>> Eric: THIS WEDNESDAY MARKED THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR'S END, A MAJOR SHIFT FOR THE U.S. MILITARY AFTER NEARLY A DECADE OF ON-THE-GROUND OPERATIONS.

THE WAR LED TO A LARGE EXODUS FROM VIETNAM AND DISPLACED ASIAN GROUPS LIKE THE HMONG.

MINNESOTA HOLDS THE LARGEST URBAN HMONG POPULATION IN THE COUNTRY, BUT THE STORIES OF LAO AND HMONG VETERANS WHO SUPPORTED THE U.S.

REMAIN LARGELY UNTOLD.

THE DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR HMONG STUDIES AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY LEE PAO XIONG IS HERE AND JOINING HIM IS AUTHOR OF "KISSINGER'S BETRAYAL: HOW AMERICA LOST THE VIETNAM WAR," STEVE YOUNG.

WANT TO GET BOTH OF YOU IN THE CONVERSATION, BUT YOU HELP KIND OF SET UP THE RESETTLEMENT.

>> I STARTED IT ACTUALLY.

[ LAUGHTER ] >> Eric: WHAT LED YOU TO DO THAT AND HOW TOUGH A JOB WAS IT?

>> WELL, IT WAS FATE.

SO WE JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE, I WAS A YOUNG LAWYER IN NEW YORK, BOUGHT A HOUSE IN BROOKLYN, SUNDAY AFTERNOON MY WIFE AND SOME FRIENDS WERE PAINTING IT UP, LISTENING TO ROCK AND ROLL RADIO, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, THE CITY OF DENANG HAS FALLEN.

I HAD NERVEB SERVED IN VIETNAM FOR A LONG TIME.

COMMANDER TRUE WAS THE BEST VIETNAMESE GENERAL.

IF HE COULD NOT HOLD DENANG, THERE WAS NO HOPE.

>> Eric: DID YOU GO OVER THERE?

>> NO, I DECIDED WE HAD TO HAVE A REFUGEE MOVEMENT.

AND I'M DRIVING LIKE THIS, MY WIFE SAYS I NEED TO CALM DOWN.

HOW COULD I CALM DOWN?

I HAVE A FRIEND IN WASHINGTON, HE IS ONE OF KISSINGER'S STAFF AIDES.

I WON'T GO TO WORK AT SIMPSON, THATCHER AND BARTLETT, TALKED TO PARKER AND HE AND SOME OTHER FRIENDS GOT IT STARTED.

>> Cathy: NOW, SAY, I NEED TO ASK YOU BOTH ABOUT TRAUMA BUT SPECIFICALLY THIS IS STILL A WOUND I THINK FOR SO MANY PEOPLE, RIGHT?

AND SO PROFESSOR, IS IT TOO MUCH TO SAY THAT THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE HMONG AND LAOTIAN COMMUNITY THAT STILL HAVE A LOT OF TRAUMA AROUND THIS?

>> ABSOLUTELY, I MEAN, THE EXODUS, THE LOSS OF A COUNTRY AND THEN THE LOSS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO THAILAND TO SEEK REFUGE AFTER THE FALL OF WHETHER IT'S VIETNAM OR THE FALL LAUGHOS.

AND SO A LOT OF -- FALL OF LAOS.

SO A LOT OF EVACUATIONS STARTED IN THE COUNTRY OF LAOS MAY 12 AND MAY 14TH AND THEN THE PLANES CAME IN AND EVERYBODY HAD TO FIND THEIR WAY.

>> Cathy: YOU WERE JUST A KID.

>> I WAS NINE YEARS OLD, THE FIRST DAY OF THE EVACUATION MAY.

>> Eric: YOU VISITED SOME OF THE REFUGEE CAMPS.

>> IN '78 I WAS PART OF THE SECOND PHASE OF THE REFUGEE MOVEMENT.

THERE WAS NO WAY TO GET A VISA SO WE HAD TO GET SOMETHING CALLED PAROLE AUTHORITY WHICH MY FRIENDS WERE ABLE TO DO IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

BUT TO GET HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BECAUSE THE BOAT PEOPLE ARE NOW COMING OUT OF VIETNAM, THOUSANDS OF MA HONG AND CAMBODIANS IN THAILAND WITH NO WAY TO GO TO THE STATES.

THERE HAD TO BE A REFUGEE PROGRAM WITH AN ACT OF CONGRESS.

LEO STARTED A SMALL GROUP, WE VISITED CAMPS TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE AND GO BACK TO WORK WITH TEDDY KENNEDY TO GET THE 1980 REFIE ACT -- REFUGEE ACT PASSED.

AND WE KEPT OUR WORD WITH THESE PEOPLE.

>> Cathy: AND OF COURSE THE MINNESOTA HAS THE LARGEST HMONG POPULATION OUTSIDE -- >> ABSOLUTELY, WE HAVE ABOUT 3,000 HMONG, THE LARGEST URBANIZED POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> Cathy: THINK ABOUT HOW THAT'S CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF MINNESOTA.

HOW DO YOU VIEW THAT?

>> YES.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SAID IF YOU GO AROUND CITY OF ST. PAUL AND BOARD UP EVERY BUSINESS OWNED BY HMONG PEOPLE AND OTHER REFUGEE GROUPS, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THE REFUGEE ON MINNESOTA.

AND I THINK THAT'S A PRETTY VISIBLE.

>> Eric: YOU SAID THAT AMERICA ENDED UP BEING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY IN THIS THING.

