The overall purpose of Kenneth's trip was initially to be a political adviser on the negotiations between the English and the Thai. The British had made twenty-one demands on the Thai, which would have made Thailand virtually a British colony. the…
At the Thai celebration dinner, Dr. Thongpleo delivered an eloquent speech of gratitude to the Americans. He was one of Thailand’s "senators," and was quite an orator. He expressed elaborate appreciation to Kenneth for all he had done, and to the…
Kenneth explains how the OCB worked, emphasizing the two different sides--that of policy and that of operations. He goes on to indicate that he was on the operations side and goes into how exactly that played out with his time on the OCB.
When Harry Truman became President, the Potsdam conference changed the war theater for MacArthur. This brought Lord Louis Mountbatten's command into Thailand and the Indochinese states south of the 16th parallel, with Chiang Kai Shek north of that.…
Kenneth tells of the firebug problem which Sarit deals with. People were lighting fires in order to collect the insurance on the properties and Sarit needed to deal with the problem. Televised, he shot a firebug which had been caught, teaching a…
Kenneth's book based on his Haskell lectures, Southeast Asia: Crossroad of Religions, was published not only by Chicago University Press but also by Oxford University Press, as his two previous books had been.
Kenneth recounts the rest of his 1960 tour through Southeast Asia. He hears of the government in Laos being overthrown the night after he left. After a brief tour he travelled back to Bangkok and briefed the Prime Minister on what he saw.
Kenneth tells of the security at airbases which were prepped to bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail. He says that their security was extremely lax, and he thought that it would be quite easy for the Vietnamese to come in and sabotage the planes.
The sequel was just as hilarious. Mae was ill, and people from church came to call with the visiting committee. There were three women. Mae was up and thanked the women for coming. But when they came in the door, they stopped cold and began sniffing.…
Ah Peh was clearing out the pineapples behind the house, under Margaret's direction. There were hundreds of them, making a haven for cobras and vipers. As Ah he worked, a viper struck him in the lower leg, and he became very sick. Kenneth rushed him…
Kenneth describes the structure of the Foreign Service Institute. He explains how he might be a dean of one program, yet overall how he was an associate dean.
Kenneth and Governor Tri set out in a convoy of cars with motorcycle escorts and machine guns, because they were going way out into the countryside. Kenneth was astounded as they drove along the road to discover that all of the telephone poles had…
The climax of the negotiations was December 22, when the British gave in. Then the celebrations began. The Thai especially wanted to honor General Timmerman, who was the American negotiator in Colombo. They invited him to come to Bangkok, and the…
Kenneth tells of Seni Pramoj. Pramoj greatly disliked Kenneth, yet when he filed a complaint with the State Department, Kenneth was the one able to respond to him. Later, Pamoj became Prime Minister of Thailand.
Kenneth remembers king Ananda and his family coming back from Switzerland while Kenneth was still in Bangkok. He read a speech and it was obvious that he did not speak Thai as well as Kenneth did. The royal family subsequently held a dinner and…
Kenneth discusses the third day of the Country Team Seminar. He discusses the students milling around the library, gazing at various materials. He describes the kind of officials in the program. He also explains the seminar to Murry Marder.
Kenneth gives an account of the third week of the Country Team Seminar. Walt Rostow lectured in the morning session. There was also to be a party a few weeks later, and many seminar members signed up to attend. The afternoon lecture was given by…
Kenneth's work with the BEW began with a study of Southeast Asian countries to select bombing targets that would be significant in hurting the enemy's abilities to control the area. This began with important bridges, machine shops, roundhouses,…
Kenneth flew over to Bali There was an artist on the beach in Bali, with a magnificent looking "dancing woman," who was one of the more famous dancers. All the women were bare from the waist up. The woman would come around, and she had great big…
Kenneth talks of the Layton party once more. They now travel to Saigon. They met Colonel Ed Lansdale here, who was later to become a general. Admiral Layton by this time was quite impressed, as Kenneth had friends in Hong Kong and was now also known…
Kenneth traveled from Bangkok to Singapore. In Singapore, he got a visit from Ko Geng Hsui. Ko Geng Hsui had come to consult Kenneth about establishing a research group for the study of Southeast Asian affairs. Kenneth found it humorous that he…
When Kenneth tried to have Harvard take Prince Damrong's library he got on the telephone and called the heads of various departments, including Dr. Keyes DeWitt Metcalf, the head of the library and the most famous librarian in the U.S. at that time…
Kenneth and his companions spent the night where they had an emergency landing. In the night, the Colonel became sick with dysentery. In the morning he looked pale and said that they couldn't go that day because he was too sick to fly. Kenneth gave…
Kenneth discusses his travels to Burma. He explains the difference in government, as U Nu described a broken government which was fragile--something he didn't associate with government officials speaking of their own system.