Artifact Details
Hmong leader Vang Pao presented this necklace to CIA officer Tom Ahern in the early 1960s as a farewell tribute. Made of solid silver, this finely crafted piece weighs more than half a pound. The rectangular pendant is known as a soul lock and reflects the spiritual beliefs of the Hmong people. CIA provided paramilitary assistance to indigenous Hmong guerrilla forces fighting the North Vietnamese Army in an effort to save Laos from falling to North Korean communists or Pathet Lao.
Vang Pao led the Hmong fighters. After World War II, Vang served as a lieutenant in the French military during the First Indochina War. He went on to become the only ethnic Hmong to attain the rank of major general in the Royal Lao Army. After the U.S. pulled out of Southeast Asia in 1975, Vang Pao and thousands of his fellow Hmong immigrated to the United States. He died in California in 2011.