the explosive hit one of my fingers, here. another piece hit my belly, one hit my lower leg, and one hit my upper leg. they took me to the american hospital and i received free treatment. >> anthony: while these days the effects of the secret war are receiving more attention, much of how we got here remains off-limits. the cia and their relationship with the hmong in part because there are, to this day, insurgents deep in the jungle is a sensitive subject with the lao government. where did the american doctors come from? >> translator: so, uh, actually it's, i think this not, this is not a question i think. >> anthony: okay. a communist one-party state like laos it can be dangerous to talk politics. >> you tell me whether we can talk about this or not, whether it's a comfortable subject or