Browse Items (100 total)

  • Tags: Kenneth Landon’s SE Asia Trips 1945-1966

During his 1960 trip, Kenneth, Norm, and Eddie Hanna went swimming in a kiddy pool. They all had a little too much to drink, and Kenneth suggested they go swimming. So they went in, got their swimsuits, and swam in the small little kiddy pool in the…

Tags:

Donovan, realizing that this was his last significant position in government, wanted to be remembered and make a difference. Jokingly, Kenneth suggested redirecting the Mekong River, as this could drastically impact southeast Asia. Donovan took to…

Tags:

sc38-321.png
Kenneth tells of his 1966 trip to Southeast Asia which would be his last. The Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) was trying to gather information in order that we might bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail. Kenneth was under strict orders, yet the…

Tags:

Kenneth tells of Queen Ramphai Barni. He visited her farm, recalling the time that she had visited his home in Washington. She remembered the visit as well, and they had a pleasant time together.

Tags:

Once again, years later, Kenneth met Mrs. Yipintsoi again and was asked to dinner with her after he spoke quite highly of her at a meeting with a few hundred women. Regrettably, he was unable to attend as he fell quite ill.

Tags:

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…

Tags:

While Kenneth was traveling in Bangkok in 1960, Prime Minister Sarit requested Kenneth for breakfast. Through the course of the breakfast, Sarit talked quite highly of Kenneth. As it turns out, the entire thing was televised, and many invitations…

Tags:

After the Thai-British negotiations in 1946, the Thai government wanted to give a gift to Kenneth. However, Kenneth had the reputation of not accepting gifts of any value. The government had a policy that fine statues of the Buddha could not be taken…

Tags:

Kenneth had good relations with the Thai. As such, he was to be honored with the Order of Exalted White Elephant award. However, as he was not a general, he wasn't able to receive the same ranking of White Elephant as the generals in the group. As…

Tags:

While in Bangkok, Kenneth decided that he wanted to buy a fine watch. The Thai would have gladly given him a watch, however Kenneth wanted to buy one. The Thai took him to a jewelry store, showing him the finest watch in the store, stating that he…

Tags:

Upon returning from his trip, Kenneth wanted to get his newly acquired hat blocked. He took it to his usual New York man, Lewis Saltz, and had him block the hat. Saltz made a large ordeal of the hat, displaying it for some time. Saltz took great…

Tags:

While traveling, Kenneth came upon a seller of peacock feather hats. The seller required the buyer to provide the pheasants which might be used in the making of the hat. Kenneth, however, found a premade hat in the house, tried it on and, finding…

Tags:

In 1953, Kenneth traveled to northeastern Thailand. He used this trip to scout out some of the areas which the Mekong River project would impact. He noted, in these areas, the great work ethic of the Vietnamese over that of the Chinese.

Tags:

During work in Thailand, Donovan was to create an aid program for General Pao. Kenneth, however, realized that General Sarit was a rising power, and that Donovan should also pay attention to him. Donovan created a plan for Sarit as well, this being a…

Tags:

While Donovan was in Thailand, he'd go on lengthy walks daily. He would walk during the heat of the day, wearing down even the marines who would guard him. When asked about it, he merrily responded that he wasn't fearing death--he wouldn't ask anyone…

Tags:

Kenneth and Bill Donovan went up to the extreme northern part of Thailand for the repatriation of the KMT troops. Both the previous ambassador, Ed Stanton, and the ambassador to Burma, David Key, had been told to assure their respective governments…

Tags:

Kenneth tells of his first encounter with General Lyman Lemnitzer. At this point he was a two star General. Kenneth spoke quite boldly to Lemnitzer, explaining to him that he would be funding even when the General may have opposed the plan.

Tags:

Kenneth recalls meeting with an old friend, the Consul General by the name of Drumwright. Drumwright had him over for the evening, taking him out to a wonderful party with orchestras, food, and fine Scotch whiskeys. Drumwright wanted to see and be…

Tags:

Kenneth discusses traveling through Bangkok. As he had some extra time on his hands, he visited some old friends he had made in the area.

Tags:

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…

Tags:

Kenneth tells of the return trip with Admiral Layton. He recalls the plethora of items that the Admiral and Bill Godel were returning with, including a three-wheeled bicycle taxi! Kenneth also tells that this was his first encounter with a to be…

Tags:

Kenneth tells of Admiral Layton going out on the town. As he had drank quite a bit, he ended up in the hotel late. Upon waking, he found eel in front of his door. He suspected the Japanese girls were being kind, when in reality it was leftovers of…

Tags:

Kenneth tells of the time when he was to be the political adviser to Admiral Edwin Layton. The Admiral was taking a tour around the Pacific countries and was particularly interested in Japan. Kenneth was asked what he would be drinking on the trip,…

Tags:

Kenneth explains his encounter with Ko Geng Hsui. He also discusses briefly the program at American University which he set up with a focus on Southeast Asian studies.

Tags:

Kenneth encountered Bill Godel once again while in Singapore. Bill had been getting involved with the gun industry there, and thought Kenneth might join in. Kenneth explained that he could not, yet spent a nice evening with Bill.

Tags:

Output Formats

atom, dc-rdf, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2