Mr. Sao Ger Xiong
SGU Veteran
St. Paul, MN
File No.: 28/50
May 2024

In the early 1940s, Sao Ger Xiong’s family were looking for rich soils in Northern Laos to relocate and farm. They heard from relatives in Fi Koua, Vietnam about the abundance of land available for cultivation. They moved to Fi Koua and Sao Ger was born there in 1947. Vietnam was unstable at the time and their family moved back to Laos. In 1962, he began school at the newly built USAID-operated medical center in Sam Thong for treating wounded soldiers from Military Region 2. He worked as a secretary for battalion commander Chong Koua and cleaned hospital rooms for extra income. In 1965, he began training as a military medic, which became his primary role until the Secret War concluded in 1975. He and his family escaped to live in the jungle of Laos to prevent him from being imprisoned as a CIA footsoldier. In October 1979, Sao Ger’s family along with 250 Hmong risked their lives by crossing the Mekong River into Thailand. Sao Ger and family immigrated to Fresno, California, before relocating to Minnesota to be with their family members. ∆

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