| The "Secret War" in Laos | |
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Lao,
Hmong and American
Veterans Memorial 2304 Superior Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081 Telephone: (920) 458-0808 Fax. (920) 458-0081 Email: mail@hmaaweb.org |
| sponsors & supporters HMAA Board of Directors Memorial Committee Members: Raymond T. Hernandez, Chairman VueX. Yang, Vice-Chairman Mark
Hanna, Treasurer |
August 25, 2003 Dear Friend, At last the Lao, Hmong and American Veterans Memorial, honoring the brave Lao, Hmong and Americans who fought the "secret war" in Laos 1960-1975, is nearly a reality for Sheboygan! Without their efforts many more Americans would have died in Vietnam. The Sheboygan Common Council has approved a wonderful site for the memorial at Deland Park on the lakefront to honor these brave men, women and the families who supported them. Now we need your help to build it. The memorial will be a beautiful circle of black granite with descriptions of the history of the Lao hill tribes and Hmong who fought in the secret war and who have begun their lives in a new land of freedom. Right now, almost 6,000 Lao- Hmong live in Sheboygan, and over 40,000 in Wisconsin. They and their family members fought in the secret war, rescued Americans pilots shot down in Laos who otherwise would have been missing in action, and stopped North Vietnamese convoys going through Laos to South Vietnam. Local artists and students from the Sheboygan Area School District will decorate the memorial. The names of the veterans who died will be chiseled into the beautiful panels of granite. The memorial will tell their brave stories and celebrate their contribution to America. The estimated cost of the memorial is $140,000. As no tax dollars are involved in the project construction, we need your tax-deductible contribution to make the memorial a reality. So please make a generous donation to this important work which honors not only war veterans, but our whole community-its diversity, its beauty, its conviction that the Lao, Hmong and American Veterans Memorial is here at the right place and right time. Thank you for your support. Raymond T. Hemandez Chairman Vue X. Yang Vice-Chairman |