Choua Thao, one the first women who was Hmong to be trained as a nurse by the U.S. in Southeast Asia, passed away peacefully yesterday, according to her family. She was 82. What a fitting end to leave this earth 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War and subsequent covert operations in neighboring countries like Laos. Growing up, I heard the elders describe the land and country exploding. Lub teb chaws tawg. Now, I’m grateful to have met women like Choua whose stories during that time went un