General Vang Pao Died At Age 81 In US

Vang Pao, former general and leader of the Hmong ethnic group in Laos, has died in exile in the U.S., at 81.
He had been in hospital for 10 days before his death late on Thursday.
When I was young, had fought the Japanese during World War II, and with the French against the North Vietnamese in early 1950.
Led a secret CIA war in Laos sponsored during the war in Vietnam and when he was lost, led many of his people into exile.
The former head of the CIA, William Colby, once called Gen Pao "the greatest hero of the Vietnam War."
Gen Pao was a controversial figure, deeply loved by many Hmong for their insistence on freedom from foreign domination. He was also accused of subversion.
Americans who first contacted him I met a man skilled in war and charisma necessary to sustain a dangerous operation over 15 years in support of U.S. against North Vietnam.