Lt. Yee Xiong
”Robin 7”
SGU Veteran
Cottage Grove, MN
File No.: 22/50
May 2024

Yee Xiong was born in Mouang Than, Laos in 1949. He attended schools as a teen.  However, their town was constantly being attacked and harassed by the North Vietnamese Army, forcing his family to move to Mouang Cha city. In 1965, he was sent to Vientiane to study and learn English. In 1969, he returned to Long Cheng to defend his country against the communist forces in the Secret War. Yee became a backseater and was assigned the codename “Robin 7” to fly with American pilots on bombing and rescuing missions in Laos. After the ceasefire agreement in 1973, he was transferred to work at the Airport Traffic Control Tower in Long Cheng. In May 1975, the war ended as the communist Pathet Lao Government took over the country. Feeling worried about the new regime because of his alliance with the Americans in the war, Yee and his wife left for Vientiane. Within weeks, they were able to cross to the Thai side. When they arrived in the US, they resettled in Chicago renting an apartment for $90 per month. Yee was working for a company that paid $2.50 an hour. In 1980, they moved to Wisconsin. With his interest and studies in aircrafts, Yee was hired as a commercial pilot for Sun Country Airline in 1990. Now he is retired and lives in Minnesota.

*** 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.