California burial set for Hmong general - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

California burial set for Hmong general

FRESNO, Calif. — Throngs of mourners bid adieu to Gen. Vang Pao on Wednesday morning as an elaborate, six-day funeral service for the beloved Hmong leader concluded in downtown Fresno.

Several buses of his followers, as well as dozens of relatives and supporters trailed the hearse carrying the general’s body to a cemetery in the Southern California city of Glendale. He’s scheduled to be buried there later in the day.

Vang Pao died on Jan. 6 at 81.

Family members had hoped the general’s role in leading a CIA-backed guerrilla army in the Vietnam War would qualify him for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, but Army Secretary John McHugh decided against that last week.

His family is appealing that decision to President Barack Obama, who hasn’t commented yet on the request.