LAOS - The MOST HORRIFIC TRAGEDY of the SECRET WAR on LAOS
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- Опубликовано: 10 июн 2023
- They farmed by night as to not be seen.. This is the story of the tragic end to 374 civilians just trying to survive. The war disaster that is Tham Piu Cave, Muang Kham Laos.
LAOS - The MOST HORRIFIC TRAGEDY of the SECRET WAR on LAOS
For more than 4 years the farmers and villagers in this area of Muang Kham Laos shelter in a huge cave from the raging war and the US campaign of carpet bombing huge areas of Laos. They farmed by night to not be seen and hid away in day light hours.. This is the story of the tragic end to 374 civilians trying to survive.
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Sabaidee and welcome to my channel....Now in Lao!!
My name is Todd and i am an Australian currently living in Laos with my wife, Neenee.
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Here is the story of Tham Piew Cave and of the boy who survived, Nang Boua
www.artseverywhere.ca/the-secret-war-in-laos-tragedy-at-tham-piew-cave/
Words alone cannot explain this Horrific Tragedy . This story needs to be told. Todd, you told it quite well. Our Hearts and Prayers are with their descendants 🙏❤🙏 Jim and Harriet
The Vietnam War, the CIA and the American government. Any guilt seeing this now?
An army guy said to me. We never should have been in Vietnam (his words). The French started all the trouble. Old men sending younger men to war. There are atrociticies in every war
Todd.... somewhere someone knows who pulled the trigger...a very moving sad vlog... yes you can feel the energy... well explained....
Just one of the horrors of war. Being a US pilot that name will never be forthcoming I'd bet. So sad to hear after what they'd already endured. Bushyboy Oz.
Hi Todd. We visited the cave a couple of trips ago. It was a very eerie and sobering experience. The yanks have a lot to answer for.
Specifically Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
@@Swaggerlot Let's not forget that Proto-Nazi, Henry Kissinger, who is still around...
@@p.abo.1 I hadn't, just omitted to mention him. After all he wouldn't have had the power he had without delegation.
Knowing Americans for his attack surly that pilot have recieved an medal 🏅 of honor , the army officer whom shoot down Iranian passenger airbus killing all the passengers over Persian Gulf did receive his medal.😢
🙏🙏🙏thank you for sharing! Todd, you and Neenee be safe venturing around those parts. A lot of XOs unaccounted for.
Such terrible and often unreported events took place during that war and you are right to tell the story as the world needs never to forget the horror and futility of war. Not an easy place to visit. Thanks Todd for taking the time and effort to go there and pay respects on behalf of all those who are unable to do so themselves. God bless you and NeeNee 😀❤🙏
I was born in a refugee camp from that time period. My mom, late uncle, brother and myself immigrated here in 1980. My mom and uncle were from Xieng Khouang, Laos
@@chansaechao79 I am so glad that you and some of your family made it out from such horror and have made new lives. We must keep telling the world how wars destroy lives and aim, hope and pray for peace in the world 🙏😃❤️
Hi Todd. Thanks for sharing these mate. It's so important that these things are not forgotten. Cheers.
An unknown story that many of us Aussies (and other westerners) have no idea of - My visit to Saigon was an eye opener - your trips and dialog equally so. THANK YOU
I was in the war. And a few years ago visited Laos and Cambodia. The people are so kind and generous. We wouldn't be. Remember our behavior after 9/11. But we support similar things in the world today. But our media is quiet. Thanks
A very good point Robert, thank you. I have wondered this many times, if some country had done the same to Australia or the US. Would we be so forgiving moving forward..?
@@NowinLao 9 11 was done by your own goverment, alongside mossad.
and they wonder why so many people hate Americans. it was pretty much the same all over south east Asia. innocent people going about their daily lives and become just another victim of political bullshit. I'm glad that you are taking the time to document it all and tell the rest of the world how it was.
There is a saying politicians have a very good memory but people have a weak memory Americans are everywhere in Vietnam Laos and they are welcome politicians can change thinking question is why is everyone against China is it politics ?
