Unexploded World War Two bombs pose high risk for Bangkok residents

[webfact]

Unexploded World War Two bombs pose high risk for Bangkok residents



BANGKOK: -- The deadly explosion of an old 70-years-old 500-pound bomb recovered from a construction site and sold as a scrap has now raised safety concern of residents living in five areas of Bangkok which were bombing targets of the Allied Forces during World War II.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) is now asking help from the Royal Thai Air Force to “X-ray” five potential risk areas within the capital as many old bombs might still be buried underground and left intact.

The five areas pinpointed by the BMA that might have unexploded ordnance (UXO) are vicinities of the Bang Sue train station, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok Noi train station, the Memorial bridge and the Rama VI bridge.

According to BMA and the military, these areas were key locations during the Second World War era and authorities suspect that a large number of undiscovered UXOs may be buried here.

Local district offices have launched an official warning to residents living in these areas to be wary of odd objects, especially within open areas that have not been surveyed for construction. Anyone that knows of or have discovered odd objects are to report their finding to the authorities immediately.

Meanwhile BMA and rescue workers are still combing the explosion site at Soi 72 intersection 14 on Lad Pla Khao Road looking for possible more human remains under piles of debris.

The incident which occurred on Wednesday, 2 April, has left the front of the scrap shop in ruins.

Until Friday, among the debris are the disturbing sight of human remains scattered on tree tops and electrical poles.

The odor within the entire is retched and small flames still suddenly erupt from the ruins.

As of Friday, a total of over 150 people have reported their damages to the local precinct with the hope of obtaining some compensation for their losses from the BMA.

A team of medical personnel including psychologists have also been dispatched to the area to offer assistance to those in need.

Meanwhile the BMA also is working to control the number of scrap shops as many of them have no operating license, including the scrap shop which was flattened by explosion Wednesday also operates without license.

According to the Pollution Control Department, there are about 10,200 legal scrap shops nationwide with Bangkok alone having more than 3,000.

It said that of the 3,000 scrap shops in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces, only 800 operating with official licenses while the rest are operating illegally.

The business license is normally issued by a district administrative office.

Without a license, one cannot run the business.

But in reality many operators, however, choose to violate the regulation and operate the business without a license due to high profit they can make and the light penalty.

According to the law, a person violating scrap shop regulations is subject to a six-month imprisonment and a maximum of 10,000 baht fine, or both. The suspect also has a chance to fight a case in the court.

One reason that scrap shop could hardly be resolved was local authorities do not have direct authority to tackle the problem because regulations are imposed by the Interior and Public Health Ministries.

To solve the problem, a law must be enacted to give local authorities direct power to take legal actions against violators.

A senior Bangkok Metropolitan Administration official said scrap shop regulations are so complex because the matter dealt with two ministries.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration plans to work out a joint solution with the two ministries. As for now, it has ordered its officials to inspect all illegal scrap shops and provide knowledge for people about hazardous objects, which have been recently discovered in the capital.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/unexploded-world-war-two-bombs-pose-high-risk-bangkok-residents/


-- Thai PBS 2014-04-05

[Halion]

Unexploded ordinance is indeed a problem as they pose a potential risk to property ,life and limb, however the real and more salient risk is with the method mentality of the people who discovered them.

The recent carnage in the Bangkhen area was not simply due to the ordinance itself but to the utter stupidity of those who found the bomb and the manner in which it was handled.

Such people are as much ,if not more of a risk that the bomb itself.

[ezzra]

It is ironic that all sorts of international bodies are busy de mining known mine fields left

over from WW II and Vietnam war all over the country sites, but pay never no mined for

the tones and tones or unexploded ordinances strewn about and buried in several sites

of inner BKK where the massive amount of bombs were dropped on the occupying Jap

forces here in Bkk... and people pays with their life for it as we speak...

[dddave]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Edited April 5, 2014 by dddave

[upena]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

[Misterwhisper]

Unexploded World War Two bombs pose high risk for Bangkok residents

Yes, but foremost only for ignorant idiots who try to cut up UXO with blow torches and angle cutters.

