Cherzong Vang (April 13, 1943 – November 10, 2012) was an American community leader from

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. He was an elder of the

Hmong people The Hmong people ( RPA: ''Hmoob'', Nyiakeng Puachue: , Pahawh Hmong: , ) are a sub-ethnic group of the Miao people who originated from Central China. The modern Hmongs presently reside mainly in Southwest China ( Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, C ...

in Laos and the Lao-American community in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

of the United States. Cherzong worked with students, including many Hmong-American students, in the St. Paul, Minnesota school system, whose parents came to the United States in the 1970s, 80s and 90s as political

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

fleeing

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

by the

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The gro ...

government in Laos.

Life and career

Born on April 13, 1943, in

Xiangkhouang Province Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily bombed place on Earth. The province ...

, Laos, Cherzong Vang was one of the first Hmong educators in Laos, and the United States, and served in the U.S. "Secret Army" and

Royal Lao Army The Royal Lao Army (french: Armée royale du Laos – ARL), also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the Land Component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasi ...

in the

Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

during the Vietnam War. He eventually received a master's degree and PhD in the United States. Vang spoke Hmong, Lao, and English. Vang served as the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Chapter President of the

Lao Veterans of America The Lao Veterans of America, Inc., describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental, veterans organization that represents Lao- and Hmong-American veterans who served in the U.S. clandestine war in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vie ...

from 1991 until 2003. He was a veterans of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in Laos during the

North Vietnamese invasion of Laos North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF (th ...

. Vang died on November 10, 2012, in

Hmong Veterans Citizenship Act

Cherzong Vang, along with his brother Colonel Wangyee Vang, was one of the first Hmong advocates for the introduction of the

Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 The Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 is &Se legislation which granted Hmong and ethnic Laotian veterans, who were legal refugee aliens in the US (political refugees, facing political persecution, ethnic cleansing, human rights violation ...

which was eventually passed by the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

in 2000 and signed into law by U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

. The legislation granted honorary U.S. citizenship to tens of thousands of Lao- and Hmong-American veterans of the U.S. "Secret Army" in Laos. He participated in the founding of the Laos Memorial and its dedication at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on May 14–15, 1997, in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.

Arlington National Cemetery Veterans Memorial

Cherzong Vang's life was memorialized at a special veterans' memorial ceremony held at Arlington National Cemetery by Lao- and Hmong-American veterans, and their American advisors, in May 2013 in Arlington, Virginia.Businesswire, Businesswire.com, Washington, D.C., (12 May 2013) "Laos, Hmong Veterans of Vietnam War Honored At National Ceremonies" http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130512005048/en/Laos-Hmong-Veterans-Vietnam-War-Honored-National#.VJH8IHvIev8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vang, Cherzong Hmong people 1943 births 2012 deaths People from Xiangkhouang province Laotian emigrants to the United States American people of Hmong descent American community activists People from Saint Paul, Minnesota

Life and career

Hmong Veterans Citizenship Act

Arlington National Cemetery Veterans Memorial

See also

References