from the video may different from the transcription. Please review the transcription as needed to reflect video flow. English transcription for this interview is available upon request.