Nhia Ge Vang was born in Xieng Khouang, Laos, in 1940. He briefly attended elementary school. When the Secret War broke out, he was among the first group of soldiers who went to Padong military base to be armed and trained in guerrilla warfare. As the war waged on, he worked in the department that distributed food to the soldiers at the frontline. When the war ended in May of 1975, they resettled into a village that was controlled by the communist forces. Their lives were scrutinized daily by communist troops, and they were ordered to learn the communist ways of life. Soon, they feared for the worse since they were former US allies. In 1979, Nhia Ge Vang along with about 1,000 Hmong escapees left Laos to Thailand. In 1980, he and his family immigrated to California. In 1990, they relocated to Minnesota for better job opportunities.