[gandalf12]

As anyone will tell you, "Thai people can do everything, we dont need people from other countries to tell us". Really? A bit of education in the world would go a long way. No other country especially in the West will tell you that they dont learn from foreigners who come to their country.

Thailand should try it, it will be an eye opener as to how much they can learn once they get away from the 'I know it all' syndrome

[kerrysum]

As anyone will tell you, "Thai people can do everything, we dont need people from other countries to tell us". Really? A bit of education in the world would go a long way. No other country especially in the West will tell you that they dont learn from foreigners who come to their country.

Thailand should try it, it will be an eye opener as to how much they can learn once they get away from the 'I know it all' syndrome

I agree, Great post, and yes they are sometimes the great I know it all, society.... My wifey here in America knows it all..... the ever wise people of Thailand... Recently though, she is discovering, she doesn't quite know what it is all about.......

kilosierra

But her friends think they do..,... Just words from an Ol' Vet

[Ricardo]

Unexploded World War Two bombs pose high risk for Bangkok residents

Yes, but foremost only for ignorant idiots who try to cut up UXO with blow torches and angle cutters.

I have a mental image of the construction-workers, who discovered the bomb & sold it claiming it was really the weight from a pile-driver, what if they had instead fitted it to the cable on their own pile-driver & then tried to use it ?

Karma, or what !

[DeepInTheForest]

[edited]

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

For readers who care to delve deeper, there is this:

http://www.e-reading.ws/bookreader.php/138836/Thailand%60s_Secret_War:_The_Free_Thai,_OSS,_and_SOE_during_World_War_II.pdf

Edited April 5, 2014 by DeepInTheForest

[PETERTHEEATER]

Another misleading headline. How can it be high risk. What are the statistics for the number of people killed or injured by UXBs compared to deaths and injuries on the roads which are not stated as high risk?

The UXB rate for Allied aerial bombs dropped in WW2 is around 12 percent so yes, there are more to be found.

If the RTAF has equipment to X-Ray large built up areas to detect UXBs then Western nations will beat a path to their door!

The usual assessment is examination of WW2 target photographs to determine 'gaps' in the bursts or caters made by bombs dropped in sticks or salvo.

For those who disagree with me, I am an ex RAF Bomb Disposal Man 1963 to 1966.

[Dogmatix]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

I think it is true to say that the Seri Thai's role in the war was somewhat exaggerated in a bid to exonerate Thailand's collaboration with the Japanese and promote the political ambitions of Seri Thai's leaders and affiliates like Seni Pramoj. They were too little and too late to have much impact. Anyway the allies, rightly or wrongly bombed countries that were occupied by the enemy, regardless of whether they were occupied willingly or not. Thailand might have benefitted from British annexation, if the Amercans hadn't got in the way to promote their own agenda which was a huge build of US influence in SE Asia. As it was the British satisfied themselves with war reparations paid in rice and payment in pounds sterling for the work done on the railways by British POWs. They also kicked the Thais out of the parts of Malaya and Burma they had occupied during the war and the French booted them out of the bits of Cambodia and Laos they had occupied.

[MaxLee]

Now everybody in the Thai authority is Bomb- fighting,.... with hands as fast and lightning....

It has become a face-creating trend for Thai authorities to become media-fame addicted at the cost of people's lives, ( "Ooops, sorry, the nasty nasty innocent people were just at the wrong place, blame the Falang, not our fault if something goes wrong, kaboooom")

Edited April 5, 2014 by MaxLee

[smileydude]

I wouldn't say unexploded WWII ordnance poses a HIGH risk to Bangkok residents in general as the headlines so sensationally suggest.

Considering the odds of digging up a WWII bomb are probably like a gazillion to one, the only ones at risk are those too greedy or stupid to recognize a 500 lb bomb when they see one.

Living next to scrap metal/junk collectors your probably more likely to die of lead or radiation poisoning then an exploding bomb but considering the spate of M79 grenade attacks of recent the odds may be changing.

[Jeremy50]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

I have seen many old newsreels of British planes bombing Thailand at the end of the Second World War. I am not quite sure why you would disbelieve this. How do you think the Japanese were being beaten before the 2 bombs fell?

