Edgar Buell
Encyclopedia
Edgar “Pop” Buell was a short, bald, profane Indiana
farmer born in 1913. Until the age of 47 he resided in Steuben County, Indiana
. After his wife died in 1958, he looked for new meaning in his life. He found it with the International Voluntary Services
, a precursor to the Peace Corps
, which offered him a job as an agricultural advisor in the remote Southeast Asia
n country of Laos
. His salary would be sixty-five dollars a month. In May 1960, he left Indiana for an orientation course in Washington, D.C.
, and then flew to Laos for his new job. It was the first time he had ever been out of the United States.
In Laos, Pop (as he came to be universally known) was assigned to a small village about 100 miles north of Vientiane
. He lived in a hut without plumbing or electricity, his life there reminding him of growing up on the farm in Indiana.
struggle between the United States
and the Soviet Union
.
Pop became involved in the Laotian Civil War between the Royalist government supported by the United States and the Communist Pathet Lao
. Increasingly, both the United States and North Vietnam
intervened militarily in Laos to protect their toehold in the country. Unlike Vietnam, where the US sent more than 500,000 soldiers, only a few Americans, civilian and military, worked in Laos. The CIA supported an anti-communist army made up largely of Hmong
and other highlanders and Pop Buell was the man on the scene who knew the Hmong and had their trust. Many Laotians were displaced by the fighting or, in the case of the highlanders, cut-off in their mountaintop villages. To Buell, now working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, fell the task of organizing relief aid to refugees and isolated villagers. Frequently, the aid was in the form of bags of rice air dropped by Air America
aircraft. Air America was the CIA owned civilian airline operating in Southeast Asia. Buell became a “one-man supply corps.”
Buell took money out of his retirement fund to buy supplies when U.S. government funds and resources were interrupted, as they often were at the far end of the supply chain. He was known to the Hmong as Tan Pop, “Uncle Pop." His opinion about the war in Laos was, “for every Hmong that died, one fewer American soldier died” in Vietnam. Many thousands of Hmong died in the war. He became one of several seldom-seen but mythical figures of the war in Laos – which is almost always described as ‘”secret.”
of 1973 U.S. military aid and most economic aid to Laos ceased. The position of the Hmong army and the Royalist government became increasingly untenable. In 1974, Pop was out of a job with the Hmong and the U.S. government. He worked briefly as a teacher in Vientiane, but the American Embassy there soon learned that his name was on a “hit list” of the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese who were completing their conquest of the country. Continental Air Services, Inc
. pilot Les Strouse evacuated Buell from Laos by dressing him in a pilot’s uniform, driving him to the airport, and flying him to Bangkok, Thailand. Everything Pop owned fit into three suitcases. Pop lived in Bangkok the rest of his life. He died December 29, 1980 while visiting a friend in Manila, Philippines. He is buried beside his wife Mattie in Edon Cemetery, Edon, Ohio
.
In 1967, author John Steinbeck
remarked during a visit to Laos. "I think Pop is an example of how the ancient Gods were born...Whether you believe it or not, there are still giants in the earth." In the pantheon of unlikely heroes (or villains, depending upon the point of view of the reader), Pop Buell ranks highly.
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
farmer born in 1913. Until the age of 47 he resided in Steuben County, Indiana
Steuben County, Indiana
Steuben County is a county located in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 34,185. The county seat is Angola...
. After his wife died in 1958, he looked for new meaning in his life. He found it with the International Voluntary Services
International Voluntary Services
International Voluntary Services, Inc., was a private nonprofit organization that placed American volunteers in development projects in Third World countries. IVS had volunteers in Algeria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Laos, Nepal, South Vietnam and other countries...
, a precursor to the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
, which offered him a job as an agricultural advisor in the remote Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n country of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. His salary would be sixty-five dollars a month. In May 1960, he left Indiana for an orientation course in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and then flew to Laos for his new job. It was the first time he had ever been out of the United States.
In Laos, Pop (as he came to be universally known) was assigned to a small village about 100 miles north of Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
. He lived in a hut without plumbing or electricity, his life there reminding him of growing up on the farm in Indiana.
The Vietnam War
When Pop arrived in June 1960, Laos was as backwards and obscure as any place in the world. That soon changed with a coup d’etat and the entry of Laos on the world stage as a pawn in the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
struggle between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Pop became involved in the Laotian Civil War between the Royalist government supported by the United States and the Communist Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
. Increasingly, both the United States and North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
intervened militarily in Laos to protect their toehold in the country. Unlike Vietnam, where the US sent more than 500,000 soldiers, only a few Americans, civilian and military, worked in Laos. The CIA supported an anti-communist army made up largely of Hmong
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
and other highlanders and Pop Buell was the man on the scene who knew the Hmong and had their trust. Many Laotians were displaced by the fighting or, in the case of the highlanders, cut-off in their mountaintop villages. To Buell, now working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, fell the task of organizing relief aid to refugees and isolated villagers. Frequently, the aid was in the form of bags of rice air dropped by Air America
Air America
Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1950 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division from 1950 to 1976...
aircraft. Air America was the CIA owned civilian airline operating in Southeast Asia. Buell became a “one-man supply corps.”
Buell took money out of his retirement fund to buy supplies when U.S. government funds and resources were interrupted, as they often were at the far end of the supply chain. He was known to the Hmong as Tan Pop, “Uncle Pop." His opinion about the war in Laos was, “for every Hmong that died, one fewer American soldier died” in Vietnam. Many thousands of Hmong died in the war. He became one of several seldom-seen but mythical figures of the war in Laos – which is almost always described as ‘”secret.”
Later life
The Hmong army held off the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao for many years, but with the Paris Peace AccordsParis Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam...
of 1973 U.S. military aid and most economic aid to Laos ceased. The position of the Hmong army and the Royalist government became increasingly untenable. In 1974, Pop was out of a job with the Hmong and the U.S. government. He worked briefly as a teacher in Vientiane, but the American Embassy there soon learned that his name was on a “hit list” of the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese who were completing their conquest of the country. Continental Air Services, Inc
Continental Air Services, Inc
Continental Air Services, Inc, better known as CASI, was a subsidiary airline of Continental Airlines set up to provide operations and airlift support in Southeast Asia. CASI was formed as the South-East Asia Division of Continental in April 1965 with operations starting in September 1965 using...
. pilot Les Strouse evacuated Buell from Laos by dressing him in a pilot’s uniform, driving him to the airport, and flying him to Bangkok, Thailand. Everything Pop owned fit into three suitcases. Pop lived in Bangkok the rest of his life. He died December 29, 1980 while visiting a friend in Manila, Philippines. He is buried beside his wife Mattie in Edon Cemetery, Edon, Ohio
Edon, Ohio
Edon is a village in Williams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 898 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Edon is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
.
In 1967, author John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
remarked during a visit to Laos. "I think Pop is an example of how the ancient Gods were born...Whether you believe it or not, there are still giants in the earth." In the pantheon of unlikely heroes (or villains, depending upon the point of view of the reader), Pop Buell ranks highly.
Further reading
- Don A. Schanche. Mister Pop. New York: David McKay, 1970.
- Larry Clinton Thompson. Refugee Workers in the Indochina Exodus. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010
- Roger Warner. Shooting at the Moon. Steerforth Press, 1996. ISBN 1-883642-36-1.
External links
- Tales of Mr. Pop (Hmong National Development, Inc.)
- "Somebody Cared: The Legacy of Pop Buell" (video) http://www.youtube.com/user/stuneu