Major Vang Sue (Su, Seu) (also transliterated as Vaj Xwm) (January 30, 1945 – October 18, 1972) was a
Laotian Hmong fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
. Recipient of the
USAF Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew over 4,000 combat missions as a T-28 bomber pilot.
FresnoBee.com: Metro: Voice for Diversity - Tony Vang
/ref> Vang trained briefly with Hmong fighter ace Lee Lue
Major Lee Lue ( RPA: ''Lis Lwm'', Pahawh: '; 1935 – 12 July 1969) was a Laotian Hmong fighter bomber pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the Kingdom of Laos. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missi ...
before Lee was shot down and became General 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 P ...
's preeminent pilot after Lee's death. He frequently flew 15 days consecutively, and often as much as 15 sorties in a day. Renowned for his daring and bombing accuracy, Vang was shot down by anti-aircraft guns and killed in October 18, 1972.
Biography
Vang Sue was born on 30 January 1945, in Xieng Khouang, Laos to KiaPao Vang (father) and Ying Xiong (mother). He married a school teacher, May A. Yang, in 1967 and together they had four children. Vang Sue joined the Royal Lao Air Force He ranks as Wing Leader.
See also
* Air America (airline)
*Air America (film)
''Air America'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. as Air America pilots flying missions in Laos during the Vietnam War. When the protagonists discover their aircraf ...
* Battle of Lima Site 85
* History of Laos since 1945
*Laos Memorial
The Hmong and Lao Memorial, or Lao Veterans of America Monument, is a granite monument, bronze plaque and living memorial (that includes an Atlas Cedar tree) in Arlington National Cemetery in the US. Dedicated in May 1997, it is located in Sectio ...
*Laotian Civil War
The Laotian Civil War (1959–1975) was a civil war in Laos which was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. It is associated with the Cambodian Civil War and the Vietnam War ...
also known as the "Secret War"
*North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF (the ...
* Franco-Thai War
Further reading
''Air America''
by Christopher Robbins
''The Ravens, Pilots of the Secret War in Laos''
by Christopher Robbins
References
Hmong people
Laotian anti-communists
People of the Laotian Civil War
1974 deaths
Military personnel killed in action
1945 births
Aviators killed by being shot down
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
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