Brad was amazed at how Kenneth and Margaret had made a living. He was especially amazed at what Kenneth was doing as professor of philosophy, then when he entered the government, and when Margaret soldAnna and the money began to flow in. He couldn't…
Kenneth tells the story of the Landons' bulldog, Candy, that Kenneth bought when he was going to Earlham College to make an impression on campus. The dog was very emotional and had an unsual way of greeting visitors, making a mess that Margaret had…
Because of Kenneth's unusual path, the OSS has always claimed him as one of their founding members, though he never was in the OSS. Kenneth believes he is one of those shadowy people in their minds who probably was one of their secret agents all the…
Kenneth's book, The Chinese in Thailand, was bought up by the Japanese, and people and organizations could not find copies for themselves. Years later, at a meeting in Washington, Kenneth met a Japanese Intelligence Officer who had come to meet him.…
Kenneth talks about his experience leaving the OSS for the BEW, when the OSS tried to keep him from going. The experience served him well years later when he left the State Department for the White House staff in the 1950's. There was an…
Kenneth comments on how much the family's life had changed over the past few years. He had expected to spend his life as a Presbyterian minister, but then he couldn't get a church, so he became a professor at Earlham, and expected that he would spend…
Peggy was sixteen at the time Kip was born, and she'd come home and help with the baby. She was going to Wilson High School. So was Bill. Carol was ten and attending school at Alice Deal Junior High. One night, Kenneth collapsed when he and Carol…
When Kip was born, Kenneth said, "This boy and I are going to get acquainted." It was impossible to find anyone to come into the home and help. He took annual leave for two weeks, brought Margaret and Kip home from the hospital, and took care of both…
The Free Thai movement developed simultaneously among Thai students in Britain and the United States. It was under the direction of the Thai Legation in Washington and probably under the principal military attachés in Britain. Kenneth explains how…
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 knew now that he was going to stay in Washington and began looking for a house for the family to move into. They rented at 2910 Brandywine St. in Washington and, later, bought 4711 Fulton Street in the fall of 1944. When the Landons made…
Kenneth was staying in a room, at $22 a month. When he moved over to the BEW and his salary jumped to $5600, he wrote to Margaret that he felt his future lay in government. The money was much better than he could earn in the academic world.
In March, 1942, Kenneth wrote a handbook for soldiers in Thailand. We knew we would eventually be going in, and so there was a lot of talk about how to set up a military government. Somebody had to cook up a manual on this, as there were none.
The Board of Economic Warfare was formed just for the war, and its purpose was to figure out how to cripple the economy of the enemy in the war. It was involved in bombing factories, bridges, acts of sabotage, whatever would cripple the enemy's…
Kenneth explains why the OCI became the OSS. The OCI was concerned with developing and coordinating information, and its staff consisted of scholars on the areas of interest. The OSS included that function but also had other branches of "activists…
Dr. Tsiang was of a very wealthy Chinese family in Java, and he took his new American wife back there with him. He had been in this country as a student, getting his Ph.D., and had stayed in America because of the Japanese invasion.
Dr. Tsiang had an apartment in that area, and the woman living in the apartment under him had been married to a Chinese man and had left him because he was sexually inadequate. Her apartment caught on fire, and in the aftermath, the place was such a…
Kenneth called the Board of Economic Warefare and asked Gordon Bowles if they had a job for someone who was an expert on Thailand and Malaya. They answered, "Yes, and his name is Kenneth Landon."
One outcome of the Chunking episode was that Remer, Kenneth's boss, had found someone to take Kenneth's job, on the assumption that Kenneth would be leaving them.
Kenneth now tells of the Chungking project. This was a possible venture in India and China to tap possible sources of information in Thailand and Indochina, and it was to be based in Chungking. Kenneth was seriously considering going out and setting…
Kenneth delivered the Taft lectures at the University of Cincinnati, and Margaret accompanied him. Cincinnati wanted Kenneth to join its department of philosophy, in which he would be its specialist on Oriental philosophy. The people there treated…
Margaret wrote Kenneth that Candy, the bulldog Kenneth had acquired as a pet in Richmond, had bitten a child. Kenneth wrote back that he felt Candy should be disposed of. Margaret kept that dog, and two years later, when Kip was a baby, on March 27,…
The Dolly Madison saga, which happened in February, 1942. Dolly Madison was Kenneth's secretary, and she was madly in love with a reporter for The Washington Post, and a good one, named George. The man wasn't interested in marrying her, so she…