May 1975 - The Shutdown of the USAID Mission to Laos

In the spring of 1975, the US exited Indochina. While the US had pulled out troops as a result of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, there remained a significant American presence in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, mostly in aid-related support areas. Cambodia went first, followed by the fall of Saigon on April 30. The exits were dramatic and were featured on the evening news and the front page of the newspapers. But with the fall of Saigon, as far as the American public was concerned, the US involvement in Indochina was over.

But there were still several thousand Americans in Laos and during the month of May, events slowly unfolded. The American withdrawal in Laos, with the shutdown of the US Mission to Laos happened more with a whimper than with a bang. During the early morning hours of May 21, student protesters (instigated by the Pathet Lao) occupied the USAID compound and support facilities as well as the KM-6 housing complex, where a majority of the USAID families lived. The US Embassy was also surrounded but not entered. While Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma had assured the US Embassy that their support was desired, he was not, in reality, in control of the situation.


The US found itself in the position of having to negotiate for the release of its citizens and find a way to shut down what was one of the largest AID missions in the world. After three days, with the good offices of the Indian and Australian Ambassadors, evacuation flights were arranged and non-essential persons began to leave the country. As one of the Assistant Personnel officers with USAID, my father had the responsibility for getting everyone out. As such we were on the departure list early so he could focus on his job and not worry about us. I was quite annoyed as I wanted to be among the last so I could actually watch all the events taking place.

Those of us in KM-6 were assigned to specially chartered Royal Air Lao flights starting on May 23, leaving our homes, our possessions, our pets and most often our dads, with one suitcase and a carry-on bag each. We met in front of ASV where our passports and health docs were checked by the USAID liaison team so that there would be no surprises at the airport. We then boarded buses and were driven through the back streets to the airport. There were glimpses of walls with signs saying “Yankee Go Home!”

At the airport, we gathered in the departure lounge under the watchful eyes of the Pathet Lao, awaiting the arrival of our plane, which had taken another group out to Bangkok earlier in the afternoon. Our bags were inspected as the Pathet Lao were suspicious that we were going to take materials brought in by the US as part of the aid mission. How we were supposed to fit typewriters, jeeps, air conditioners in our suitcases was a mystery! The plane landed around 8:00 PM, then was moved away from the gate out of sight. Were we going to be allowed to leave? The plane reappeared a bit later and just before 9:00, we were allowed to board. Shortly after takeoff, at 9:20, the pilot announced we had cleared Lao airspace and were now in Thailand. When we landed in Bangkok, the pilot, doing his customary spiel, “On behalf of Royal Air Lao, we hope that you have had a pleasant flight and look forward to seeing you on your next flight with us!” We all looked at each other and said “Huh??”


Upon our arrival in Bangkok, the US Embassy met us with a support team and we were bussed to a hotel, where those from successive flights were also placed. For some, onward travel to the US was a priority, for others, like us, waiting till our dad was allowed to leave meant we stayed in Bangkok. Before the days of CNN, e-mail, the internet or even reliable telephone service, the news from Laos came via the steady stream of evacuees as they reached Bangkok. My father would send messages as he shipped personnel out. One day, we received a call from the front desk at the hotel, saying that a Mr. Singh was downstairs for us. We went downstairs to find our Indian tailor from Vientiane holding a suitcase. He had made a trip to Bangkok and had brought a bag on behalf of my dad. Not only did it contain some clothes that had been ordered from the tailor, but things of my father’s with a note that said “Have sent this with Mr. Singh as I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave with anything when the time comes.”

On June 6th, Dad showed up in Bangkok with no warning, one of the last USAID team to leave Laos. Within the space of just a few weeks, the USAID mission was closed down and materials turned over to the Lao government. A week later, we headed back to the US with Dad unsure of his next assignment.


I headed for college in August, without a high school diploma or a final transcript. The abrupt departure had meant no graduation, limited goodbyes, and no closure. I came back to find few people who knew about the events in Laos, or in some cases, even where it was. And in December, when the Lao PDR was announced from the ASV gym at KM-6, the newspapers (such as the St. Petersburg, FL Times on December 1) made just a little mention of it.

Faces on the trip!

