CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

CHAPTER 141

Statutes of 2026

Introduced by Senator Umberg

March 10, 2026

Relative to Hmong Laotian Special Guerilla Unit veterans.

Fiscal committee: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

This measure would honor and celebrate Hmong Laotian Special Guerilla Unit veterans and their families and recognize their sacrifice.

WHEREAS, From 1961 to 1975, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited and trained Hmong and other Laotian soldiers to form a Special Guerilla Unit (SGU) to fight the Secret War during the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, This SGU performed covert missions ordered and planned by the United States military and CIA to deter the movement of troops, supplies, and weapons on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other areas in and around Laos; and

WHEREAS, SGU soldiers rescued many downed United States pilots and recovered the bodies of many members of the United States Armed Forces at great risk and loss of their own lives and own ranks; and

WHEREAS, SGU soldiers were issued United States Air Force aviator badges upon successfully completing pilot training and parachutist badges for completing parachute school, and were commemorated by the Hmong and Lao Memorial dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery in May 1997; and

WHEREAS, SGU soldiers have been honored with the construction and maintenance of a monument in the City and County of Fresno and the Cities of Stockton and Chico, and legislative recognition in the States of Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; and

WHEREAS, At least 35,000 SGU soldiers were killed during this time, roughly 12 percent of the Hmong population in Laos at the time; and

WHEREAS, Congress never granted these soldiers full veteran status, and they do not have military identification card or license plate eligibility; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby honors and celebrates Hmong Laotian SGU veterans and their families and recognizes their sacrifice; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.