05/05/2026
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month! On the Capitol Mall, there is a very special memorial which honors a group whose sacrifices are worthy to be remembered.
Creation of the Minnesota Memorial to Special Forces in Laos was driven by children who survived the “Secret War” in Laos from 1961 to 1975. Its purpose is to honor and remember the Hmong, Lao and other combat veterans who fought to maintain freedom in Southeast Asia.
After gaining independence from France in 1954 Laos was a neutral country, but began to face threats as Cold War tensions rose. Concerned about the spread of communism and a potential domino effect, the United States started sending financial and military aid to Laos in 1961. The CIA recruited thousands of Hmong, Lao, and Khmu citizens into the “Special Guerilla Unit”, which executed covert campaigns against communism. Between 1961 and 1975 46,000 men and boys were trained into this unit. By the end of the war 35,000 had been killed or were missing.
After the Paris Peace Accords in 1973, which saw the withdrawal of the US military from Laos and more power given to the Communist Pathet Lao government, thousands of Hmong people became refugees. Many started arriving in the United States in 1975, and over the decades the Twin Cities has become home to the largest concentrated community of Hmong in the country.
Unveiled on June 11, 2016, the 10’ tall tiered bronze memorial, shaped like a sprouting bamboo shoot, includes carved bas-relief visual stories of life, war and relocation of the Hmong and Lao people. The stories progress through time as they rise up the tiers and honor the Hmong tradition of paj ntaub, embroidered story cloths. As we recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, we remember the sacrifices made by the people of Laos and the contributions they have made here in Minnesota.
