The Secret War in a Global Context

By Katrya Ly

Menu

What was the Secret War?

The Geneva Accords

Who were the political actors at play?

Why did the Hmong get pulled into the Secret War?

Conclusion

Many Hmong American families may understand their origins in the United States as a result of the American Secret War in Laos. For the generation of Hmong children that were born in the United States, it may be difficult to fully grasp the significance of the Secret War to Hmong American history and what events led up to the war. In this article, readers will get an overview of the Secret War in Laos. Specifically, the article will focus on the following questions:  

1. Why did war break out in Southeast Asia?
2. Who, globally, was involved during the Secret War?

Let’s focus together on the first question: Why did war break out in Southeast Asia? Some past scholars have placed the Secret War in Laos as an extension of the U.S. war in Vietnam, also known as the Vietnam War. While the two wars were happening simultaneously with similar timelines and actors, it is important to note that the Secret War and the Vietnam war are two separate wars that happened in different regions of Southeast Asia. Drawing this distinction will help readers understand that Southeast Asia, namely Indochina, was in constant global conflict during the Cold War era (1947-1991).

What was the Secret War?

The Secret War was a war in Laos from 1961 to 1975 where the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited Hmong men and boys to fight alongside the Royal Lao Government against communist Pathet Lao forces. The United States, in an attempt to support the Royal Lao Government, recruited Hmong men and boys to suppress traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  It is estimated that anywhere between 30,000 to 40,000 Hmong men and boys died during the war, and more than 50,000 Hmong civilians were wounded or killed.

The Secret War gets its name because this war was intended to be kept a secret from the rest of the world. The United States had agreed to the 1954 Geneva Accords, meaning they were not meant to be involved in Laos. As such, the United States–in participating in covert operations and recruiting Hmong men and boys in Laos–was in direct violation of the Accords. 

The Geneva Accords

 The Geneva Accords of 1954 were a convening of representatives from world powers to meet in Geneva, Switzerland in order to resolve several problems in Indochina; namely the war between Vietnamese nationalists under the leadership of communist Ho Chi Minh and the French who were exerting their colonial control over Vietnam. The convening included representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, France, and Great Britain. The Geneva Accords refer to a collection of documents—three military agreements, six unilateral declarations, and a Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference—relating to Indochina. In July of 1954, the agreements were signed, hoping to bring a close to eight years of conflict in Indochina. This meant that the French would withdraw their troops in northern Vietnam and that for two years, no foreign troops could enter Vietnam. While the United States refused to sign the Geneva Accords, they did agree to abide by the agreement.

The Geneva Accords of 1954 also established Laos’ sovereignty, granting Laos its independence from France. Like Vietnam, Laos had been under French rule. While Laos was not a country where conflict was concentrated, Laos was invaded by Vietnamese Communist forces known as the Viet Cong. Laos also had their own communist party known as the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao refers to the Communist Laotian nationalist movement that allied with the Vietnamese in the struggle against France. 

By the end of 1960, a civil war waged between the two opposed political parties in Laos– Pathet Lao versus the Royal Lao Government–for recognition as legitimate governing power in Laos. The Pathet Lao was heavily backed by North Vietnam and received military supplies from the Soviet Union. In contrast, the Royal Lao Government was endorsed by the King and National Assembly of Laos, as well as recognized as the legitimate government in Laos by most Western Powers. There was growing global fear that the civil war raging in Laos would spread to neighboring Southeast Asian countries. As such, a second conference in Geneva, Switzerland was called in 1961 to address the hostilities of both political parties in Laos, which became known as “Addressing the Laotian Question” or the “Settlement of the Laotian Question.” 

While the conference was intended to convene on May 12, 1961, it failed to open on the starting date largely because of the confusion over who would represent Laos. By May 14, 1961, the conference agreed to seat the three different political factions in Laos: the anti-communist government established by Prince Boun Oum, the neutralist government established by Prince Souvanna Phouma, and the communist Pathet Lao. In July of 1962, after over a year of session, the International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question in Geneva came to a close with the Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and a Protocol to the Declaration. The declaration said that Laos would “recognise and will respect and observe in every way the sovereignty, independence, neutrality, unity and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Laos” and that the Laotian Question would result in the formation of a unified national Laotian government.

Who were the political actors at play?

The Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos was signed by 14 governments who pledge to respect neutrality in Laos by refraining from interference with internal and military affairs. However, following its signing, the agreement was quickly broken by the United States, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, North Vietnam and the Pathet Laos.

