The Hmong community in the U.S. is mourning the death of a revered leader, Vang Pao, today. Pao, who was 81, died Thursday night in Fresno, Calif., following a battle with pneumonia.
The general led Hmong guerrillas in their CIA-sponsored effort against communists during the Vietnam War, and after the war, helped his fellow Hmong refugees resettle here. He is seen above (C), in this file photo from a decade ago - "laying a wreath at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, marking the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in the Kingdom of Laos as Lao veterans watch 11 May, 2000. (LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images).
