Mr. Boua Vang Xiong
SGU Veteran
St. Paul, MN
File No.: 48/50
August 2024

Boua Vang Xiong was born in Pa Kha, Xieng Khouang Province, Laos in 1943. Xiong attended school as the Secret War was taking place. He was recruited in 1972 as a Special Guerrilla Units soldier and sent to a 3-month military training in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Upon his return to Long Cheng, he and his battalion were sent to the battlefield in Som Ha Mung Kern, near the Plain of Jars. The enemy had set up camp there and was increasing its troop sizes to confront the SGU. They suffered heavy casualties, including Xiong’s uncle who was killed as they retreated. From 1973 to 1979, he continued the fight against the communist forces (even after the war concluded in 1975). Troubled by the newly installed communist Pathet Lao’s plan to get rid of US-backed SGU soldiers, he and his brother escaped into Thailand in May 1979, leaving their parents behind. In 1980, Xiong immigrated to Minnesota from the refugee camp in Thailand. His first job was in the cleaning industry that paid $3.25 an hour. ∆

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