Wanting to suppress the spread of communism by the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese Communist forces, the United States backed the Royal Lao Government by paying for the budget of the Royal Lao Army. Up until his term ended in 1961, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower had committed millions of dollars in aid and military advisors to prevent the Pathet Lao from taking over Laos and to cease the growing conflict from spreading to neighboring countries. This support cemented the United States as the undisputed leader of the non-Communist movement. As Eisenhower’s successor, President John F. Kennedy rejected proposals to send American forces to Laos, opting for the 1962 Geneva Conference to address the Laotian Question.

Despite the signing of the Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos, civil war persisted. American military involvement in Vietnam grew and as such, made Laos another warzone. The Ho Chi Minh trail, which ran through eastern Laos, was a critical supply route for North Vietnamese Communist forces in South Vietnam. The United States, in order to disrupt the supply route, bombed parts of Laos from 1964 to 1973. It is estimated that the United States dropped more than 2.5 million tons of ordnance in Laos over the nine year period; destroying villages and displacing hundreds of thousands of Laotian civilians. Eighty million of these cluster bombs did not detonate and 50 years later, only 1% of the cluster bombs have been destroyed.

To learn more about the bombing in Laos during the Secret War, please see America’s Secret War in Laos Uncovered, a video created by ABC News.

Why did the Hmong get pulled into the Secret War?

Geographically, Laos became a buffer zone for the war because of its location between North and South Vietnam. The Hmong resided in northern Laos and were composed of several leaders in the region who became concerned and desperate to defend their territories. The Hmong in Laos were composed of different clans based on familial ties. The Hmong, as a whole in Laos, were not a unified social or political group. As such, it was difficult to name one governing body or one leader to unify the different clans. 

Touby Lyfoung, a prominent Hmong political leader in Laos, would later create a sense of unity for the different Hmong clans. In 1940, Lyfoung, who was one of few Hmong people to be educated in a French colonial high school in Vietnam, was elected as tasseng (District Chief) of Nong Het in the Xieng Khouang province of Laos. He continued rising to prominence because of his military skills in 1945 when he organized anti-Japanese resistance in the province. In 1960, Touby Lyfoung served as the Minister of Justice and Social Welfare for the Royal Lao Government and later in 1961, he served as the Minister of Health.

In 1961, two sons of Xiong Ka Toua, a Hmong leader in the Luang Namtha Province in Northern Laos, were sent to consult with Lyfoung regarding the rising tensions in their region. While they were unsuccessful in finding Lyfoung to share their concerns, they did learn that an American by the name of William Young visited the region near the border of Laos and China. Through different contacts, Hmong in the region agreed to support the United States in their secret involvement in Laos. 

The Hmong were looking to defend their territories while the United States was hoping to cease the spread of communism. In 1960, a young Lieutenant colonel (Lt. Col.) Vang Pao, who previously fought alongside Touby Lyfoung, told the anti-Communist powers that they had two options: to fight or leave the country. Lt. Col. Vang Pao noted that if the United States supplied the weapons, he and his men would fight. In the covert operation, known as Operation Momentum, the United States armed and trained 1,000 Hmong soldiers under Lt. Col. Vang Pao. Later, in 1962, 16 young Hmong men were selected by Bill Young to attend basic military training in Thailand. After the training, the men were expected to return and train the Hmong soldiers in their respective regions. From here, Hmong men and boys were recruited to support American efforts to suppress the spread of the Pathet Laos and communism in the region. Later, Hmong girls would be recruited as nurses to support the war effort.

Conclusion

The American Secret War in Laos is one of many conflicts occuring in Southeast Asia during the Cold War. Conflict in the region could not be contained to one specific country, causing social and political turmoil to spread to neighboring countries. For Hmong Americans who have origins in Laos, the Secret War is a starting point to contextualize their family histories and subsequent diasporic migration to the United States. While Hmong American history certainly does not begin or end with the Secret War, recognition and understanding of the Secret War is crucial to understanding how Hmong people made their way to the United States.

References

Chippewa Valley Museum. (n.d.). The Secret War. Chippewa Valley Museum. https://www.cvmuseum.com/explore/the-secret-war/

Czyzak, J., & Salans, C. (1963). The International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question and the Geneva Agreements of 1962. American Journal of International Law, 57(2), 300-317. doi:10.2307/2195983

Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos, July 23, 1962, https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20456/volume-456-i-6564-english.pdf 

History. (2009, November 13). Geneva Conference to resolve problems in Asia begins. History. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/geneva-conference-begins

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. (n.d.). Laos. JFK Library. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/laos

Legacies of War. (n.d.). Legacies Library. Legacies of War. https://www.legaciesofwar.org/legacies-library

McCoy, A. W. (2022). A Companion to the Vietnam War. John Wiley & Sons.

Yang, K. (2017). The Making of Hmong America: Forty Years after the Secret War. Lexington Books/Fortress Academic.

Contributing Editor: Yia Vue
Illustrator: Alex Yang