With apologies for anyone I haven't included here...as well as for using maiden names for the women

Lloyd Coleman & Mrs. Vivian Pennington (in Phnom Penh)

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Myra Yockey & Terry Remley (on the plane to Laos)

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Frank Manley and Vivian Pennington (at Wattay)

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Beth Lilley and Penny Johannasson (at Wattay)

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Kim Cashbaugh and Elaine Clark (Cashbaugh)

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Beth Lilly, Peak & her mom

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Jill Michael & Becky McCluskey

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Carol Snyder and family

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Barbara and Pauline McRainey

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Howard Turner and Mike Fitzgerald

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Marilyn Polak and Penny Khounta

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Wally Fitzgerald and Sarah Bonner

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Tony Chen, Me and Becky McCluskey

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Day 1 - Visit to the Vientiane International School

In the afternoon of January 25, a group of us, including our teachers headed off to visit the Vientiane International School at their new campus on Phongsavan Road. Although not directly supported by the US Embassy, as ASV was, it is the school for kids from various embassies, NGO's and the local population. It currently has an enrollment of about 300 students in K-12, and impressively boasts an International Baccalaureate program at the HS level.

Steve Alexander, the Director of VIS, gave us the grand tour and we ended with a group gathering in their sala, telling stories of our days in the 1960's and 1970's, and listening in turn to the stories of living in the Lao PDR today.

Mr Johannassen telling us about forming the Flying Club at school

The group with ASV'ers from the 1960's and 1970's

(Steve Alexander is in the grey shirt, standing to the left of me)

THE VIS website

http://vislao.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Day One in Laos

The Don Chan Palace Hotel - 14 stories sitting on the sandbar on the Mekong River. Rumors have it that the Nagas (large river serpents) inhabited this sandbar and were displaced by the hotel construction. At some point, the Nagas are going to return....And you don't want angry Nagas coming after you!

One of the temples near the hotel -----v

At Wat Sisaket, my favorite Wat in Vientiane -----v

35 Reasons Why We Went to Laos!!!

With apologies to anyone whose discovery I don't mention - but as Paul Harvey used to say "and now, here's the rest of the story..."


1) To prove that we really did survive “Youth in Asia”, even if we can’t remember it any more

Ahh, but we did remember...whether it was our homes, the field in front of ASV, the site of our proms or the awards banquet....

2) To listen to the “oldies” like “Paint it Black”, “Proud Mary”, “Yellow River”, “American Pie” and “Black Magic Woman” where we heard them for the first time

Lloyd and I sang "Me and Julio down by the School Yard" on the That Luang field

3) We can have an “adult beverage” in front of our teachers and not get in trouble!

Not only did we have "adult beverages" with our teachers but Mr. J bought me a drink!!

4) To hang out at Le Spot and see what that was all about, because some of us were too young to go when we lived there

Many of us went off to the Settha Palace Hotel to see the site!

5) To raise a toast to those who didn’t make it out of Laos, and to remember those who we have lost in the years since

We remembered those we've lost at the grand dinner!

6) The Royal Air Lao ticket said “Let it happen to you in Laos”. Let's see if we can find where “it” happened

Even Frank Manley had a copy of one of the ticket jackets.....we all had our "let it happen to you in Laos" memories


7) To revisit the wats and That Luang because we didn’t appreciate their significance when we were young

We visited Wat Sisaket and Wat That Luang! And received blessings at Wat Simuang

8) We can say “Bo Peng Yang” all we want and people won’t look at us funny!

LOL!!

9) To see if we can find our old homes, however, mine's been torn down....8-(

But Lloyd and Kenny and Marilyn and Susan were able to visit their houses! In fact, Marilyn had the Lao PDR Premier sleep in her bedroom!!

10) There’s nothing like drinking a beer and watching the sun set over the Mekong River (especially from our riverside hotel)

Lao Beer #1

11) We can climb up to the top of the Monument and peer into the “den of spies”, aka the USAID compound

They've built a very large building in front - and you can't see in anymore! But Howard Turner wandered into the compound and took some photos.

12) To give back to the Lao people, in a small way, for the wonderful experience we had living there

We made a donation to the Lanterns Projects, to provide medical support and food for students.

13) We miss drinking sodas in plastic bags

Still there but worried, now, about Hep B

14) Do the Lao women still sit under the street lights at night and catch bugs for snacks?

Didn't see this but would assume so.....but there were lot's of other interesting critters for sale in the food stalls

15) We lived history here – 1973 Peace Accords, the Kong Le coup, Lam Song 719, the 1975 evacuation

and we told the stories at the Vientiane International School about these events....

16) Because we need new baci strings to ward away evil spirits!

Great baci at the Kua Lao restaurant with all of us in Lao attire! Will fly home with baci strings to keep me safe.

17) No one else would believe the aircraft we flew, what we flew with, and that we flew with the ramps down

well, the hangers at the airport are still there, even if the planes aren't. And the domestic terminal still has some of the old signage from the 1970's.

