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…
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…
Ho Chi Minh knew he couldn't give Kenneth a gift, and didn't offer him one. He was a clever man, and what he did was give Kenneth a tortoiseshell vanity case for Margaret.
After flying from Singapore then on to Djakarta, Kenneth tells of his encounter with General Ko Geng Hsui. At the time, the General was one of the most powerful men in the government under Lee Kuan Yew.
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.
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…
In his youth, Merle Cochran had spent time in France, and he had acquired a magnificent set of French furniture. When he finished his assignment in Djakarta, he sold that furniture to the government for a fancy price, enough to finance his retirement…
When Kenneth traveled out to Southeast Asia in late 1945, after the war, he had another experience concerning time. He was to meet some Siamese officials and US Legation members. Kenneth urged his fellow Americans to be on time, but they would hurry…
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…
One night, Charlie Yost, Irena, and Kenneth had gone to the Royal Palace, and were standing about having "pre-prandial drinks" when the lights went out. Phumipol lit a cigarette lighter and held it under his chin, so that everyone was in shadow,…
There was a lot of partying during Kenneth's time in Bangkok. He went dancing almost every night. When the Japanese were in the country there were no nightclubs, but when the allied forces came in this all changed. By the time Kenneth arrived there…
Kenneth tells of how he was poisoned at a dinner in Bangkok. There was a dinner at the Legation during which Kenneth became violently ill, supposedly from food poisoning with arsenic. There were Thai in Bangkok who were very suspicious of Kenneth,…
In 1945, when Kenneth arrived in Bangkok, he had only been there a few days when Pridi gave him an official dinner. At the dinner, Pridi said he had read Kenneth's book and commented that it was a very fair book. He wanted to know how Kenneth got…
Kenneth explains how he obtained the classified documents of Regent Pridi Panomyong. It was through a Thai who was an aide to Pridi who wanted to marry a girl in the church at Trang, a Christian girl. He was not a Christian. He came to Kenneth to…
Prince Dhani, the minister of education at that time, came all the way down from Bangkok to read Pridi's economic plan that Kenneth had obtained when he was still a missionary. The documents were classified and could not be in the public domain. The…
While in Bangkok, Kenneth met a man by the name of James Thompson who had been in the town for some time and received a letter from his wife in the US that she was divorcing him because he was not coming back. Thompson was devastated by the letter…
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…
From Rangoon, Kenneth went on over to Bangkok. There was an OSS mission in Bangkok, represented by James Thompson. On the Legation side, only one other American was there, having arrived the day before Kenneth to represent the USAF, Ted Grundahl. He…
When Kenneth arrived in Burma, the consul general, Glen Abby briefed him on conditions in the country. Burma was disturbed politically, and the Burmese were determined to drive the British out of their country. There were plots and people being shot…
On his way to Bangkok from Paris, Kenneth flew over northern Africa past the pyramids. He could see the scene of devastation as a result of the war. They flew on across India, landing first in Karachi and then at Calcutta. From Calcutta, they flew to…
Kenneth tells of his experience flying in a C-54, which was a propeller plane. After flying on this sort of plane for a few days, he seemed to continue hearing the propellers. Those planes made an awful racket. The stops were fairly frequent because…
Kenneth talks about his diplomacy travels to Southeast Asia. He describes his suitcase and the things he carried, whether it was for personal comfort, health, money, or documents for his meetings with people. He wrote frequently to Margaret and the…
The 1945 flight from New York landed in Ireland, then in London, where Kenneth visited the bookstores. He then flew on to Paris. Margaret had just "gotten in the chips" because of Anna, and had some money to spend. They had agreed that he would buy…
On a later trip, Kenneth recalls, as he flew up to New York, a little boy was sitting next to him on the plane and asked where he was going. The two began a conversation and at some point Kenneth told him that he was taking the Stratocruiser from New…
The cost of Kenneth's trip to Thailand was $1367 one way by plane to Bangkok, plus $342 for his baggage! He flew on a C-54 military plane. The C-47 was the workhorse. But the C-54 was much more substantial. He flew from New York City, flying out over…