Laos, Some Reflections

   It was some time in the spring of 1961 when 1st Sgt. Louis Riccato sent me to the base library to do some research on Laos.  I was stationed at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego, CA., part of the 5th Marine Regiment.  There wasn't much in the base library about Laos, one picture article in The National Geographic and not much else and I knew almost nothing.
   His interest came because Communist insurgency was active in Laos and North Vietnam but most American policy makes thought that fighting would be centered on Laos.  American efforts to "stop the spread of Communism" would focus on Laos so my 1st. Sgt. wanted to know something about the country.
  However, through the efforts of American Diplomat, Averell Harriman, with the North Vietnamese an agreement was reached that Laos would remain neutral.  That agreement was broken by both sides.  Indeed the U.S. conducted a "secret" bombing campaign in Laos for nine years.  "That country then became the most heavily bombarded in the history of the world, receiving more tonnage of ordnance then Germany did in the Second World War."  (Dervla Murphy, ONE FOOT IN LAOS, 1999 pp.xvi-xvii)  (At the end of this post see statistics from The Mines Advisory Group)
   All of this was brought to mind while reading THE WISE MEN: SIX FRIENDS AND THE WORLD THEY MADE,  Walter Issacson & Evan Thomas.  This was the last book read by the History Book Club.   During the Kennedy Administration ambassador Harriman was sent to negotiate with the North Vietnamese about the status of Laos. On p. 606 (Yes, it's a very long book!) is this statement "The Eisenhower Administration had already poured money into Laos, some $300 million about $150. for every inhabitant, twice the annual per capita income.  The investment was a poor one; Laotian generals stole most of the money."
   In my visit to Vientiane I saw where some of the money went.  Patuxi Monument, pictured below, was designed to rival Paris' Arche De Triomphe.

MAG Statistics

• There were more than 580,000 bombing missions on Laos from 1964 to 1973 during the Vietnam War.

• That's equivalent to one bombing mission every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years.

• Over two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country, with up to 30 per cent failing to explode as designed.

A 'bombie' left Kayeng completely blind and with his face badly scarred.

• More than 270 million cluster munitions (or ‘bombies’, as they are known locally) were used; up to 80 million failed to detonate, remaining live and in the ground after the end of the war.

• Approximately 25 per cent of the country's villages are contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO).

• All 17 provinces suffer from UXO contamination.

• More than 50,000 people were killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents from 1964 to 2008.

• From the end of the war in 1974 to 2008, more than 20,000 people were killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents.

•  There have been approximately 300 new casualties annually over the last decade.

•  Over the last decade 40 per cent of total casualties were children.

Source: National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR webs