@@arvindkatiyar526The Chinese have plenty of their own dirty laundry. For example they were involved in this particular war just like the Americans were. They also invaded part of Vietnam in the late 70’s. And today they’re bullying and threatening their neighbors like Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines etc.. on a daily basis. Not saying America doesn’t deserve some of the criticism they get but the Chinese aren’t saints. And while America was involved in this over 50 years ago they have long since left these people alone while China is still menacing the people in this part of the world to this day. So the memories of such are much more recent while most people in Laos weren’t even alive when this happened.
@pulsatingsausageboy2076 Americans still cant leave the word WAR they see war everywhere,they need to mend their problems shootings in scools in open spaces police brutality,homelessness is on the rise everyone is becoming zombie, what is Biden called sleepwalker
Peace for Asia and to the world
There are no words when you realize the evil that man can do to another. An ocean of tears. Thank you for telling us this important story. Peace and love🙏
Very moving and so well done
love the history !!!
That’s a very incredible sad story.. what can anyone who’s a human being say .. no words
bloodthirsty septic tanks. they've been doing same same for 22 years.
Nice video like the fact that one can gain knowledge from many things that not everyone knows about
Thank you so much Todd.
Wow Todd, that is a deep story. Very interesting but sad at the same time 🙏
Neenee could write a best seller mate. She has done really well to grow up being able to hadle the terrors of her past, even tho her face gave the pain away when she prayed and just after - what a fine woman.
Your speech is very nice
Thanks for that , I never got there but now I see.
Its so sad, also so moving, to think that human beings can do that to so many people. Yes, I understand its war, and what is it good for “Absolutely Nothing”
Frankie says.. NO MORE
Horrible …… so hard to comprehend …… Very well told Todd …….. we recognise the sadness &
Thank you for sharing 🙏
Thanks ANT hope you're doing well mate
Brother Todd,,,as you know,,I'm pretty well read about the Vietnam/American war and the secret war and Air America. This particular incidence. I'd never heard about or if i had,,it was so horrible that it flew the memory coop. It is astounding and sickening that people have no better way of waging war than ever. Ive followed the Ukraine war fairly closely and similiar things are still going. My gawd,,,who blows up a dam at the edge of a city. I saw today that 750,000 people are very soon going to be fighting for drinking water. There have been thousands of civilians killed. The common thread is that those incidents are orchestrated by insane people. Putin and Moonboy from Korea are both insane. Your evil empire neighbor isn't insane,,he's cold ,,calculating. Probably already has plans drawn up. Id classify most running the secret war as mentally touched,,the old nazi,,Kissinger and others in the CIA and other spy agencies were just crazy,,win at all cost'ers. The guys who were on the ground so to speak were purposely drug addled,,so that their consciences were repressed. I had a good friend that was involved in the mildest way,,on a ship in the South China sea,,,but 40 years after,,he was still wracked with guilt. He had become a very spiritual person and for him,,that helped immensely . Who knows what the pilot was thinking,,he probably saw movement and thought he was being targeted with a rocket launcher. They also had it pounded into their heads that leaders were hiding in the caves. Collateral damage is a horrific thing,,but its been happening for several thousand years. Who knows,,maybe the pilot has toured Lao and Vietnam,,talked with survivors,,made his peace,,or maybe he was blown out of the sky his very next mission. Crazy shit happens during every operation ran by the Spooks! If i ever am blessed by making a trip to Lao,,I want you to take me 3 serious places,,,,the Plain of Jars,,,the cave complex that the Pathet Lao operated out of,,,and this one! I want to pray and offer my respect. After that ,the fun commences,,,the school and that brilliant young dude teaching English,,,a Rado full of kanom for the kids,, and a float trip between the (God)dam(ns). This video was brilliant! Thank you for the enlightenment! Be safe,,Ttyl,,,Marlon
I cannot imagine how Laos and Vietnamese people mentally survived the terror and mindless killing that was the Vietnam War.
It was not and should never have attracted American interference. The American existence in this war was nothing short of criminal. Locals are still discovering unexploded American bombs. This story should or perhaps must be referred to the war crimes tribunal.
My heart bleeds.
Thank you Todd. 😢
Sometimes if a war drags on and the local population is perceived to be supporting the enemy sometimes soldiers are not sympathetic to civilians.sometimes it's accidental sometimes deliberate.our soldiers in somalia talk of the same.
