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Laos Hmong leader Vang Pao denied Arlington burial
BBC News ^ | 4 February 2011

Posted on 02/04/2011 8:38:33 PM PST by Racehorse

The US Army has rejected a request for ethnic Hmong leader Vang Pao to be buried with full military honours in Arlington National Cemetery.

Gen Pao led a 15-year CIA-sponsored secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War and, when it was lost, led tens of thousands of his people into exile.

He died last month. The army's decision came as mourners attended the first day of a six-day funeral in California.

Gen Pao's friends said they would appeal to the White House.

"Obviously to everyone who is here today to honour Gen Vang Pao, this is very disappointing," said Congressman Jim Costa, who led a group of lawmakers to lobby for the general to be buried alongside US soldiers in Arlington.

"He is not just a hero to the Hmong people. He is a hero to those American men and women who served with him in Vietnam."

A spokesman for the Pentagon, Gary Tallman, said the request had been thoroughly reviewed but that the board had unanimously decided he did not meet the criteria for burial in the cemetery.

Military veteran Charlie Waters, a friend of Gen Pao's, said he had been given "a lame excuse that it would take the place away from an American serviceman".

"So we're appealing to the White House," Mr Waters told AFP news agency, adding that he had offered to give up his own plot.

It was not immediately clear where Gen Pao would now be interred.

Vang Pao died at the age of 81 in January in Fresno, California, a centre of the Hmong expatriate community in the US.

Tens of thousands of military and Hmong mourners have gathered in the city for his traditional funeral.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: arlingtoncemetery; carter; cia; grantmcclure; hmong; jimmycarter; laos; laotheater; militaryvangpao; montagnards; secretarmy; secretwars; vangpao; vietnam; vietnamwar; wangyeevang; williamecolby
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1 posted on 02/04/2011 8:38:36 PM PST by Racehorse
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To: Racehorse

Slippery slope.


2 posted on 02/04/2011 8:42:11 PM PST by La Lydia
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To: Racehorse
Mr. Waters, I am afraid you have no appeal to the current occupants of the White House.

"Peace with Honor" [sarc tag implied]


Tens of thousands of military and Hmong mourners have gathered in the city for his traditional funeral.

Hey, here's a thought - go "Egypt" on the White Hut. Bring the funeral to DC. Gather on the Mall.

3 posted on 02/04/2011 8:43:57 PM PST by NonValueAdded (Palin 2012: don't retreat, just restock [chg'd to comply w/ The Civility in Discourse Act of 2011])
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To: Racehorse
To many commies in the federal government..
Gen. Pao must have killed lots and lots of their comrades..
4 posted on 02/04/2011 8:45:36 PM PST by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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To: La Lydia

Yes!!!


5 posted on 02/04/2011 8:46:53 PM PST by org.whodat
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To: Racehorse

The guy isn’t US military? So sorry.


6 posted on 02/04/2011 8:48:24 PM PST by PistolPaknMama
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To: Racehorse

They have room for Teddy Kennedy but not room for an actual hero.


7 posted on 02/04/2011 8:50:02 PM PST by Brad from Tennessee (A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)
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To: PistolPaknMama

I agree, Arlington should be reserved for only U.S. Military.


8 posted on 02/04/2011 8:57:08 PM PST by marine86297 (I'll never forgive Clinton for Somalia, my blood is on his hands)
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To: Racehorse
This guy did much more for this country than most of the politicians buried there.
9 posted on 02/04/2011 8:59:27 PM PST by montanajoe
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To: Racehorse
This guy did much more for this country than most of the politicians buried there.
10 posted on 02/04/2011 8:59:33 PM PST by montanajoe
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To: Racehorse
I think the General should have been interred at Arlington.What he gave to this country as an ally should not go unnoticed.Besides,our gubmint paved the way for the loss of his country to the communists.
11 posted on 02/04/2011 9:02:57 PM PST by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Great point. A point lost on all the anti-military folks. As someone that spent time working with the Hmong, these people were with us and yet were abandoned by us in the end ... sad.


12 posted on 02/04/2011 9:04:35 PM PST by doc1019 (Martyrdom is a great thing, until it is your turn.)
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To: PistolPaknMama

So what do you do with a privateer?


13 posted on 02/04/2011 9:16:18 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: La Lydia

I don’t know about Arlington, but Vang Pao in my mind was a great ally.

And Yes, he and the Hmong did kill a lot of Pathet Lao (commies) on the Plain of Jars.

If you don’t think he was brave, loyal to the U.S. and a tough soldier, ask anyone who knew Tony Poe and Pop Buell.

Rest in peace Royal Lao major general Vang Pao.


14 posted on 02/04/2011 9:18:18 PM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: PistolPaknMama

Oh that’s right Teddy Kennedy was a U-boat commander after all...

Say...wasnt he against the vietnam war?


15 posted on 02/04/2011 9:20:13 PM PST by Crim (The Obama Doctrine : A doctrine based on complete ignorance,applied with extreme incompetence..)
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To: doc1019
A point lost on all the anti-military folks.

That's kind of a dumb comment. What makes people "anti-military"? Because we don't think a foreign collaberator should be buried in Arlington makes us anti-military in general?

We lost that war. If the guy is such a hero, there is room in his home country. People who feel that way are not anti-military. Probably they're very pro-military because they want that ground reserved for the US military.

16 posted on 02/04/2011 9:29:53 PM PST by PistolPaknMama
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To: Racehorse

Re Tallman: I spit upon his grandmother’s shadow.


17 posted on 02/04/2011 9:35:40 PM PST by Silentgypsy
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To: Texas Fossil

I don’t doubt that he was a great ally. It is just that he was not a member of the American military. We are running out of space at Arlington, and I think what is there should be for Americans who served in the American military.


18 posted on 02/04/2011 9:36:45 PM PST by La Lydia
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To: Racehorse

The appeal might work if they stipulate that Gen Pao had converted to islam.


19 posted on 02/04/2011 9:44:00 PM PST by RobinOfKingston (An election is not a (national) suicide pact.)
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To: Racehorse
There is well established precedent for granting the request
20 posted on 02/04/2011 9:44:25 PM PST by smoothsailing
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