Tragic mountains : the Hmong, the Americans, and the secret wars for Laos, 1942-1992 / Jane Hamilton-Merritt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hamilton-Merritt, Jane.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hmong (Asian people)--Wars.

Hmong (Asian people).

Hmong (Asian people)--Government policy--Laos.

Hmong (Asian people)--History--20th century.

History.

Hmong (Asian people)--Government policy.

War.

Laos--Politics and government.

Laos.

Politics and government.

Laos--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xxviii, 580 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [1993]

Summary:

The staunchest of allies, the Hmong were America's foot soldiers in the brutal secret Lao theater of the Vietnam War, risking all to defend their homelands and to rescue downed American air crews. Abandoned by the United States when it withdrew in 1975, the Hmong have been subjected to a campaign of genocide by communist Laos and Vietnam, including the use of chemical-biological toxin warfare. Thousands of Hmong, now scattered in refugee camps, are being forcibly repatriated to Laos - where they face retribution and terror. From their ancient homelands in China, with a fiercely independent culture dating back to 2000 B.C., the Hmong migrated southward out of China into the mountains of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. More than 120,000 Hmong now live in the United States, from California to Minnesota to Pennsylvania. But thousands more lead desperate lives in refugee camps in Southeast Asia - knowing that repatriation could mean death. Tragic Mountains tells the story of the Hmong struggle for freedom and survival in Laos from 1942 to the present. During those years, most Hmong sided with the French against the Japanese and Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh and then with the Americans against the North Vietnamese. These allegiances have led the current Lao government to declare the Hmong as enemies, vowing to "wipe them out." This is a story of courage, tenacity, brutality, secrecy, incredible heroism by Hmong and Americans alike, international cynicism, betrayal, genocide, resilience, and (still) hope. Jane Hamilton-Merritt has written it to open the world's eyes to the proud history and current tragedy of the Hmong - with the desire that this book "might yet change the destiny of those repatriated."

Contents:

Names xxix

Part 1 The Fight for the Control of Indochina

1. Massacre on the Mekong 3

2. The Time of the Fackee 19

3. The Rise of the Viet Minh 37

4. The Time of the Viet Minh 47

Part 2 Laos: the First Domino

5. The Time of the Americans 69

6. Camelot and the Land of Oz 95

7. The Charade of Neutralization 113

Part 3 Secret War in Laos: the Johnson Years

8. CIA Operations at Long Chieng 130

9. Widening of the "Secret War" 144

10. Phou Pha Thi Falls, "the Alamo" Holds 171

11. Hmong in the Skies 189

12. Vang Pao Goes to Washington 198

Part 4 The Nixon-Kissinger Years

13. Men of Courage 211

14. The U.S. Betrays the Hmong 225

15. Lima Lima 230

16. Kissinger and Guerrilla Diplomacy 239

17. Bouam Loung, Sky Border Base 248

18. War Bloodies the Land of Oz 263

19. The Siege of Long Chieng 277

Part 5 "Peace" in Laos: the Communist Takeover

20. The Last Americans 293

21. An Ominous Lull 323

22. "Wipe Them Out!" 337

Part 6 The Lao Gulag

23. Exodus 355

24. Chao Fa: Mystical Warriors 378

25. Holocaust in the Hills 390

26. The Giant Slays Sin Sai's Soldiers 400

Part 7 A New Military Age

27. "A Conspiracy of Silence" 413

28. "Yellow Rain" and World Councils 432

29. Wronged by the Media 453

Part 8 Wronged in War; Wronged in Peace

30. Burial in Montana 463

31. Abused and Abandoned 471

32. Requiem 497.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [541]-558) and index.

ISBN:

0253327318

0253207568

OCLC:

26398559