18) To get into KM-6 and see our old alma mater (singing the school song is optional)

We got into KM-6 and saw the school site through the trees...but the Lao PDR was formed in our gym with the delegates sitting at our school desks! Picture in the Kaysone Museum!!

19) Get up the nerve to ask that cute guy/gal to dance or at least have a conversation with them

At least one person admitted to telling an old crush about that fact....

20) To visit Luang Prabang or Pakse or Angkor Wat, with old friends

I went off to Angkor Wat with 11 others! Another group went off to LP!

21) Do they still burn the rice fields and does it still smell the same?

The smells still smelled pretty authentic!

22) We know that the Air America pilots were nothing like the movie with Mel Gibson! (But the scenery was pretty authentic)

To all the dads who served! Thank you!!

23) Can we raise the GDP of the Lao PDR by buying all those wonderful fabrics we just took for granted?

We all bought extra suitcases to take home our purchases!!!

24) Because no one else would believe that we really ate at a restaurant called Phu Ky’s and that they had really great noodles.

We had really great food even if Phu Ky's wasn't there...

25) We have to make it back to Laos before the first fast food restaurant does

Still no fast food!!!! But there's another super highway going in!!

26) To find out what happened to our fellow Lao students

We had one who came back!

27) We have to enjoy a cup of Lao coffee, now enjoying a resurgence

Bought several pounds to bring back!I

28) Did the “Most Likely to Succeed” folks really succeed??

Some of the group have done quite well for themselves!

29) To reminisce about our horse, our motorcycle, our swim in the Mekong, the jungle camping experience or the night train to Bangkok

Yes, Indeed!

30) To remember being 12 or 15 or 17 and the wonderful adventures we had in the “Land of a Million Elephants”

Ditto!

31) Compare notes between the floods of 1966 and 1971

And look at the new levees being built now....

32) To relive those days in May 1975 when the KM-6 compound was held hostage and we walked out of our houses with a single suitcase

And to tell the VIS and the US Ambassador what that was like

33) Because we have been to a previous reunion and we know how great it was!

Hear, hear!!

34) Or perhaps you haven’t made it to a reunion yet and you want to know what all the fuss is about!

Lots of newbies on this trip!

35) For those of you who can't make it, you will be there in spirit, or perhaps virtually, and those of us who get to Laos will miss you!

And we did!!!

First Photos on the ground in Laos!

Some shots at Wattay Airport!

The Welcoming Committee - Penny Johannassen with Beth Lilly

And I'm on the ground in Laos!

The teachers reunite! (Jack Anderson & Rick Johannassen)

Genocide in Cambodia - 1975-1979

The first of the Indochinese countries to collapse, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, fell to the Khmer Rouge, the communist forces in Cambodia, on April 17, 1975. As recreated in the movie, "The Killing Fields", the Khmer Rouge evacuated the entire city of Phnom Penh, forcing everyone out into the countryside. Their goal was to create a new "Angkar", a new country based on the ideology that their leaders had developed over the previous decades. Angkar was going to be self-sufficient and the old ways were going to be replaced. The residents of the cities were the "new people" and they needed to be re-educated. The communist cadre were suspicious of the city folks, especially the intelligensia. Immediately they were singled out, with parents separated from children as the Khmer sought to discover who was educated. Those that were educated or spoke more than Cambodian or wore glasses were executed.

Elizabeth Becker, in her book "When the War was Over!" explains that the Khmer Rouge leadership had developed this distorted sense of nationalism as a result of the lack of support that they had received during their fights, first against the French,then the US. Although many had been educated in North Vietnam and had had contact with China, none of the other communist entities had given them much support in their struggles. As a result, they trusted no one and were forced to develop their own ideology of extreme self-sufficiency.

We visited one of the killing fields on our second day in Phnom Penh, one of over 100 in the country. There were many, many pits that had contained the executed and we walked around them, stunned at the events that had taken place there. A monument, probably several stories high held 10 platforms, enclosed in glass, of skulls of the victims, as well as their clothing. We asked our guide if Cambodia children learned about this and he replied that they did, but that with each generation there were less who cared about it.


Back in Phnom Penh, we visited Tuol Sleng S-21, the notorious prison. The prison warden, Duich, has been recently tried and convicted and is awaiting sentencing for the activities there. The building itself had been a school, with the classrooms used for torture and holding cells. Even some non-Cambodians were held, tortured, and executed here. When the evacuation of Phnom Penh occurred, those who could not provde with a passport that they were another nationality were in trouble. The Khmer Rouge documented all their prisoners here and their photos are on display, along with a sign that says "No smiling while taking the photo." Who could have smiled in such a place???


"Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"

Laos - Just photos

Sunrise on the Mekong














At one of the wats















Wat Sisaket














Penny and Rick Johannasen














Off on our Tuk-Tuk tour of Vientiane















Patuxai Monument (aka the Vertical Runway)

Arrival in Laos - Jan 24

(Sorry for the delay in posting! Between travel yesterday and trouble with internet access, I wasn't able to get connected.)

We left PNH at 3:50 for VTE on Vietnam airways. It's about a one hour flight and feelings were running pretty deep as we began our descent into Wattay Airport. When we touched down on the runway, a cheer went up and the group started clapping. The rest of the passengers on the plane, and it was a full flight, all looked at us like we were crazy! The terminal jetways ramps into the terminal (yes, they have jetways today) are quite open so I stopped to take a picture of the plane and then of various members of the group as they stepped on Lao soil for the first time in 35 or 40 years. There were tears and cheers.

Took quite a while to get our visas and clear immigation. Laos doesn't believe in giving you your paperwork on the plane so you can prepare in advance. However, they do have a more efficient process for issuing the visas compared to Cambodia - four folks sitting side by side, and sliding the passport through the steps. 1) Hand over the passport with the paperwork and 2 photos. 2) Attach the photo to the paperwork. 3) Stamp the passport with the Lao visa. 4) Accept payment and return the passport to the owner. You don't even want to hear how it was done in Cambodia. On the bright side, all the baggage was waiting for us down in baggage claim. As for "anything to declare?" The customs guy didn't even look at me as I went by.

We were met by Frank Manley, of Manley Enterprises AND Penny and Rick Johannasen. What a nice greeting! (I also ran into the tour guide that I had had when I returned to Laos in 2006. As I told him, once he got over his surpise, "see, I told you I would be back"

It was dark by the time we headed into town and could only see a bit of the old airport vut it looked like there were still old hangers. The new road is further away but apparently the old terminal is still being used as a domestic terminal.

(Must head downstairs for reception for a bit - will resume later)

In Cambodia

It was a long trip from RDU to LAX to HKG to PNH. The weather didn't help as the flights were bumpy and the winds were not in our favor. I don't travel as well as I used to! We were delayed getting into Hong Kong and landed with little time to make our flight. However, Cathay Pacific had a gate rep to meet our group and check our boarding paperwork to pre-clear us. With the rep holding a sign for us, the 30 of us ran across the airport, cleared security again, and made it down to the transfer bus to take us over to another terminal. We arrived at the gate as they were calling "Final boarding call." They had held the plane for us.

Arriving in PNH, we all got our visas on demand and two buses were waiting for us to take us the short trip into town. Flying into PNH, it seemed alot like Northern Thailand, perhaps Korat. Once in town, the French influence appeared in the city street layout and some of the buildings. But the traffic is totally crazy. Bikes, tuk tuks, buses, cars, motorcycles all vie for the same space, and stopping at stop signs is completely optional (though they do stop for traffic lights.)


We are staying at the Phnom Penh Hotel, a very nice new property. Jennifer and I were going to go for a walk but the bell captain convinced us to hire a car for $20 and have him drive us around. "Too hot, missy" It was a good idea - it was hot and dusty! We were able to get a good sense of the city and noted the new building going on. A new casino complex, which could have been built in Atlantic City, is going up on the Tonle Sap river. Malaysian investment dollars have funded this. We saw a number of joint building efforts, including a Korean-Cambodian convention center and the new Canada-Cambodian bank.


This evening Jennifer and I took advantage of the hotel spa and got a two-hour Thai massage for $20 each. The petite masseur managed to do a good job getting most of the kinks out from the travel.

Tomorrow we are off to see a bit more of the city including the Tol Sen Genocide museum. There's no sense of the events of 1975-1979 currently, but it is easy to picture the city empty, after the population was forced down the broad boulevards, out of the city, into the Killing Fields.

We have gathered at LAX - Gate # 105

The crew is assembling here. The roll call includes: Lloyd Coleman, Jennifer Hynes, Vivian & Anong Pennington (and family), Myra and Monica Yockey, John Emory, Kim and Elaine Cashbaugh, Jack Anderson & wife, Marilyn Polak & husband, Kent and Rosalind Schnoeker,Carol Synder & family. Toni Moorehouse and Elizabeth Lilly are supposed to be making their way through check-in and security. We should start boarding in less than an hour! Laos, here we come....

Made it to Los Angeles

Despite weather all across the US (and all sorts of commotion with my mother), I am in LAX, purloining electricity from a spare wall outlet.

