reading, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, and Anne Fadiman included more facts to why the
Hmong were recruited.
Anne Fadiman mentioned in her book, The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, that the Hmong living in the mountains of Laos were characterized as noble savages and were really good with savage techniques in night assaults and ambush
(Fadiman, 1997, p. 127). If I can remember correctly, she also quoted that the
Hmong do not hesitate to kill, that they can use weapons and climb mountains.
These components made them a better candidate for the United States to choose from compared to the Laotians. It was also cheaper or cost-effective. Anne
Fadiman stated that the Hmong soldiers during that time period were only paid about $3, a month (Fadiman, 1997, p. 128). I remember that in the video, it mentioned that the Hmong soldiers were well fed, well paid, and well clothed, but did this apply to all? I find it hard sometimes to know which information I should use or retain because there are components where one historian says one thing and another says something either opposite or doesn’t agree.
Overall, this video did a great job at reminding me
in general how the Hmong were stereotyped, the rough history – not even explaining the fact that for thousands of years, the Hmong, in general, had faced years of prosecution and fought in many wars. Including the sacrifices that were made, the reason why there is a huge population of Hmong in the United States, and the realization of reality. When I was a child, all the movies that were associated with the war that the Hmong went through, I had always thought that it was just a movie. Later on, I learned that these movies and stories that
I’ve heard, were not fictional but true stories that needed to be told. It wasn’t something that someone made up, but it was an event that happened in real life.