2. Events
  3. 2009 Conference

Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand and the Vietnam War

13 March - 14 March 2009
Holiday Inn Park Plaza - Lubbock, Texas

The views and opinions expressed in these papers, presentations, and videos are strictly those of the presenters and authors and do not represent The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, or the State of Texas.

Friday, March 13th

Video

[Mahogany/Sycamore]
8:00 AM-8:30 AM : Opening Remarks

Moderator: Dr. Stephen Maxner, Director, Vietnam Center


  • Dr. Guy Bailey , President, Texas Tech University

Video
Part 1

Part 2

[Mahogany/Sycamore]
8:30 AM-10:00 AM Session 1: Understanding the War in Southeast Asia through the declassified works of Thomas Ahern

Moderator: Dr. Clayton Laurie, Historian, Center for the Sutdy of Intelligence


  • Dr. Jeffrey Race , Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand

  • The Ahern Monographs: A Critique of CIA Operations during the Vietnam War
    Col. Andrew Finlayson , Independent Researcher/Military Analyst

      •    

  • Mr. Merle Pribbenow , Independent Researcher/Retired Intelligence Officer


  • Dr. Timothy N. Castle , Historian, Center for the Study of Intelligence

Video

[Mahogany/Sycamore]
10:30 AM-12:00 PM Session 2: Vietnamese Perspectives on the War in Laos and Cambodia

Moderator: Dr. Ron Milam, Texas Tech University

  • North Vietnam - Pathet Lao Alliance During the Vietnam War: (Vietnam's Official Perspectives)
    Mr. Chau Huy Ngoc , Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

      •    
  • The Relationship Between Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam and the Vietnam War
    Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long , Vietnam National University. Ho Chi Minh City

      •    
  • Reconsidering the Vietnam War: The Cambodian Incursion from Different Perspectives
    Ms. Diu Huong , Graduate Student, Ohio University, Athens

      •    
Video

[Atrium]
12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch: Guest Speaker - Dr. Dennis Patterson, Executive Director, Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy and Reconciliation, Texas Tech University

    Video
    Part 1

    Part 2

    [Mahogany/Sycamore]
    1:30 PM-3:00 PM Session 3: The War in Laos: The Early Years

    Moderator: Dr. Marc Jason Gilbert, Hawai'i Pacific University

    • Laos - The Critical Years from 1956-1959 - A First-Hand Account
      Mr. Rufus Phillips , CIA, Laos

    • Laos: The War John F. Kennedy Did Not Fight
      Dr. Joyce Hoffmann , Old Dominion University

    • A Tipping Point for the United States in Laos: Operation Triangle, 1964
      Dr. John Prados , National Security Archive

    Video

    [Mahogany/Sycamore]
    3:30 PM-5:00 PM Session 4: The War in Laos

    Moderator: Dr. Dennis Patterson, Texas Tech University

    • Air America in Laos
      Mr. Allen Cates , Air America, Laos

    • Phou Vong and Kong Mi, Kaysone and Tanh: Negotiating communist and non-communist spaces amongst the Brao along the Laos-Cambodia border
      Dr. Ian G. Baird , The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

        •    
    • Laos and the International Commission for Supervision and Control: A Canadian Perspective
      Dr. Michael Carroll , SDF Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary

    Saturday, March 14th

    Video
    Part 1

    Part 2

    [Mahogany/Sycamore]
    8:30 AM-10:00 AM Session 5: New Interpretations of the War in Laos

    Moderator: Dr. Joyce Hoffmann, Old Dominion University

    • Werner Herzog: Two Films, Historical Inaccuracies and the Story of Dieter Dengler
      Mr. Rob Weiner , Texas Tech University

    • Beyond Mythology: The Role of the International Voluntary Services in "fight" and "Losing" the War in Laos, 1962-1975
      Dr. Marc Jason Gilbert , Hawaii Pacific University

        •    
    Video

    [Mahogany/Sycamore]
    10:30 AM-12:00 PM Session 6: Postwar Laos

    Moderator: Dr. Michael Carroll, SDF Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary

    • UXO and Postwar Laos
      Mr. Marcus Rhinelander , Independent Researcher and Filmmaker

        •    
    • Investment-Based Development in Northwest Lao PDF: A Lingering Powtwar Landscape
      Mr. Michael B. Swyer , University of California, Berkeley

        •    
    • Refugee Causality: Punishment of Lao Hmong
      Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt , Author, Photo-Journalist, Human Rights Researcher

    Video

    [Atrium]
    12:00 PM-1:00 PM Lunch: Guest Speaker - Dr. Timothy N. Castle, Historian, Center for the Study of Intelligence

      Video

      [Mahogany/Sycamore]
      1:30 PM-3:00 PM Session 7: The War in Cambodia

      Moderator: Dr. Kelly Crager, Texas Tech University

      • Sihanouk Between the Cat and the Dragon: Cambodia from 1963-1964
        Mr. Steve Sherman , Independent Researcher

          •    
      • Viet-Nam War and Its Aftermath: US Invasion of Cambodia
        Mr. Tan D. Thach , Independent Researcher

      Video
      Part 1

      Part 2

      [Mahogany/Sycamore]
      3:30 PM-5:00 PM Session 8: The War in Thailand

      Moderator: Dr. Jeffrey Race, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand

      • USAID Report: Architectural Notes in Vietna, 1974. Campus Designs for South Vietnam: The Influence of Thailand's Thammasat University and Other Southeast Asian Models of Educational Architecture
        Dr. Tom Reich , University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

          •    
      • Did Thailand Send Mercenaries to Fight in South Vietnam? A New Challenge to an Old Label
        Dr. Richard A. Ruth , United States Naval Academy

          •    
      • Domino by Design: Thai-US Relations During the Vietnam War
        Sudian Paungpetch , Texas A&M University

          •    
      Video

      [Atrium]
      7:00 PM-9:00 PM Banquet: Special Guest Speaker - Ambassador Sichan Siv, Former US Ambassador tot he United Nations