Memorial Arrangements Announced For Gen. Vang Pao
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Relatives of Hmong leader Gen. Vang Pao say they are planning a four-day February memorial service for the military hero in central California.
Vang Pao died Thursday after battling pneumonia in a Clovis hospital, located near one of the largest populations of Hmong immigrants in the United States. He was 81.
Family spokeswoman Pacyinz Lyfoung (bay-ying lee-fong) says the traditional ceremony and funeral will likely be held at the Fresno Convention Center. The body also may go to Minnesota for a public viewing.
The general led Hmong guerrillas in their CIA-backed battle against communists during the Vietnam War and was revered as a father figure by the Hmong diaspora.
A final resting place has not been determined, but the general's family is seeking a burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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