Dr. Kou Bliaxa Vang
SGU Veteran & Retired LTC in the USAF
Lake Elmo, MN
File No.: 35/50
June 2024

Kou Bliaxa Vang was born in 1955 in the village of Ban Nam Mu, Laos. At age 15, he was recruited as a soldier for the CIA’s clandestine army. He and his group were sent to gather intelligence and be the “eyes and ears for the CIA” on the North Vietnamese Army movements near the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His group was captured and imprisoned, but managed to escape in 15 days. Then Vang was assigned to work as an air traffic controller for the CIA airbase Long Cheng until it fell into the communist hands in 1975. He was still working as his family and parents were evacuated by plane to Thailand. Within days, Vang left Long Cheng to Vientiane in fear of being captured and to find an escape route to Thailand. By June, he was reunited with his family at the Nam Phong Refugee Center in Thailand. At the start of 1976, he and his immediate family departed to the US. Within 11 days of his arrival, he was placed on employment that paid $2.50 an hour. Today, Vang is a dentist and a retired Lt. Colonel from the MN National Guard.  ∆

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