Todd been a while mate
This needed to be told 😢
Thanks for showing us around that site , Todd. Brought back memories of those years at a time when we had the "birthday raffle" conscription call up system, it was a pretty ugly time in many ways. Cheers from Adelaide, mate, Thanks for the videos...really enjoy seeing the human side of life.
Thanks Ian 👍
What a tragic story so sad it’s a fact that Laos is most heavily bombed Country in the World per capita records show more than 2 million tonnes of bombs where dropped between 1964 and 1973 equivalent to a bombing mission every 8 minutes 24 hours a days for 9 years even today people are still being killed or seriously injured due to so many UXO.
To add, there are still between 30-80 million UXOs still littering the Lao countryside and at the current rate of clean up, it will take 180 years to rid Laos of every UXO. The Americans spent more daily bombing Laos than is now spends yearly cleaning up their mess.
Neenee, This is the first time that I have seen this or know the details about the cave. I knew that your father was a general. I wondered how you spent your early years. I had hoped that you and your mother were in a safe place. To hear that you were born in a cave breaks my heart. I am so very sorry.
Tham Piu Cave,
The cave mouth and the statue at 5:20. Yes. Very sad. I visited the caves with my friend “falang sii dam”. Inconsolable with the horror. Incomprehensible.
Our children must read history books.
Thanks for the video Todd. I gave it a like but I'm conflicted because, how do I or anyone else actually 'Like' this tragic piece of History? I did some reading and research into this disgracefull war, it is truly horrific what America did to Laos and it's people. And 60 years on they still don't like being exposed.
I understand Phil.
Yes, as is evident by some comments trying to justify it. I'd be ashamed and trying to defend it also. 😏
Horrific can't describe it.
Very moving /sad part of history,that the Americans would/should be ashamed of. Sadly in conflicts around the world ,as at 2024,it still continues. Innocent lives lost.. Kenno..West Aust
omg so sad it s tragedy
Sir, The same thing is happening in The Ukraine today. THE DEVIL that was responsible then, is still living today. May The souls of The dead have eternal peace. The KARMA has caught up with That country that did this.
Tears flow gee mate how you hold up telling this
I edited out the pauses mate 😢
Show you are human and have soft heart ❤️
May those souls rest in peace
Shows just how sorry war to is. There are no winners. We all lose in the end
What Americans don't do enough is educate their newer generation of this time in their history. How such atrocities are left in the dark is unconscionable. There are mental health programs for vets, but how many of those programs were and are available for the refugees of Lao.
Man….just so terrible.
i wonder why the us bombed laos so heavy when laos was neutral in the war in vietnam?
I recommend you read "Tragic Mountains" by Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Nobel-nominated scholar and photojournalist, has followed the plight of the Hmong and the war in Indochina since the 1960s.
I heard That Nixon did just to show that we could.
Because the war in Vietnam wasn't confined just to the borders of Vietnam. It spilt over into Laos and Cambodia, who were neutral.
@@americanronin5223 ,, and the sad conclusion, the US withdrew from Laos and had the Hmong had to fend for themselves against overwhelming odds.
The Hmong were jooped by the Americans into joining the war with the promise of aid. Towards the end of the Lao Civil War, as the Hmong were running out of fighting aged men, aid was reduced, so the Hmong sent 14 year old boys to the front.
@@jurgentreue1200 All true... most Hmong joined the CIA Special Guerilla Units (SGU) or "Secret Army" out of necessity and many unwittingly since we were mainly uneducated subsistence farmers.
The promise of economic and political aid were strong incentives. However, the CIA isn't known for keeping its promises, so they were likely just telling General Vang Pao and his political allies what they wanted and needed to hear.
You are correct, pre-teen and teenage boys were conscripted as replacements due to the high casualty rate among the SGU's. My father was one of the many 14 year-olds who were rounded up for "training" and deployment to the front lines. I'm surprised he survived and died of old age in the comfort of his bed surrounded by 9 loving American children and over a dozen grand children in St. Paul, MN.
important video, thank you.
