Concordia University St. Paul DigitalCommons@CSP

Hmong Oral History Project Hmong Studies

11-5-2007

Interview with Edwin T. "Win" McKeithen

Paul Hillmer Concordia University, St. Paul, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/hmong-studies_hohp

Recommended Citation Hillmer, Paul, "Interview with Edwin T. "Win" McKeithen" (2007). Hmong Oral History Project. 30. https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/hmong-studies_hohp/30

This Oral History is brought to you for free and open access by the Hmong Studies at DigitalCommons@CSP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hmong Oral History Project by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@CSP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Edwin T. “Win” McKeithen 2 5 November, 2007 - , 3 Interviewer/Editor – Paul Hillmer 4 Transcriber – Diane Schuessler 5 6 Edwin “Win” McKeithen was born in Old Greenwich Connecticut. After attending Williams College for two years 7 he quit school and joined International Voluntary Services in the Fall of 1962. Instead of being sent to , as 8 he expected, he went to just as the Geneva Accords were going into effect. After working in the north for two 9 years, he was reassigned to the Bolovens Plateau where he worked for another year before returning to the US to finish 10 college. He returned to Laos to work for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the fall of 11 1966, stationed at Sam Thong. He remained there until 1971, when Sam Thong was overrun and his father died, 12 sending him back to Connecticut. In his absence the Sam Thong operation moved to Ban Xon, where McKeithen 13 returned later that year. There he remained until the Accords were signed in 1973. Next he worked in 14 Vientiane in USAID’s program offices where his responsibilities included the and public health programs, 15 where he worked closely with Dr. Charles Weldon. He witnessed the evacuation of American personnel from 16 Vientiane in and remained behind for a few weeks to ascertain the Communist Party’s negotiating strategy 17 before he was sent back to Washington, DC. After writing his reports he followed Dr. Weldon to Haiti in 1975 18 before receiving an assignment to in 1979 to help with the postwar and later USAID 19 Thailand public health programs. He returned to Washington for four years before returning to Bangkok for another 20 five years working once again in public health. He returned to Laos in 1991, 1997, and finally in 2002. Mr. 21 McKeithen spoke extensively about his remembrances of his service in Laos and Thailand and the individuals with 22 which he worked, including General , and Dr. Charles Weldon. 23 This interview was conducted in an outdoor courtyard at a hotel in Chiang Rai, Thailand. 24 25 26 (2:40) …Well, if you don't mind, let's just start with sort of your personal background, 27 where you were born and raised and went to school and anything that you think might help 28 explain how you ended up taking the career path that you chose. 29 I was—I grew up in Connecticut, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, went to high school there. Went to 30 Williams College and I quit after two-and-a-half years. I was sort of lost. It was actually the best 31 grades I'd ever gotten, but I quit midway through junior year and went to Laos with IVS, and— 32 International Voluntary Services. 33 34 (3:20) What year was that? 35 '62. Fall of 1962. 36 So you were in pretty early in the game. 37 Yes. Altho