Most modern-day Thai people are unaware of a Japanese military occupation which lasted for 4 years.

[jocko]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

I have seen many old newsreels of British planes bombing Thailand at the end of the Second World War. I am not quite sure why you would disbelieve this. How do you think the Japanese were being beaten before the 2 bombs fell?

Most modern-day Thai people are unaware of a Japanese military occupation which lasted for 4 years.

I think he was asking about Seri Thai raids not RAF bombing.

[JO1973]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

I think it is true to say that the Seri Thai's role in the war was somewhat exaggerated in a bid to exonerate Thailand's collaboration with the Japanese and promote the political ambitions of Seri Thai's leaders and affiliates like Seni Pramoj. They were too little and too late to have much impact. Anyway the allies, rightly or wrongly bombed countries that were occupied by the enemy, regardless of whether they were occupied willingly or not. Thailand might have benefitted from British annexation, if the Amercans hadn't got in the way to promote their own agenda which was a huge build of US influence in SE Asia. As it was the British satisfied themselves with war reparations paid in rice and payment in pounds sterling for the work done on the railways by British POWs. They also kicked the Thais out of the parts of Malaya and Burma they had occupied during the war and the French booted them out of the bits of Cambodia and Laos they had occupied.

So you saw it on Wikipedia you say? You mean the same website that allows anyone to post anything without on scrap of it verified by outside sources? I've tried to track down more than one citation on Wikipedia pages I have seen only to run into dead-ends, citations that don't exist, or those that do but say the exact opposite of what Wikipedia's 'contributors' suggest. There's a reason why university professors ban their students from using Wikipedia for research.

And regarding the US 'getting in the way', are you referring to defeating the Japanese or pouring untold amounts of money and hardware to prevent Thailand from falling to the communists? Might I suggest people look at Thailand's development from the 1950s on and read about the various communist insurgencies that were beaten back with all of that aid and support. Containing communism wasn't limited to Vietnam but concerned the entire Southeast Asia region -- and that included Thailand. This is one of the points of history that is always overlooked.

[MaxYakov]

Unexploded ordinance is indeed a problem as they pose a potential risk to property ,life and limb, however the real and more salient risk is with the method mentality of the people who discovered them.

The recent carnage in the Bangkhen area was not simply due to the ordinance itself but to the utter stupidity of those who found the bomb and the manner in which it was handled.

Such people are as much ,if not more of a risk that the bomb itself.

Yuh, especially if such people are operating a motor vehicle. I estimate such people to be at least 50% of the operators. So what was the source of that that "high risk" for Bangkok residents again, I forgot.

Anyone want to compare the total casualties from WWII ordinance explosions since 1945 with the total road casualties in Thailand for the same period? I guess it's more interesting (maybe even fun) to look for bombs with X-ray machines than to seriously enforce traffic laws. I'm beginning to wonder if establishment hasn't come to the conclusion that Thai population control through road-accident attrition is desirable.

[HerbalEd]

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

The Thai ambassador could not have delivered a war declaration "the day after" Pearl Harbor was bombed, which was on Dec. 7, 1941. The Thai government didn't declared war on Great Britain and the USA until January 25, 1942.

Edited April 5, 2014 by HerbalEd

[MaxYakov]

An interesting BombRisk (unexploded ordnance assessment - UXO) site for the UK: http://www.findmaps.co.uk/reportDetails.php?repid=BombRisk

[Thorgal]

An interesting BombRisk (unexploded ordnance assessment - UXO) site for the UK: http://www.findmaps.co.uk/reportDetails.php?repid=BombRisk

Should be more interesting if they gave informations to countries they've bombed themselves, isn'it ?

[timbus8]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

[worgeordie]

Program on BBC 4 last night about building the Death railway, and it showed shots

of I think it said they were converted Hurricanes, fitted with 2 500lb bombs dropping

bombs on Thailand.

They had ex POW telling their side of the story,it must have been horrendous,

then they had Japanese guards telling their side,blaming the Korean guards for

most of the brutality, well they would.and they were just following orders.

regards worgeordie

[phantomfiddler]

This has got to be a prime contender for the Darwin Awards

[Tokay]

Gonna file this nonsense right next to, DON'T CARE, and LET THEM DIG.

