Fifteen years before I was born, the Pathet Lao government abolished the monarchy, dissolved the Royal Lao Government, and renamed the country the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) on December 2, 1975.
Growing up in the United States, the education on the Second Indochina War rarely mentioned, if at all, Laos. It was mainly focused on and solely referred to as the Vietnam War—creating an understanding to a young Lao-American that the refugees from Laos (including either themselves or their parents) had simply left their home country due to the proximity of that war. Laos, it would seem, was just collateral damage to a war in which it was passively involved.
It is only through active independent research and education, and the possible awareness to organizations like Legacies of War, that a Lao-American may grow to learn a little more that Laos was more involved in the Second Indochina War than what was taught in public schools. That the United States, the nation that the young Lao-American was born in or grew up in, “secretly” dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, their heritage homeland. One may come to learn to call this the “Secret War” in Laos.
The Secret War label still conveys a western or American narrative—whether to highlight the United States’ might and power in the world or call-out its imperialist convictions. One might even feel compelled to call the Second Indochina War the “American Wars in Southeast Asia.” But these labels and titles continue to belittle Laos, and make it seem like it the country was just on the sideline of these impactful moments in world history. They continue a colonialist and patronizing idea that the leaders of Laos was not at a level to participate and make decisions.
As time moves forward, and with more research and education, the Lao-American can come to understand that Laos played a much larger role than what is known to the general American public. Laos and United States relations go as far back as World War II. The loss of Laos to communism was once at the same level of concern as the loss of South Vietnam in the domino-theory. And, the bombs that the United States dropped had to go through the approval of Royal Lao Government leaders, specifically Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma—who became desensitize and weary of 20+ years of civil war against the communist Pathet Lao. The Prime Minister grew a “bomb them wherever they are” attitude, and even pushed to escalate bombings and insisted on the use of napalm.
Despite some of the bad and ugly truths learned through reading academic papers, history books, and memoirs, about the history of Laos (specifically the 1950s–70s), this education helps break the personification that Laos and its people were lazy, didn’t care enough, and were of less importance. In fact, there was also this drive, ambition, and complex fight in Laos and its people.
The titles: Vietnam War, Secret War, and American Wars in Southeast Asia, doesn’t properly give the standing and prominence that Laos had during that time. How should Lao-Americans and others in the diaspora refer to this time that doesn’t sideline or belittles the participation of the Laos and its people?