The Vietnam War: Lasting Effects

 Welcome back to the jungle! The Vietnam War was one of the most devastating things Laos has experienced. Due to the damage done, many people don’t like to talk about it. This is one of the few topics that shouldn’t be mentioned in a conversation, unless your host brings it up. Nearly everyone in Laos has lost a loved one to the war or the effects of it. Unexploded ordinances (UXO), or unexploded bombs, are scattered throughout the whole country. In this post, I’ll go over the part of the war that happened in Laos.

Everyone knows Laos as a neutral country, which is true. However, that only prevented a full-on ground war. The U.S. and her allies believed Laos’s neutrality didn’t extend to the air. As a result, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world. The Viet Cong got many of their men and supplies from China. Unfortunately for Laos, the easiest way to get people and goods to Vietnam was through Laos on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. America believed that if they bombed the area enough, they could conquer the Vietnamese by severing their supply lines.

Laotians are still cleaning up UXO to this day. More than six billion pounds of bombs were dropped on Laos over approximately 580,000 missions. This is equal to a plane load of bombs being dropped every 8 minutes for 9 years. Because the jungle soil is so soft, it is estimated that around 30% of the bombs dropped never exploded. While this doesn’t sound like a large number, it is when we’re talking about billions of pounds. Many Laotians farm for a living or collect scrap metal. It’s very easy to hit an unexploded bomb with a plow, mistake part of one for scrap, or accidentally set one off by walking right over it. UXO is particularly deadly to farmers and children, often claiming limbs, sight, and hearing. In 2016, President Obama gave $90 million to Laos to assist with detonating UXO. Organizations such as the Mines Advisory Group employ locals to search for bombs and explode them safely. 

Americans did a lot more in Laos than bomb it. Covertly, they performed humanitarian work and aided locals. This was to build a good relationship with the Laotians, so they wouldn’t side with the communists. It also allowed Americans to have fighting allies in Laos, since they couldn’t have their own ground troops stationed there. By dropping medicine, rice, pigs, and other necessities from planes, Americans believed they would be able to get Laos on their side. Since no American ground soldiers could be in Laos, the CIA hired a contractor, Air America. They were responsible for conducting the drops. To continue to use Lao soldiers, Air America often smuggled opium for Lao generals as payment. For more information on this topic, there is both a book and a movie titled ‘Air America’. I highly recommend the movie, especially if you want to know more about America’s involvement in Laos.

Even though the war in Vietnam ended almost fifty years ago, its effects are still felt in Laos. Fortunately, the Laotians are able continue exploding UXO to make it safer for everyone to live their daily lives. Should you find yourself in Laos someday, remember to keep an eye out for notices of closed-off areas or UXO warnings. Thanks for joining me once again in the jungle!