Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Collection Manuscript/Mixed Material Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom interview conducted by Susan Caolo, 2022

Video

More Resources

Interview session with Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom
Audio

[ Photograph 2 ]

About this Item

Title

  • Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom interview conducted by Susan Caolo, 2022

Summary

  • This holding contains photographs and recordings of a 2022 interview with Rattanakhom documenting his experiences as a Laotian soldier trained by United States Special Operational Forces to participate in guerilla operations during the Vietnam War. During the interviews, he discusses serving in the Royal Lao Army and the CIA Special Guerrilla Units, training in Laos and Thailand, being a Special Commando Raider, participating in the Road Watch Campaign along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, appointments, being wounded, the Lao Revolution of 1975, and escaping to Thailand.

Names

  • Houmphanh, Rattanakhom interviewee
  • Caolo, Susan Boot, interviewer

Created / Published

  • 2022

Headings

  • -  Houmphanh, Rattanakhom--interviews
  • -  Laos.--Royal Lao Army
  • -  United States.--Central Intelligence Agency
  • -  United States.--Army
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, Laotian
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Laos
  • -  Laotians--Interviews
  • -  Military assistance, American--Laos

Genre

  • Interviews
  • Oral histories
  • Sound recordings
  • Video recordings
  • Photographs

Notes

  • -  Jaesen Khounthalangsy interpreted while recording the oral history interviews.
  • -  Recorded in Marietta, Georgia in 2022.
  • -  In Lao and English.

Medium

  • sound recording 1 digital audio file (WAV) : digital, stereo
  • moving images 1 video file (MP4) : digital, sound, color
  • graphic materials 2 photographic prints

Repository

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2024655682

Online Format

  • audio
  • video
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using AD Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Asian Division (AD) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. allied Lao military veterans who served during the Vietnam War so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Lao Special Guerrilla Unit and Royal Lao Army Veteran Interviews Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should Asian Division staff via Ask a Librarian for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us via Ask a Librarian (https://ask.loc.gov/asia/) with questions.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Houmphanh, Rattanakhom Interviewee, and Susan Boot Caolo. Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom interview conducted by Susan Caolo. 2022. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2024655682/.

APA citation style:

Houmphanh, R. I. & Caolo, S. B. (2022) Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom interview conducted by Susan Caolo. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2024655682/.

MLA citation style:

Houmphanh, Rattanakhom Interviewee, and Susan Boot Caolo. Houmphanh "Thom" Rattanakhom interview conducted by Susan Caolo. 2022. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/2024655682/>.