Photo courtesy of the National Lao-Hmong Memorial Foundation

The Lao-Hmong community lost an important piece of history after an historic T-28 Trojan, N28DE, made a forced landing near the Yuba County Airport (MVY) on Saturday.

The pilot and one passenger sustained moderate injuries after making an emergency landing near Feather River Boulevard and Curtis Road, according to a media release by the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department. The aircraft did not contact any objects on the ground, the Sheriff’s Department said. 

The intersection of Feather River Boulevard and Curtis Road is less than a mile southwest from the threshold of Yuba County Airport’s runway 34.

According to a May 17 release from the FAA, the North American T-28B crashed around 10:20 a.m. Two people were on board and the cause is under investigation, the FAA said. 

The loss of the aircraft will be felt throughout the Lao-Hmong community, said John Horan, Board Chair of the National Lao-Hmong Memorial Foundation. The Colorado based organization operated the T-28 as part of its history program.

“​​Our intention was to make the T-28 the central feature of a national memorial,” Horan said in a May 20 email to Wingman. “In the weeks to come, our board will assess how we will best go forward.”

Horan called the injuries to the pilot and passenger “serious” and said they are still recovering.

The Trojan was set to take part in a Lao-Hmong event that same day, according to Horan. Several events to to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hmong American Day were planned for Saturday. The Elk Grove Citizen reported a separate event was scheduled for Elk Grove, drawing a large crowd.

The North American T-28 was used as an attack aircraft during a covert war in Laos led by General Vang Pao and supported by U.S. CIA operatives during the Vietnam war, Horan said.

“Undoubtedly, thousands of American and allies’ lives were saved in South Vietnam as a result of the war,” Horan said. “Mind you, these Lao-Hmong pilots were unschooled and, for the most part, simple farmers. But they were people who valued freedom and the right to self-determination.”

One of the goals for the National Lao-Hmong Memorial Foundation is to educate and raise awareness of Lao-Hmong history and their actions in the Vietnam War. The same T-28B involved in Saturday’s incident can be seen in several photographs published to the organization’s social media accounts.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said the T-38 was set to take part in an event in Elk Grove. Wingman later learned that was a separate event from the one at Yuba County Airport and it was not immediately clear which event Horan was referring to when he confirmed the information in an email to Wingman.