In Buddha's Company: Thai Soldiers in the Vietnam War

2 Firing Up the Thai Public Sphere

it was late afternoon when the uss Navarro docked at saigon’s newport naval facility. a light rain had begun to fall on the thai troops gathered on deck. despite the drizzle, the soldiers felt elated as they looked out over the crowds of Vietnamese and americans assembled to receive them (fig. 2.1). a south Vietnam navy band was playing marching songs while smiling citizens waved to the thai troops.1 corporal Mana rattanakhiri, an infantryman in the Fourth light Weapons company, felt both strange and excited as he scanned the throngs of people gathered on the docks. Just before disembarking, he and his fellow soldiers assembled in formation while their commanders on board gave the troops a final warning. “they came around and told us to be careful all of the time,” Mana later recalled.2 general William c. Westmoreland, commander of the Military assistance command–Vietnam (MacV)—the military command structure responsible for coordinating the Free World Forces in Vietnam—waited at the lower end of the gangplank.3 the statuesque american general grinned broadly. “Welcome to Vietnam!” he called out to the thai officers coming off of the boat.“We’redelightedtohaveyouhere.”4 Whencolonelsananyuttasaphrasit, commander of the Queen’s cobra regiment, reached the bottom, he replied, “thanks for the welcome,” and shook hands with Westmoreland.5 after a short speech by Westmoreland, thailand’s ambassador to south Vietnam, Major general Ban cha Minetrakinetia, addressed the south 2 Firing up the thai Public Sphere Funerals, Cremations, and Other Celebrations 54 : chaPter 2 Vietnamese crowds. “our aim in doing this is simple,” he said. “We want to join forces with other free nations to fight communism.”6 as he spoke, a “petite Vietnamese actress” named Mai Pham came forward and placed a garland of roses and carnations around colonel sanan’s neck.7 then, as the first half of the Queen’s cobra regiment quickstepped off the boat, the Vietnamese brass band struck up a creaky rendition of “colonel Bogey March,” the British military marching tune that became the main theme song for the film The Bridge on the River Kwai.8 high-ranking officers from the royal thai army presented new weapons, mostly M16 rifles, to the thai soldiers as they set foot on land. Barry Weintraub, writing in the New York Times, described the cinematic quality of the spectacle with the photogenic american general placed squarely in the middle of the fanfare: “standing on the windy dock, general Westmoreland was exultant as he watched the flak-jacketed troops, carrying carbines and duffel bags, move past. ‘Boy, they’re sharp-looking troops, aren’t they?’”9 Westmoreland was effusive about the untested thai soldiers . Watching them claim their weapons, he announced, “i can’t help but be impressed at their fitness, alertness, and equipment. they are first class troops and i know they will perform well.”10 the ceremony was almost exclusively an american affair. american military planners designed and conducted the proceedings that brought thai FIgure 2.1 | Members of the Queen’s cobra regiment gather on the deck of the uss Navarro in september 1967 to get their first look at south Vietnam. (courtesy of Montri rasi.) Firing up the thai Public sphere : 55 troops into south Vietnam. american wire service reporters carried news of it to the world. the flowers, the actress, the music, and the jostling crowds all contributed to the glamorous atmosphere of the event. the welcoming of the Queen’s cobra regiment seemed more like a hollywood premiere than the deployment of fresh ground forces. Westmoreland played the role of master of ceremonies, the thais were the special guests, and the Vietnamese were relegated to supporting parts as observers. the highest-ranking Vietnamese official attending the ceremonies was lieutenant general tran ngoc tam, south Vietnam’s representative to the Free World Forces. he was a minor figure. the few times he made news that summer were in connection to corruption charges that would soon drive him out of the army.11 the arrival of the thai troops, like the announcement that they would be coming, was not big news in south Vietnam. Beset by the ongoing war and entwined in the byzantine snares of the country’s own political struggles, south Vietnam’s newspapers and its people paid little attention to the addition of 2,205 thai troops.12 some of the crowds waving to the thai troops, like the...