Two years plus ago, I travelled 26 kms from the center of Da Nang at the time of Tet....100m from the house, that we were invited to for lunch, was a shrine located on a previous mass grave of 130 villagers, the result of an operation.
After the war they were relocated across a small river with proper ceremony.
What other stories that are yet to told.
This must be the darkest period of the American involvement in South East Asia, us from Europe always remember the second world war and the crimes Germany did to most of the European countries including my native Country, but what America did in South East Asia and for their reason to do is is just as bad and are pure crimes against humanity and still believe America has been the worst war Mongol of the past century and all in the name of peace and protection, my heart bleeds for al these poor , poor simple people caught in the middle of this lunacy called war
You went to those places many times
First time at Tham Piu cave
I hope they're a lot of Americans that will view this video. Having lived through the war I've always been embarrassed our precipitation.
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢❤
Tham Piew has the unenviable reputation of the highest loss of civilian life in one single event during the Second Indochina War. The killings at My Lai, of around 500 souls, was perpetrated over a number of days, Tham Piew was instant.
The population of Tham Piew cave used to ebb and flow depending on bombing campaigns in the area and the season. There were also a number of refugees from surrounding districts hiding in the caves. People would come and go, and return home as bombings ceased.
Tham Piew cave should be seen as a war crime.
War no one wins so Sad for People of Laos
Sad, too many innocent people die in war's
did they give the names of famly i looking for the names of Kompadith
There's a book about the secret CIA war on Laos. The Thai army took part in it. The Plain of Jars has been reduced to rubble. I visited Laos and went to see the Plain of Jars in 2014.
Oh my god what a terrible horrible death inflicted on 374 innocent people, their crime trying to hide from the bombing of the war ?
God gave us this world and we are doing our best to fcuk it up .God forgive us😢
I’ve been to that cave ! You can still see we’re the other missile hit and all there cooking stuff still there, the fire place, the Americans bombed there rice paddies during the day so the tendered them at night, it is heart breaking, it wasn’t there war, I can tell you there is hardly any flat lane there, so many bombs you can’t walk on flat land now.
Very sad that so many innocent people died on that fateful day in 1968.
Kop chai Todd and Neenee. A very sad story. I hope to visit there and pay my respects.
I was still in school during the war. I was against the Viet Nam war. Even at my young age, I knew we shouldn’t have been there. Luckily the war ended before I was drafted. As for the pilot, he was brainwashed into seeking out and destroying the enemy, whether real or imagined. It is a tragedy for everyone. I wonder what he would think today if he found out what he did.
War is a Dirty Business. Peace.
Indiscriminate bombing. My mom and uncle are from XiengKhouang province in Laos
fighter launched missile that could do that much damage? Not back then. Anecdotal. The history of what actually happened will be difficult to find but the area was targeted for a reason. Have to say a prayer for all families and children killed in war.
Can I add? I heard that Nixon did it just to show that he could. Check "Johnson's lies that got us in The Vietnam war". Also, the P.O.W.s ge lots of sympathy. But why would you do with someone who just slaughtered your village? Remember, I am a purple heart vet.
We are born just to die. War always has casualties. Its a sad reminder why i am here in America. Alot sacrifices were made...
Todd war is never innocent. As you know the pathet Lao was the same as the vietkong, it was hard to distinguish who were true civilians and who were disguised so. Man made caves and natural caves were used by the military. Both sides used civilians to cover their identities. In this secret war, every one was farmer and civilians soldiers at the same time. After the war, the new government not only punished the true soldiers of the losing side, but every one was suspected. That's why thousands civilians had reasonable fears and fled to Thailand. Even during the peaceful flees, many were killed along the ways both on land and in the water of making River. Even if you were not directly involved in fighting the war, you were associated with family members who were. Unfortunately, no was perceived to be innocent during this crazy 2 brothers' war for position in ruling seat. I feel that we learned more about the truth if this sad war when being in America. In Laos, our people and parents were lied to believe that it was a defending of the country, both sides innocent civilians were lied to.
