Funeral Arrangements Announced For Gen. Vang Pao

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The body of Hmong leader Gen. Van Pao will return to Minnesota, according to recently released funeral arrangements.

Vang Pao died Thursday in Clovis, Calif., near Fresno, following a battle with pneumonia. He was 81.

Family spokesman Lee Pao Xiong tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press there will be a traditional ceremony and funeral in California from Feb. 11 to Feb. 18. The body will then go to Minnesota for public viewing.

The spokesman says there may also be a public viewing in Wisconsin. The final resting place has not been determined.

Though Vang Pao never officially lived in Minnesota, he was revered by the local Hmong community.

The general led Hmong guerrillas in their CIA-backed battle against communists during the Vietnam War.

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