Tragic mountains

The staunchest of allies, the Hmong were America's foot soldiers in the brutal secret Lao theater of the Vietnam War, risking all to defend their homelands and to rescue downed American air crews. Abandoned by the United States when it withdrew in 1975, the Hmong have been subjected to a campaign of genocide by communist Laos and Vietnam, including the use of chemical-biological toxin warfare. Thousands of Hmong, now scattered in refugee camps, are being forcibly repatriated to Laos - where they face retribution and terror. From their ancient homelands in China, with a fiercely independent…