Prior to our recording, Elaine Russell, Author and former member of Legacies of War’s Board of Directors sat down with us to uncover an archive of over 3,000 photos captured from the very first trips with Legacies. This Thip Khao, we will be flipping through the various photos of the special faces and places we will always remember as part of our mission’s tapestry of hope.
Elaine first traveled to Laos in 2006 to research her novel, Across the Mekong River, the story of a Hmong family fleeing Laos after the Vietnam War-era civil war. On this trip she learned about the terrible tragedy of unexploded ordnance (UXO), remaining from U.S. bombing campaigns in Laos during the Vietnam War. On returning home, Elaine connected Legacies of War.
She volunteered with the group, assisting at many Legacies’ events around the U.S., and serving on the Legacies’ Board of Directors for five years. She traveled with the organization to Laos in 2008 and 2010, and remains an ardent supporter of the groups important mission.
Elaine has written two essays on the civil war in Laos and its aftermath. The first essay, “Legacies of War: Cluster Bombs in Laos,” was coauthored with Channapha Khamvongsa, previously Director of Legacies of War. The article was first published in the Critical Asian Studies Journal in June of 2009. It has since been updated to reflect current information on the situation and the progress made in UXO clearance in Laos. This article is included in the book: The United States, Southeast Asia, and Historical Memory, Edited by Mark Pavlick with Caroline Luft. Chicago, Illinois, Haymarket Books, June 2019.
Elaine also wrote the essay, “Living with Unexploded Ordnance: Past Memories and Present Realities in Laos,” published in the book: Interactions with a Violent Past: Reading Post-Conflict Landscapes in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Edited by Vatthana Pholsena & Oliver Tappe. Singapore: NUS Press, 2013.