Name: Lt. Nhia Tou Pha or known as Koua Pha 
Birthday: June 15, 1945
Birth Place: City of Pha Pheng, Xieng Khouang Province, Laos

Lt. Nhia Tou Pha was recruited by the United States CIA during the Secret War in Laos from 1961 to 1975. He became a soldier at the age of thirteen years old and served in Unit 106, GM 23. In 1975, when the United States retreated from the Secret War in Southeast Asia, Lt. Pha was promoted to a Lieutenant rank and received three stars in recognition for his service. However, the war in Laos did not end for the remaining soldiers. Lt. Pha married to Lia Yang, daughter of Nhia Tang Yang and Mai Lee. They have five children together which forced Lt. Pha to go into hiding. Along with many other challenges, Lt. Pha and his wife lost two sons, and one daughter while escaping to the jungle of Laos to find a safer place to call home, from 1975 to 1981. He lived there with his wife and three young children and was categorized as Chao Fa which is known as people who do not surrender and who fight for their freedom. For six years, he fought for freedom from slavery and the death penalty from the jungle of Laos. 

In 1981, Lt. Pha moved his family to Thailand and they became refugees in Ban Vinai Camp. He welcomed another son and daughter to his family while residing in the camp until it closed. When the camp closed, in 1993 Lt. Pha and his family were sponsored to the United States and lived in San Diego, California. As of 2020, Lt. Pha resides in Saint Paul, MN with his family and has twenty-seven grandchildren.

Source: Family biography, 2023