Hmong Community
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The first Hmongs in Colorado were refugees, in the late 1970s, to escape retribution from the Viet Cong, the North Vietnamese Army and the Pathlet Lao for their cooperation with the US Central Intelligence Agency operatives during the Vietnam War between 1959-1973.
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90% of Hmongs in the US came from refugee camps in Thailand after evading death or capture in Vietnam and Laos.
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Over 5,000 Hmongs currently live in Colorado after their families left the camps in Thailand, most of the Hmong live in the north metro Denver area.
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In 1995, Golden, Colorado became the first city in the United States to designate a Lao-Hmong Recognition Day. The day is held in recognition and to honor the Lao-Hmong Special Guerrilla Units (SGU) Veterans. The SGUs acted as guerrillas, blowing up supply depots, ambushing trucks, mining roads, and generally harassing the NVA.
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Since moving to Colorado, the Hmong community has thrived and gained success in education, business and arts and culture.
