Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Lee Lue ( RPA: ''Lis Lwm'', Pahawh: '; 1935 – 12 July 1969) was a Laotian Hmong

fighter bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the

Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Post-independence Burma, 1948–1962, Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Kingdom of Cambodi ...

. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missions a day and averaging 120 combat missions a month to build a total of more than 5,000 sorties. Lee Lue was the leader of the special group of Hmong pilots flying T-28Ds from

Long Tieng Long Tieng (also spelled Long Chieng, Long Cheng, or Long Chen) is a Laotian military base in Xaisomboun Province. During the Laotian Civil War, it served as a town and airbase operated by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. ...

against the

Pathet Lao The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group ...

and North Vietnamese positions. The group was funded by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and was part of the regular

Royal Lao Air Force The Royal Lao Air Force (french: Aviation Royale Laotiènne – AVRL), best known to the Americans by its English acronym RLAF, was the air force component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Royal Lao Government and ...

, but took orders directly from MR2 Commander Gen.

Vang Pao Vang Pao ( RPA: ''Vaj Pov'' , Lao: ວັງປາວ; 8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. He was a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. He was also known as General Vang ...

. He was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over

Muang Soui Muang Soui(In Lao: ເມືອງສຸຍ) (also called Muang Souy or Muong Soui) is a small town in Xiangkhouang Province Laos. It is located on Route 7 of Laos, so east of Phoukhoune district, northwest of Phonsavan, and Ban Phou Pheung Noi ...

, then his T-28 plane fell in a mountainous area near

Ban Phou Pheung Noi Ban Phou Pheung Noi (Lao: ບ້ານພູເຟືອງນ້ອຍ) is a Laotian village located at the peak of Phou Pheung mountain in the Xieng Khouang province of Laos. Phou Pheung mountain is approximately . During the Vietnam War, c ...

on July 12, 1969. At the time of his death, he had flown more combat missions than any other pilot in history. A motto attributed to him was "Fly 'til you die." He was posthumously promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Biography

Lee Lue was born in 1935 to Chong Ger Lee and his wife Pa Vang in the village of Phou Pheng in

Xiangkhoang Province Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily bombed place on Earth. The province ...

, Laos. In 1953, Lee Lue's family moved to Xieng Khouang city after the

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

ese invaded Laos. After the war ended in 1955, Lee Lue married Jou and two years later their first child, a son named Nkiag (nickname: Ze), was born and went to Samthong College in 1974. Lee Lue studied in Xieng Khouang city and later enrolled in teacher training school. In 1959, he took a position as an elementary school teacher in Lat Houng. He was among a handful of Hmong teachers in the entire country. As the Secret War was escalating in 1967,

Touby Lyfoung Touby Lyfoung ( RPA: Tub Npis Lis Foom , Pahawh: : 1917–1979) was a Hmong political and military leader. Born in 1917 in Nong Het, Laos, he became the first Hmong politician to achieve national prominence. During his long career, which began ...

and General

requested volunteers for flight training in T-28s. The training took place in Thailand. With six months of flight training, Lee Lue and another volunteer, Vang Toua, became the first two Hmong T-28 fighter pilots. Lee Lue successfully flew aerial support for ground troops and built a record number of sorties. Away from the war, Lee Lue devoted his time to studying maps, and playing cards with his comrades. Prior to his death, Lee Lue had purchased his military uniform and was waiting to receive the rank of major. "He was excited about the promotion," said his wife Jou. Hours before his death, the area of

was under heavy enemy attack. Gen. Vang Pao then telephoned Lee Lue, who was flying from Vientiane, to see if he carried any bombs with him as he was on his way to

. Lee Lue's

T-28 The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T-28 was designed to complement the hea ...

was armed. Vang Pao needed Lee Lue to attack the

troops in Muang Soui as they were losing ground as well as troops. On that day, Lee Lue's T-28 was hit and his plane was later found in debris near

. "His death is among a few soldiers I cried to," stated Vang Pao in 2006. According to Christopher Robbin's book, ''The Ravens'', respect for Lee Lue and his skills was shared by not just the Hmong but also seasoned American pilots.HMONG HISTORICAL FIGURES PRESENTATION

Notes

References

* Hillmer, Paul (2010). ''A People's History of the Hmong''. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBNs 0873517261, 9780873517263.

External links

St. Paul Pioneer Press: August 10, 1990, Page 1A
*http://hmonglessons.com/the-hmong/hmong-leaders/lee-lue-lis-lwm/ History and Career of Lee Lue *http://ravens.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Episode0000.htm Nevermore Until Tomorrow (Short Stories From Laos 1961–1975)

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links

Further reading