Spying The Kayson Phomvihane Memorial, Part One

Starting in 1955, Kayson Phomvihane was the leader of the Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party and he became the first leader of an independent Laos in 1975. He led the country until his death in 1992.

His post civil war offices and residence were part of a large former compound for CIA/USAID, affectionally labeled "Six Klicks City" because it was located six kilometers from the center of Vientiane. When civil war broke out, the Americans fled and easy, new digs were available.

Today, the house and nearby offices are a memorial. Much of Six Klicks City still exists and is part of the Lao military campus. Past and present history around the area is heavy.

View of one of the humble, cinder block houses. One can imagine the Americans quickly building a U.S. style, suburban neighborhood. Ranch design and cheap, a lawn, a bucolic headquarters as a base for havoc in Southeast Asia.

Front entrance and a library. Strictly utilitarian. Consider it Linoleum Floor Provincial.

Blue living room. Shag for groovy '70s, tusks for power.

Desk and bedroom. Are we in Vientiane, Texas? It's hard to tell by the interior.

Super important meeting room. The fate of a nation, decided in an American box kit sunporch.