I was stationed at Udon Thani, Thailand, at the Udorn RTAFB. I remember seeing many vehicles with various unit "tags" on them, including "kangaroos"! I do not believe that was Americans or Thais patting the kangaroo tags! People from many countries were flying American built aircraft in the secret war., including Lao Hmong, Lao Royalists, Thai mercinary, and others, besides Americans. Caves were a favorite spot for arms cache storage, but with that cave so high above flat ground, a normal pilot would have not bothered. I believe that area of Laos was held by one group in the dry season, another group in the wet season. The communists transporting arms down the trail to Vietnam were always looking for rice along the way, so that they did not have to carry daily rations and arms. Harvested rice was considered a military target in any of the communist held areas because of this. The stories about the Hmong hunting by the communists after the end of the war also should be researched, many were even shot swimming the Mekong to Thailand at night. An area was considered a "military area" after the war, while the army was hunting down the Hmong that had not escaped to Thailand, that military was in force for years after the war.
As a retired American soldier and former child refugee from Laos, I have seen war atrocities up close and personal both as a victim and a combatant in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unimaginable horror is an understatement. As bad as this tragedy was, the communists (Pathet Lao & N. Vietnamese) were even more brutal in their war crimes against the populace who favored freedom and democracy. They committed wholesale slaughter and systematic genocide against the Hmong who fought for freedom with the Americans. Neither women nor children were spared during their campaign of terror during the war and for decades after. Lao communists and their Vietnamese overlords could definitely give the Khmer Rouge a run for their money. Equally sadistic and evil.
There are two sides to every story. I pray we all have learned an important lesson and choose peace over war moving forward.
Well said. In a war no one is exempt from the guilt. Thank you for your service from a fellow American vet.
Unfortunately, the US military industrial complex will never choose peace. Every war in human history outside the Crusades comes down to economic gain. A conflict with China is inevitable, and our corrupt defense contractors are already preparing for it.
nailed it dude, gorilla warfare carried on for 40 years after the yanks left and it was just as brutal.
Yes mate so true Cambodia is similar and the us won't de mine these countries a lot of westerners have no idea what the communist movement would of done to se asia
@@robertwalker2923 I appreciate your understanding of the geopolitics of S.E. Asia. You are correct, the $400M the U.S. committed to UXO eradication isn't nearly enough. At this rate, it will take over a century to reclaim UXO contaminated land according to my research as a Harvard graduate student.
The incident at Tham Piu Cave was a true tragedy. However, you failed to mention that the cave housed a Pathet Lao commando team that killed 55 Hmong soldiers, along with their wives and two 12 year old children at Sop Ko in June 1968. The cave hid the commando team and a large quantity of explosives, weapons and military supplies. In early November 1968, a US Army Special Operations Team chased the commandos to the cave. A USAF reconnasissance aircraft identified a radio frequency belonging to the commando team emitted from the cave. On November 24, 1968, an F-4 fighter jet from Udorn AB, Thailand arrived and fired two rockets into the cave killing 374 people. The fighter pilot did not know there was families located inside the cave. Vang Pao sent his condolences to Souphanouvong in December 1968. The CIA believes the rocket would not have killed all those people if the cave did not house the explosives, weapons and military supplies.
Believe the CIA?
I never failed to mention it because this is the first time I have heard of any sort of reasoning or justification. Maybe you can provide us with a link. Thank you
www.artseverywhere.ca/the-secret-war-in-laos-tragedy-at-tham-piew-cave/
@@robertburnett6348 It's not like they haven't made excuses before... there's always some BS justification
I knew from the start when Todd was filming his video that there must be a marker for the pilot to home in on that spot, still very sad though because so many people people were killed. 😢😢😢
The French government and the US government shall be held accountable for war crimes and human rights violations.
How? Both have nuclear bomb + veto power in UN.
And accountable for all the other war crimes.. but nothing ever changes
Most landmines in the grounds in Asia were made in China ....
Sadly,,that will never happen. Every government that has EVER and I mean EVER fought a war has done something similiar. Even Lao and Vietnam conducted operations that murdered people,,just wasnt on the scale of this. In WWII Hitler killed 6 to 8 million people,,Stalin on the other hand killed 18 to 20 million people,,mostly Ukrainians sad to say. This stuff will always happen until God makes wars cease.
They are exceptionalist and supremacist, they just only subjugate and bring another ppl under their laws