Secret Guerilla Unit Fights for VA Benefits Five Decades After Vietnam

During the Vietnam War, a large group of mostly Hmong soldiers provided vital aid to the U.S. in its fight against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC). 

Now, more than 50 years later, this proud group of aging veterans want what they feel they deserve – the same healthcare benefits provided to the American soldiers they served with.  

The Secret Guerilla Unit (SGU) was a force of about 50,000 soldiers that supported U.S. troops in Southeast Asia. Veterans from the unit can be buried in national cemeteries but are not eligible to receive benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Cher Vang, president of SGU Veterans and Families of California, is leading the push for his group, the few thousand remaining, to receive VA disability ratings. 

“We see the United States at that time as a brother,” Vang told Fox 26 News in Fresno, California. 

SGU Provided Essential Aid 

The guerilla force might be somewhat lost to history, but during the Vietnam War, its actions were significant in aiding U.S. troops. 

The GSU often conducted dangerous and deadly tasks, such as tracking movement and sharing locations of the NVA and VC, rescuing U.S. pilots whose planes had been shot down, and protecting radar installations. 

The experiences still unearth many buried emotions for SGU veterans.  

“Every time I look at pictures, it makes me want to cry,” said Chong Yang Thao, via a translator. 

Thao was only 15 when he was recruited to serve in the SGU. As a radio operator, the young soldier communicated with officers, relaying messages and providing locations of enemy targets. Being a radioman also meant hearing the last words of soldiers, including those pleading for parents and loved ones.  

“Those are the communications we had to provide,” Thao said.

Through an interpreter, fellow SGU veteran Wa Yang said they were aware of the danger and risks of being an ally but were willing to risk their lives for their nation’s freedom. Yang had several jobs, delivering supplies, safeguarding radio towers, and serving as his father’s secretary. He also had uncles involved with the SGU.  

He knows the feeling of loss. 

“They all died in the war,” Yang said.

Fatality rates for SGU soldiers were extremely high. Out of the estimated 50,000 who served, about 35,000 were killed during the war. Those fortunate to survive were granted refugee status by the U.S. government and fled Vietnam after Saigon fell to communist forces in 1975.  

But the group still isn’t fully recognized as American veterans.

Help From Local Leaders 

In recent years, a bill signed by President Trump and amended by President Biden, gives SGU veterans proper military burials in Veterans Administration cemeteries. But the group believes they’ve earned more. Receiving VA benefits would give SGU members recognition for what they did in Vietnam and provide medical care as they age. 

“Our veterans should be entitled to get some type of benefit our U.S. military actually get,” Vang said.

However, the George Washington Law Review determined that soldiers involved in the Hmong Paramilitary Force are not deemed a “Veteran” under the VA’s current definition because the force was under operation of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), not the military. 

That caveat wasn’t something SGU troops thought of when they were aiding U.S. forces. 

“I don’t know the difference. It’s United States. U.S. government. I didn’t know,” Thao said. 

It’s a feeling that’s left them deflated. 

“Many of them are disappointed,” Vang said. “They’re hopeless.” 

Not all is lost, however. Local leaders in California, such as Supervisor Larry Micari, are advocating for the group. 

“We need to do the right thing and take care of these people,” said Micari, District One representative from Tulare County. Serving as a member of the county’s veterans advisory committee, Micari recalls watching news of the Vietnam War on TV as a child. 

“There’s a process in place for them to be buried in a national cemetery. Why aren’t we taking care of them when they’re alive?” Micari said. 

While it’s a small gesture, in December, Tulare County Supervisors approved a resolution supporting the SGU. 

“Their sacrifice saved American lives,” Micari says. “If we brought them here, let’s take care of them.”

It’s a symbolic move, but the resolution promotes the group’s cause, giving them a seat at the table that could lead to change at the national level. 

Micari plans to present the resolution to the National Association of Counties and push for a national resolution to be drafted. From there, he’s hoping to attract federal support and legislation in Congress. 

“I feel we have a lot of good support nationwide,” Micari said. “Let’s take care of people the right way. Give them dignity.” 

In the U.S., an estimated 4,000 SGU soldiers are still alive. But those numbers will continue to drop. Yang knows of 10 who died in Merced and Tulare counties in 2025. 

“They fought with the U.S.; for the U.S., time is running out. I do not want to honor them after they’re all gone and say, ‘Now we honor this. They qualify for this.’” Yang said.