Mrs. Song Ly
Wife of Dr. Kou Bliaxa Vang &
Secret War Survivor
Lake Elmo, MN
File No.: 36/50
June 2024

Song Ly comes from a family with a strong military background. Her male relatives served for the French during its occupation of Laos and then as Special Guerrilla Units soldiers for the CIA’s secret army. Ly always had an interest in business, and she started a booth at Long Cheng market selling goods. Also, she witnessed the tragedies the war had on the people, especially with the dead soldiers whose bodies were brought back from the battlefield to Long Cheng everyday. She married Kou Bliaxa Vang in 1972 and a year later welcomed their first child. On May 14, 1975, Ly and her child were separated from her husband when they got on the last aircraft that was evacuating high ranking Hmong officers and their families out of Long Cheng. Vang was still working as the air traffic controller for the last flights coming and leaving Long Cheng and did not make it on time. Within a month, they were reunited at the Nam Phong Refugee Camp in Thailand. They came to the US in 1976, and she found various occupations to help support her family in her new homeland. ∆

*** 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.