AK SJR10

Alaska Legislature encourages U.S. Congress to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War who served in the CIA's covert "Secret War" in Laos beginning in 1960

Up to 100,000 Hmong soldiers were recruited to form Special Guerrilla Units, with approximately 40,000 killed, 50,000 seriously wounded, and 3,000 missing in action—dying at 10 times the rate of U.S. soldiers

Approximately 50,000 Hmong veterans currently reside in the United States, with about 22 living in Alaska, which has the third-highest Hmong population in the country at over 5,500

Resolution references S. 3271, the Hmong Congressional Gold Medal Act introduced in November 2023, which was referred to committee but received no further action

Copies of the resolution will be sent to the President, Vice President, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, congressional leadership, and all members of the 119th U.S. Congress