A LEGACY
General/Chief of Police Yong Ge Xiong
July 17th, 1947 to November 8th, 2004
Yong Ge Xiong was born on July 17th, 1947 in one of the low land province of Laos. He was the first son of Xao Ying Xiong and Lu Thao. Although they had a rather large family, they lived in a small house made from tree trunks and dirt. Together they slept side by side on strapped hay and hard wooden beds. Because Yong Ge and his family were financially scarce, they worked very hard on the farm to provide for the family. While Yong Ge was growing up, food supplies and monetary were very limited. They had to dig for potatoes, plant corn fields, harvest wheat grains, and hunt wild animals. Despite the fact that life was hard enough to endure, the family encountered more hardship when the Vietnam War broke out in 1960.
At the age of 13, in spite of being poor and uneducated, Yong Ge joined the Lao Royal Army. At that time, he was barely had the ability to carry a gun but what he had experienced changed his life forever. During his experience, he was trained to fight fearlessly in combat in order to protect his country and bring peace to their homeland.
After many years of fighting for his country along with the United States, Yong Ge decided to resign from the army and joined the Lao Royal Police Task Force. He attended the police academy training camp in Vientiane, 1968. His unit was the second police platoon to be trained under the Royal Thai Police (Police Aerial Reaupply Unit (PARU). The Royal Lao Police Academy was recognized as one of the most intense police academy training program that existed in Laos. Yong Ge was one of the few great men who graduated from the academy and conferred the rank of Loei Eek-Captain (three five-pointed gold stars).
Shortly after graduation, Captain Yong Ge Xiong was sent to patrol in many villages and cities in Laos. Not only did he provide community services as a police officer but he also served as a leader and enforced peace among the Hmong communities in different regions of Laos. With the fall of Saigon and Laos to the neighboring communist in May 1975, the United States military workforce withdrew their troops from South Vietnam and Laos. Because of Captain Xiong’s honorable loyalty to the Unites States and General Vang Pao, his life was no longer safe in Laos.
Captain Xiong was a sharp minded, brave, and encouraging individual. He took the liberty of his own life to rescue the lives of many innocent people and helped to provide safety, food, and shelter for his people. On May 1975, he used his military and police training experiences leading more than 70 Hmong civilians and his family to cross the Mekong River into Thailand under heavenly armed guards and danger. In 1975, his family resettled in Nom Khai Refugee Camp where he served as tus thawj coj Phawg 7. From 1976 to 1980 he and his families settled in the Thai Bai Vinai Refugee Camp where he continued to serve as tus thawj coj Nai Khoob 3 and then Nai Xoom Ib.
Eventually, in January of 1980, Captain Xiong and his family immigrated to the United States and resettled in Santa Ana, California. Captain Xiong continued to support and donated monetary contribution to his country in the hopes of saving lives of many people and making a better place for them to live. With his dedication in serving the country, his rank was promoted from Captain to Lt. General and Chief of Police under General Vang Pao and Lt. General Vang Xa in 2000. On November 8th, 2004, Lt. General and Chief of Police Yong Ge Xiong took his last breath and his memories remained in the hearts of many people. He had financially donated over $21,500.00 US dollars during the twenty-four years of his dedication in serving his country and commemorated a four star rank as a General confirmed by Lt. General Vang Xa and Colonel Tou Pao Lee, at his burial ceremonial in Santa Ana, California, on November 22nd, of 2004.
General/Chief of Police Yong Ge Xiong was an inspired leader and a hero to many people. His legacy continues to live forever. “The greatest gift is LOVE”. Those were his last words to the world.
A written document by his son,
Xa Xiong, BA, DC, MD
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