Hmong People in the United States Hmong People in the United States "The Tragedy of the Hmong" is dedicated to understanding the Hmong people in the United States and the tragic events that brought them here. Few people know their history, their role in fighting for the US in the Vietnam War, and the challenges they face now. The Hmong people have a story of courage and suffering that the world needs to know. The tragedy of the Hmong did not end with the massive emigration to the United States in the 1990s. Many thousands are still in jeopardy in Laos and Thailand, and even those in the U.S. still need our understanding. My involvement with the Hmong people began in 1994 when I moved to Appleton for my second time. I was sitting in a church service and heard some people behind me talking in what sounded like Chinese but wasn't. I learned that they were recent immigrants from Laos and were called "Hmong" (pronounced like "Mong" but there is a hint of an "h" sound before the "m"). I would soon get to know the Hmong people of both Christian and traditional Hmong belief systems. By about 2000, Appleton's Hmong population grew to about 4,000 in a small town of only 70,000. Some of the most joyous and most traumatic experiences of my life would occur as I interacted with the Hmong people and their families over the next several years. Eventually my entire family would serve in a Hmong speaking congregation in Appleton, one of the best things that ever happened to us. The Hmong people are in the U.S. as victims of US policies in the Vietnam War and then victims of persecution by Laos after the war. There are others who supported the U.S. but are still in Asia, facing persecution for their support of America. Many escaped to Thailand, but many of them have been forced back to Laos.