>> I DID BECAUSE ANOTHER LONG STORY, NO TIME FOR IT BUT I RAN ACROSS DOCUMENTS STARTING YEARS AGO AND ELLSWORTH BUNKER IN SAGAN OUR AMBASSADOR TO HELP ME WRITE MEMOIRS, HENRY KISSINGER ON HIS OWN WITHOUT TELLING PRESIDENT NIXON DECIDED TWO THINGS IN 1971.

HE DECIDED THE AMERICANS WOULD NOT ASK FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS.

ALL THE SACRIFICES EVERYBODY HAD MADE WE WERE GOING TO LEAVE THE ARMY IN SOUTH VIETNAM, ONE, AND TWO, HE TELLS THE RUSSIANS, THE VIETNAMESE AND THE CHINESE THAT IF FIGHTING BREAKS OUT AFTER A PEACE AGREEMENT THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT INTERVENE.

HE GAVE A GREEN LIGHT TO WHAT HANOI DID, SO WE'D WON THE WAR BY 1972 AND THEN IN '75 WE LOST IT BECAUSE OF ONE MAN, ONE AMERICAN.

>> Cathy: NOW, PROFESSOR, DIDN'T YOUR FATHER, WASN'T HE A SOLDIER IN THE CIA'S SECRET WAR >> YEAH, HE WAS, HE WAS IN THE HEAVY ARTILLERY UNIT AND THAT'S HOW WE KNEW ABOUT THE EVACUATION.

IEP OF THOSE FLIGHTS THAT WOULD LAND IN THE HEADQUARTERS WERE DESIGNATED FOR A COLONEL.

SO HE CAME UP WITH A LIST AND THAT LIST, THAT ORIGINAL LIST IS AT THE CENTER FOR HMONG STUDIES.

AND WE HEARD ABOUT THEVACCATION BECAUSE ONE OF MY UNCLES WAS WORKING FOR LON PAO IN HIS COMPOUND AND HE SAID THEY'RE GOING TO EVACUATE SO IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOU BETTER COME.

AND MAY 12TH I ACTUALLY GOT ON THE PLANE.

>> Cathy: DID YOUR DAD EVER TALK ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES?

>> IT'S PRETTY PAINFUL AND I THINK HE'S GETTING OLD NOW AND PEOPLE THAT PARTICULAR AGE, IT'S TOO PAINFUL FOR THEM TO REMEMBER, I'VE HAD TO BRIEF HIM, HE SAID, YEAH, AFTER WE GOT THERE THEN THERE WERE MORE EVACUATIONS.

I SAID, YEAH, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WE GOT ON THE FIRST FLIGHT OUT OF LAOS.

AND FOR MANY OF THEM I THINK THEY PREFER TO LET IT GO AND NOT THINK ABOUT IT.

>> Eric: HOW DID YOU AND OTHER FAMILIES END UP IN MINNESOTA?

>> MY UNCLE VANG LING WAS THE FIRST HMONG REFUGEE TO END UP IN MINNESOTA.

SO HE CAME HERE NOVEMBER OF 1975 AND MY UNCLE CAME HERE IN FEBRUARY OF 1976.

>> Cathy: STEVE, DO YOU REMEMBER A PUSHBACK AT ALL TO THE RESETTLEMENT?

>> THE ONE PUSHBACK WAS IN '75 TEDDY KENNEDY IN THE SENATE IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE HAD TO AUTHORIZE PAROLE FOR HE SENATE.

AND SO MY FRIEND LIONEL ROSEN BLAT WAS NEGOTIATING WITH KENNEDY'S STAFF AND KENNEDY SAID WE WILL TAKE A NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE THE SAME AS THE NUMBER OF CUBANS WE TOOK IN 1965, WHICH WOULD ONLY 150,000 PEOPLE.

SO WHEN I WAS IN LIONEL'S OFFICE WHEN HE SAID THAT HAS MY FEELINGS WERE HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?

BUT THEN 150,000 IS BETTER THAN ZERO.

>> Cathy: I WANT TO KNOW HERE, PROFESSOR, ABOUT THE YOUNGER GENERATION.

DO YOU THINK THEY UNDERSTAND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS 50TH ANNIVERSARY?

>> YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD TO TRY TO EDUCATE, NOT ONLY JUST OUR YOUNGER GENERATION BUT EVEN MINNESOTANS, OVERALL MINNESOTANS BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE ENDED UP HERE.

AND I THINK IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT HMONG WERE NOT PART OF THE RESETTLEMENT PART OF THE PLAN, THEY SAID THE HMONG WERE TOO PRIMITIVE.

BUT LIONEL ROSENBLAT WENT TO VISIT THE FORMER UNITED STATES MARINE INSTALLATION AND HE GOT UP THERE AND SAID HE'S HMONG, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE TOO PRIMITIVE?

THEY HAVE AMERICAN CODE NAMES AND THEY SPOKE NGLISH.

AND THERE'S ALSO A PH.D., DR. YUNG DAO AND HOW COULD THEY BE PRIMITIVE?

SO HE ACTUALLY REALLOCATED THE REMAINING NUMBERS LEFT OVER FOR THE HMONG SO MY FAMILY WERE ONE OF THE 10,000 WHO FIRST CAME TO THE UNITED STATES.

WE WERE SPONSORED Y A MENNONITE CHURCH IN MORGANTOWN, INDIANA.

>> Cathy: OH, MY GOSH.

>> WE WERE HE GUINEA PIGS TO SEE IF WE COULD LIVE IN AMERICA.

AND IT WORKED OUT, WE THRIVED.

>> Cathy: I WISH WE HAD MORE TIME BUT WE DON'T, WE GOTTA GO.

GREAT TO SEE YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.