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A Look Back … “Free Thai” Movement is Born
In concert
with their bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Tokyo
launched military forces into southern Thailand. These deployments were
critical to securing Japanese bases for planned invasions of British Malaya and
Burma.
In a secret agreement, Thailand’s
ambitious leader, Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram, agreed to allow the Japanese free
passage.
But the
Japanese were soon pressing for a greater presence and access to Thai
facilities. Soon, Phibun joined in a formal alliance with Tokyo. He was convinced he could benefit from
Japan’s expansion while maintaining
Thailand’s
independence. On January 25, 1942, Bangkok
declared war on Britain and
the United States.
Japanese imperial forces were quickly deployed throughout the kingdom.
But Thailand’s senior diplomat in the United States, M.R. Seni Pramoj, opposed the
alliance with Japan.
He refused to endorse his government’s position. In fact, Seni began to
actively build a network of overseas Thais who would work to support the Allies.
Under Seni’s
guiding hand, and the leadership of Gen. William Donovan’s Office of Strategic
Services (OSS), the “Free Thai” movement was born. Seni brought young Thai
student volunteers from universities across the United
States together into a Free Thai command, which was to
serve under Donovan’s OSS.
The Free
Thai agents were among Thailand’s
best and brightest. They set aside promising academic programs at Harvard, Cornell,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and elsewhere in favor of difficult
military training and uncertain futures.
Following
training by the OSS, many volunteers undertook
lengthy and dangerous treks from China
and Indochina to make contact with supporters
opposed to the Japanese presence. For months, the Free Thai forces worked to
infiltrate their homeland. Many were captured, killed, or simply went missing.
Finally, on
October 5, 1944, the OSS Detachment in Szemao, China, received a radio message from Free Thai
agents in a Bangkok
safehouse. Thereafter, other agents were dispatched into Thailand by submarine, seaplane,
and airdrop.
The heroism
and ingenuity of the Free Thai forces, working hand-in-hand with the OSS, set the stage for
important intelligence collection. The agents provided critical support to
Allied military operations in Southeast Asia and ensured Thailand’s
post-war independence.
Posted: Jul 03, 2008 06:59 AM
Last Updated: Jul 11, 2008 04:55 PM
Last Reviewed: Jul 03, 2008 06:59 AM