War in Vietnam It began in 1955, almost 8,000 miles from the US in the dense and remote jungle of South Vietnam. While the US slowly housed in Vietnam in the 1950s, the complete deployment of combat units began in 1965.
Fighting would soon spread to Laos and Cambodia, with CIA set and thousands Hmong People fight on behalf of Americans during an underground operation in Laos known as “Secret war.“
But efforts to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia failed on April 30, 1975 with the fall of Saigon when US troops evacuated the country. According to the National Archives, more than 58 220 Americans were killed in the war.
As many as 3.5 million Vietnamese people were killed, including soldiers on both sides of the conflict and civilians.
More than 80,000 Soldiers Hmong And the refugees also died like 20,000 Laotes.
Plans for resettlement by Governor Anderson
Minnesota has a rich history of hospitable refugees in the state and was one of the top 10 states across the country to do so after the war.
In October 1975, Minnesota received the largest number of refugees in Southeast Asia in the Middle West, reports then. Wendel Anderson.
But the governor thought long -term, how did these refugees receive the necessary services in the state? What help do they need in the future? And how did they adapt and succeed in a place with a completely different culture and language?
Stormi Grener/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images 
In December 1975, Anderson created an Indochin relocation bureau, which later became a refugee program in 1981. Groups such as Catholic charity organizations, Lutheran social services and American Red Cross, as well as local families, church groups and public organizations, worked in the office to sponsor the refugee families and helped them accommodate in their new homes.
Anderson also created an Indochin Operational Refugee Affairs group to advise his position, which included representatives of social services organizations, the Vietnamese-American Association, the Cambodian refugee community, the welfare departments, the employment and education service and the private sector.
The operative group had two main jobs: collect data on Southeast Asia households in the state and providing information about classes, programs and recent laws for refugees.
Later, this prompt group will make efforts to combat racial discrimination, hiring prejudice and linguistic barriers that fugitives face when arriving in Minnesota.
Best show scores that today there are more than 16,000 Lao immigrants in Minnesota; more than 33,000 Vietnamese immigrants; and nearly 12,000 Cambodian immigrants.
And with almost 95,000 Immigrants Hmong, Minnesota is home to the biggest concentration of hamong in America.
This story is part of the documentary “Pole Le” “Vietnam in 50 years: reflection on war that changed Minnesot“
Join WCCO on Wednesday, May 7, at 5pm, for special viewing at the College of Concordia in St. Paul – organized by the Hmongo Research Center:
- Educational Center Buenger (BEC)
- 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104
- Participants are invited to park in Lot, Carol Street or Syndic Rate
See a full documentary below either On our YouTube Channel.
