General Vang Pao Dies

General Vang Pao dies on Thursday while in exile in the US. He was 81. He was once named “the biggest hero of the Vietnam War”.

He led a CIA-sponsored secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War and, when it was lost, led many of his people into exile. Americans who first came into contact with him found a man skilled in the warfare and the charisma necessary to sustain a dangerous 15-year long operation in support of the US against the North Vietnamese.