Thai veterans of the war are very proud of their role. I was not quite over here at the time, but I understand that back in the 1960s, Beatles songs were popular choices for bar bands. And when they sang “A Day in the Life,” the lyrics “The English army had just won the war” became “The Thai army had just one the war” and was met with rousing applause.
Do you remember the old domino theory? Thailand believed in it wholeheartedly. Still does. Thailand largely remains convinced that US involvement in the Vietnam War kept the domino from falling here. Now, you may not agree with that, you may dispute that, but it is largely taken for granted here and is one of several reasons why the US remains popular here, and was so even during the Bush presidency.
Back then, it was dangerous to go into certain areas of the North and Northeast. Communists held sway over large portions of those areas. (See Volunteers, starring Tom Hanks, Sigourney Weaver and John Candy; a comedic look at a serious situation.) The feeling is the US action stalled for time. It allowed the Thai government to build the infrastructure that allowed it to win the hears and minds of the people, such as roads, electricity and all of that. Even in the 1980s, when I first arrived, there were pockets it was not safe to be, but today, thanks to the head start the government had courtesy of the communists being bogged down – or so that’s believed – there is nowhere you can’t go.
The domino theory was often treated as an academic exercise in the US and elsewhere in the West, but it was very real here. Imagine being Thai and seeing neighbor after neighbor become involved in communist strife. People saw this country as next and were very scared. Very, very scared. Thailand contributed a lot of troops and allowed a lot of US bases on its soil and was glad to do so.
After 1975, with the fall of all of Indochina, Thailand was convinced – and remains so – that they had dodged a bullet and that only the intervention of the US in Indochina had slowed the tide and saved them. Again, this can be disputed, but this is what is truly believed here.
Side note: Ho Chi Minh lived in Thailand’s Northeast in part of the 1920s and 1930s. He was here on assignment from the party to stir up communist support among the local ethnic Vietnamese. The house he lived in has some sort of plaque ourtside, and a sapling he personally planted is now quite a large tree.
Also: A Vietnam vet I knew told me how bad-ass the South Korean units were. He said the Vietnamese would ALWAYS go around them, being afraid to fight them, whereas the Americans were regarded as largely a bunch of pussies.