By 1971, the Secret War was weighing heavily on the Hmong and the people of Laos.

The estimated death toll for Hmong soldiers this year alone was 3,000, with 6,000 more wounded.

More and more boys were becoming involved; the average age of Hmong recruits that year was 15.

Throughout 1971, Long Cheng air base was pounded constantly by artillery from massive guns hidden in the surrounding hills.

Meanwhile, American opposition to the wars in Southeast Asia mounted, even as President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger spoke of “peace with honor” and “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In February, 1973 a ceasefire and political peace treaty was signed in Paris, requiring the US and all foreign powers to withdraw all military activities from Laos.

More than 120,000 Hmong became refugees in their own homelands.

18,000 Hmong soldiers were left in Laos, representing nearly 3/4 of the irregular forces. About 50,000 Hmong civilians had been killed or wounded in the war.

On September 14, the Vientiane Agreement was signed, giving the Communist Pathet Lao more control of the Lao government.

1975 The North Vietnamese Army and Pathet Lao captured Royal Lao positions, and South Vietnam fell to Communist North Vietnam.

Gen. Vang Pao and about 2,500 Hmong military forces and family members were airlifted from Long Cheng air base to Thailand.

As many as 30,000 other Hmong crowded into Long Cheng, hoping for escape.

By the war’s end, between 30,000 and 40,000 Hmong soldiers had been killed in combat, and between 2,500 and 3,000 were missing in action.

An estimated one-fourth of all Hmong men and boys died fighting the Communist Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese Army.

The official US military death total in Vietnam exceeded 58,000