Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, The Americans, And the Secret Wars For Laos, 1942-1992, by Jane Hamilton-Merritt

I would like to preface this review by saying that what the Hmong suffered as a result of their desire for respect and their faithfulness to first the French and then to the Americans and trusting in the honor of the CIA and American political leaders of the 1950’s and 1960’s is a terrible thing. I wish I could have liked this book more, but the book’s central problem is that the author tries to make herself too much of the story. This is probably inevitable, given the author’s activism on behalf of the Hmong in Thailand and the United States and the fact that she appears to have relatively unique knowledge about the exact nature of the suffering of the Hmong through forced returns to the nation of Laos, which then treated them abominably, as well as the chemical warfare and genocidal action during and after the Vietnam War that led to the deaths of at least tens of thousands of Hmong. There is a difference between a compelling subject that deserves to be thought of and acted on, as this one is, and a compelling narrative, and this is where it hurts for a writer to get too close to the subject matter they write about. It is easy to want to include all the information that we know without thinking of how that information should be best presented.

How is this sort of issue to be dealt with? This book is basically two books in one. the first half (which the author plays only a small role in) is by far the more compelling half, where the author gives the story of the Hmong resistance against Japan and their role in anti-Communism and their alliance with the United States (especially the CIA) during the Vietnam War, in which they played a major role weakening the Vietnamese efforts against South Vietnam by keeping them distracted in a secondary front. This book is not entirely original, though the author gives additional context by looking at World War II and its effects on French Indochina than is generally the case. The second half of the book, though, is where the narrative stops to a crawl as the author engages in efforts to help the Hmong and keep Hmong refugees from being deported back to Laos where they faced likely death and nearly certain imprisonment and torture, details her investigative reporting and the cruelty faced by Hmong refugees in Thailand, as well as on the divisions within the Hmong community in terms of knowing who to trust and who would be able to provide for their well-being in the absence of American faithfulness to their commitments to that community. There are certainly people who will enjoy the second half of the book and cheer on the activism of the author, but this part of the book is one I found to be tiresome.

It should be noted that in terms of its contents, this is a very long book at more than 500 pages of material. The book is divided into eight parts and 32 chapters. The author begins with a preface, acknowledgements, and chronology. This is followed by four chapters on the fight for the control of Indochina during and immediately after the period of the Second World War, beginning with an account of a Japanese massacre on the Mekong (1), the time of the French (2), the rise of the Viet Minh (3), and their time of dominance (4). This is followed by Laos and is role as the first domino of Southeast Asia’s domino theory, with chapters on America’s entry into the region (5), the unworldliness of the area (6), and the charade of neutralization (7). After this comes a discussion of the secret war of the Johnson years, including CIA operations at Long Chieng (8), the widening of the secret war (9), the fall of Phou Pha Thi (10), Hmong efforts at becoming pilots (11), and Vang Pao’s first trip to Washington DC (12). After that comes a discussion of the Nixon-Kissinger years, with chapters on the Hmong as men of courage (13), the US betryal of the Hmong (14), Lima Lima (15), Kissinger’s guerilla diplomacy (16), Bouam Loung (17), the bloodiness of war in the region (18), and the siege of Long Chieng (19). The fifth part of the book discusses the communist takeover, with a discussion of the last Americans in Laos (20), the ominous lull in action (21), and the command to wipe out the Hmong (22). The part of the book on the Lao Gulag contains a discussion of the Hmong exodus from communist oppression (23), the rise of the Chao Fa (24), the Holocaust in the hills of Laos (25), and the slaying of Sin Sai’s soldiers (26). The next part of the book discusses the conspiracy of silence about Laotian use of chemical warfare against the Hmong (27), the yellow rain and world councils (28), and how the Hmong were wronged by the scientific community and the media (29). The last part of the book discusses how the Hmong were wronged in war and peace with the burial of an American in Montana (30), the abuse and abandonment of the Hmong (31), and a requiem (32). The book ends with an appendix, notes, glossary, interviews and sources, and index.