Shortly I will head over to the International Terminal and meet Lloyd, our reunion organizer, and my best friend from our days at ASV, Jennifer Hynes. More to follow.

ETD is tomorrow

Less than 12 hours to ETD. Last minute details getting the netbook finalized so I can blog throughout the trip, scanning old Lao memorabilia and trying not to forget anything... By this time tomorrow evening our group will be gathered at the gate and getting ready to board our flight out of LAX to Hong Kong.

35 Reasons why we have to attend RL35!

1) To prove that we really did survive “Youth in Asia”, even if we can’t remember it any more

2) To listen to the “oldies” like “Paint it Black”, “Proud Mary”, “Yellow River”, “American Pie” and “Black Magic Woman” where we heard them for the first time

3) We can have an “adult beverage” in front of our teachers and not get in trouble!

4) To hang out at Le Spot and see what that was all about, because some of us were too young to go when we lived there

5) To raise a toast to those who didn’t make it out of Laos, and to remember those who we have lost in the years since

6) The Royal Air Lao ticket said “Let it happen to you in Laos”. Let's see if we can find where “it” happened

7) To revisit the wats and That Luang because we didn’t appreciate their significance when we were young

8) We can say “Bo Peng Yang” all we want and people won’t look at us funny

9) To see if we can find our old homes, however, mine's been torn down....8-(

10) There’s nothing like drinking a beer and watching the sun set over the Mekong River (especially from our riverside hotel)

11) We can climb up to the top of the Monument and peer into the “den of spies”, aka the USAID compound

12) To give back to the Lao people, in a small way, for the wonderful experience we had living there

13) We miss drinking sodas in plastic bags

14) Do the Lao women still sit under the street lights at night and catch bugs for snacks?

15) We lived history here – 1973 Peace Accords, the Kong Le coup, Lam Song 719, the 1975 evacuation

16) Because we need new baci strings to ward away evil spirits!

17) No one else would believe the aircraft we flew, what we flew with, and that we flew with the ramps down

18) To get into KM-6 and see our old alma mater (singing the school song is optional)

19) Get up the nerve to ask that cute guy/gal to dance or at least have a conversation with them

20) To visit Luang Prabang or Pakse or Angkor Wat, with old friends

21) Do they still burn the rice fields and does it still smell the same?

22) We know that the Air America pilots were nothing like the movie with Mel Gibson! (But the scenery was pretty authentic)

23) Can we raise the GDP of the Lao PDR by buying all those wonderful fabrics we just took for granted?

24) Because no one else would believe that we really ate at a restaurant called Phu Ky’s and that they had really great noodles.

25) We have to make it back to Laos before the first fast food restaurant does

26) To find out what happened to our fellow Lao students

27) We have to enjoy a cup of Lao coffee, now enjoying a resurgence

28) Did the “Most Likely to Succeed” folks really succeed??

29) To reminisce about our horse, our motorcycle, our swim in the Mekong, the jungle camping experience or the night train to Bangkok

30) To remember being 12 or 15 or 17 and the wonderful adventures we had in the “Land of a Million Elephants”

31) Compare notes between the floods of 1966 and 1971

32) To relive those days in May 1975 when the KM-6 compound was held hostage and we walked out of our houses with a single suitcase

33) Because we have been to a previous reunion and we know how great it was!

34) Or perhaps you haven’t made it to a reunion yet and you want to know what all the fuss is about!

35) For those of you who can't make it, you will be there in spirit, or perhaps virtually, and those of us who get to Laos will miss you!

Six days and counting

6 days and counting! Back to Southeast Asia on January 21, 2010. RDU – LAX – PNH – VTE on January 21, 2010.

Why is this a big deal? Because in May of 1975, I left Vientiane in the last days of the conflict in Southeast Asia, without having the chance to say goodbye. The ghosts lingered for years. I was fortunate to have attended the ASV reunion in Phoenix in 1995 and the reunion in Washington DC in 1998. I backed out of the October 2000 reunion back in Laos due to the political issues but had dinner in Bangkok with those travelling to Laos. In 2006, I had a brief, but private, opportunity to return. Travelling with two wonderful friends, I found Vientiane much the same as when we left. The people were as friendly as ever and remarkably the city felt much the same despite the 31 years, 1 month, 19 days, and about 11 hrs that passed since I left Wattay airport on May 23, 1975.

In just a few days, some of us lucky enough to have lived in Laos, will gather in Vientiane, due to the incredible efforts of Lloyd Coleman, to relive and remember the sights, sounds, smells and memories of our days in the “Kingdom of a Million Elephants.” Stayed tuned!!!