Lee Lue

Infobox Military Person
name= Lee Lue
born= Birth year and age|1935|12
died= July 12 1969
placeofbirth=Phou Pheng Village Xiangkhoang Province, Laos, French Indochina
placeofdeath= near Muong Suoi, Vietnam

caption=_Lt._Col._Lee_Lue
nickname=
allegiance=Hmong people
French Indochina flagicon|USA
serviceyears=1967–1969
rank=Lieutenant Colonel
branch=Royal Lao Air Force
commands=T-28 fighter bomber squadron
unit=Special Unit based at LS-20A, Long Tieng, Laos
battles=Secret War in Laos
Second Indochina War (Vietnam War) Cold War
awards=
relations=wife Jou
first born son Ze
laterwork=
Lieutenant Colonel Lee Lue (1935 – July 12, 1969) was a Laotian Hmong fighter bomber pilot notable for flying more combat missions than any other pilot in the Kingdom of Laos. Lee Lue flew continuously, as many as 10 missions a day and averaging 120 combat missions a month to build a total of more than 5,000 sorties. [ [http://www.afa.org/magazine/June1999/0699plain.asp Air Force Association - The Plain of Jars] ] Lee Lue was the leader of the special group of Hmong pilots flying T-28Ds out of Long Tieng against the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese positions. The group was funded by the CIA and was not integrated into the regular Royal Lao Air Force. He was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and killed over Vietnam near Muong Suoi on July 12, 1969. [ [http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/speccoll/Leeker/laos3.pdf Air America in Laos III – in combat] ]

A motto attributed to him was "Fly 'til you die." [ [http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:iNE85KpMuw8J:www.hamline.edu/gse/diversity_web/hmong.pdf+%22lee+lue%22+fly+til+you+die&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us Hmong - A Resource Guide for teachers] ] He was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. [ [http://www.geocities.com/koratmahknut/warinlaos/hmonglao/theday.htm The Day we Lost Lee Lue] ]

Biography

Lee Lue was born in 1935 to Chong Ger Lee and his wife Pa Vang in the village of Phou Pheng in Xiangkhoang Province. In 1953, Lee Lue's family moved to Xieng Khouang city after the Vietnamese invaded Laos. After the war ended in 1955, Lee Lue married Jou and two years later their first child, a son named Ze, was born. Lee Lue studied in Xieng Khouang city and later enrolled in teacher training school. In 1959, he took a position as an elementary school teacher in Lat Houng. In 1967, Touby Lyfoung and General Vang Pao requested volunteers for flight training in T-28s. Within six months of training, Lee Lue and another volunteer, Vang Toua, became the first two Hmong T-28 fighter pilots. Lee Lue successfully flew aerial support for ground troops and built a record number of sorties. According to Christopher Robbin's book, "The Ravens", respect for Lee Lue and his skills was shared by not just the Hmong but also seasoned American pilots. [ [http://www.learnabouthmong.org/presentation/hmonghistory_files/frame.htm#slide0007.htm HMONG HISTORICAL FIGURES PRESENTATION] ]

ee also

*Air America (airline)
*Air America (film)
*Battle of Lima Site 85
*Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés GCMA Laos
*History of Laos since 1945
*Laos Memorial
*Laotian Civil War aka the "Secret War" in Laos
*North Vietnamese invasion of Laos
*Vang Sue
*General Vang Pao

References

External links

* [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PD&s_site=twincities&p_multi=SP&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5DA06287D2116&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM St. Paul Pioneer Press: August 10, 1990, Page 1A]

Further reading

*Jane Hamilton-Merritt (1999). "Tragic Mountains". ISBN 0253207568
*Robert Curry (2004). "Whispering Death", "Tuag Nco Ntsoov": ...Our Journey with the Hmong in the Secret War for Laos ...Lub caij peb thiab Hmoob koom tes ua ntsug rog ntsiag to nyob Los Tsuas teb. ISBN 0595318096