BATTLE FOR ASIA, THE: LAOS: THE FORGOTTEN WAR (TV)
Summary
This educational news special, hosted by reporter Ted Yates, describes the "semi-secret" conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War. Yates discusses how, despite two peace treaties, Laos has been at war for twelve straight years and has been the subject of much negotiation during that time. It is a "problem of simple geography," according to Yates, with North Vietnamese soldiers traveling through the landlocked country to access Thailand and South Vietnam, primarily using the Ho Chi Minh Trail to do so. The "chaos in Laos" is exacerbated by internal problems, including the fact that it has two capitals and that its king, Sisavang Vatthana, has deferred his official coronation for six years, citing superstition. Footage is shown of a prince's funeral, and as the country maintains a "fantasy of neutrality," officials from both North and South Vietnam as well as an ambassador from the Republic of China are in attendance, passing by the ironic "victory monument," now abandoned and standing as a tribute to the dead. Yates explains that apart from the Royal Officers Corps, who run the country, the nation hosts several smaller military groups, including the Pathet Lao, a Communist nationalist group, who are, strangely enough, allowed to live comfortably in the capital. Yates visits their compound and attempts to talk to the soldiers, noting that enemies living side-by-side is indicative of the "Alice in Wonderland aspects" of the conflicted country.
The shaky economy relies primarily on opium and gold-smuggling, and Yates explains that the United States once intended to make Laos, which became independent from French rule in 1953, an anti-Communist barrier in Southeast Asia. The 1962 Geneva peace conventions officially declared Laos' neutrality, but in practice it is anything but peaceful. Prime Minister Prince Souvanna Phouma comments on the "disrespect" of the Geneva treaty shown by the people and North Vietnam's refusal to withdraw their troops. In the mountains, the Miao people live in guerilla camps and rely on deliveries made by Air America planes, funded by civilians rather than the U.S. government. An American-built hospital struggles to aid those injured by Communist guns and land mines in the nearby "Plain of Jars" stronghold. American aid worker Jack Williamson lives and works with the Miao people and has earned a $25,000 price on his head from the Communists, worried that the U.S. will abandon the country as a lost cause and knowing the people will be "annihilated" without help. As the people have been driven from their farms by the Communists, the planes deliver bags of rice, carefully avoiding anti-aircraft guns and using "kickers" to send the bags falling from the sky to the people.
Elsewhere, members of the Royal Lao Air Force, who earn twelve dollars a month and are conscripted to fight indefinitely, enjoy some rare free time. Yates explains that Phouma has asked for the America government's help in exchange for allowing U.S. troops to use Laos to fight their own Vietnam War, though is worried about being seen as an "American puppet." In the capital, the "elaborate charade" of neutrality continues as the ICC (International Control Commission), staffed by Indian, Canadian and Polish representatives, "devotes itself to trivia" rather than progress, its loyalties divided and its funds low. The Indian chairman, Girdhari Lal Puri, talks about his attempts to keep hope alive despite the many bureaucratic setbacks and frustrations. Footage is shown of further bombings and attacks, and Yates concludes the program by noting that the war within Laos is all technically illegal, due to the peace treaties, and wondering about the U.S.'s responsibility in aiding the troubled country. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: January 5, 1967 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:33580
- GENRE: History
- SUBJECT HEADING: History; Documentary; Vietnam War
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1967
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ted Yates … Producer, Director, Writer, Reporter
- Robert Rogers … Associate Producer, Writer
- Girdhari Lal Puri
- Souvanna Phouma
- Sisavang Vatthana
- Jack Williamson