[belg]

safe place do dumb these bombs = the local garbage king pin... only a bit dangerous when they cought fire like last time

[osiboy]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands

I think it is true to say that the Seri Thai's role in the war was somewhat exaggerated in a bid to exonerate Thailand's collaboration with the Japanese and promote the political ambitions of Seri Thai's leaders and affiliates like Seni Pramoj. They were too little and too late to have much impact. Anyway the allies, rightly or wrongly bombed countries that were occupied by the enemy, regardless of whether they were occupied willingly or not. Thailand might have benefitted from British annexation, if the Amercans hadn't got in the way to promote their own agenda which was a huge build of US influence in SE Asia. As it was the British satisfied themselves with war reparations paid in rice and payment in pounds sterling for the work done on the railways by British POWs. They also kicked the Thais out of the parts of Malaya and Burma they had occupied during the war and the French booted them out of the bits of Cambodia and Laos they had occupied.

IMO , if the UK & france were not stopped by the USA from taking reperations , thailand would be a better place today , they have never been tought a lesson and hence the lack of law and order today , the old experts af colonialism were stopped by the new experts and then encouraged to follow "their " form of colonialism which imo is the worst of all, ....no social consience of fairness and justice , and capitalism at its best {worst} ,..ie .you dont work you dont eat , better off being a socialist imo , watch the old commi states pass Thailand in investment and currency in the next 3-5 yrs !

[peecee]

There is a really interesting back story to this available on Wikipedia if you do some research on Thailand-WW2-Free Thai Army. In the later years of the war while Thailand was still functionally occupied by the Japanese, a Thai resistance force called the Free Thai Army had formed and was effectively mounting successful raids against Japanese facilities.

There were several American former diplomats involved and when the Americans began large scale bombing of Bangkok, especially the Bangkok Noi railyards, they desperately tried to get the US to stop. The bombing was very inaccurate, little of strategic value was being destroyed and thousands of civilians were being killed. Public opinion was swinging back into Japans favor and making things very difficult for the pro-American free Army. US bomber command totally ignored them and continued the basically useless raids for several months longer causing a lot of bitterness on the part of Free Army leaders.

One interesting fact of WW2 was that while Great Britain and France were officially at war with Thailand, the US never was. The Thai Ambassador in Washington refused to deliver the Declaration of War to the State Department the day after Pearl harbor, thus, never technically at war.

This odd fact had a huge affect on post war reparation negotiations and the US blocked many British and French reparation demands.

Very interesting history for those who care to dig.

Thailand declared war on the US on 25 Jan 1942, not the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Whether it was accepted or not, they still declared war. Thailand also declared war on the UK. Oh, and the Seri Thai (Free Thai Movement) - really didn't do much for the war effort in Thailand as they didn't return from the US/UK until around mid 1944. Show me proof of raids against Japanese facilities..

It's quite true that Thailand did declare war on the US and irrelevant that the Thai ambassador refused to deliver the note. Thailand put up little resistance when Japan invaded and soon after threw in their lot with the Japanese in making a declaration of war against the US and Great Britain.

Before the Japanese invasion the British had asked permission to enter Thailand's southern province in order to set up a defensive line to protect its interests in Malaya against the Japanese, the Thai government refused. The resulting loss of Malaya and Singapore was undoubtedly altered by the Thai governments decision as General Gordon Bennett, the Australian Divisional commander, had to organize his defenses with one hand tied behind his back.

When the bombing campaign against Bangkok in 1944 started to have a real detrimental effect on Thailand (and having seen the Japanese increasingly use Thais as forced labour), they then wanted to switch sides. The Japanese simply shut out the Thai government and used many more Thais as slave labour.

The conjecture was that Thailand had known all along about the Japanese invasion and had took a stand against British imperialism, only to swap it for Japanese subjugation later in the war.

Thailand was briefly occupied by British forces after they surrendered in 1945, Winston Churchill wanted to impose punitive reparations against the country but the US government opposed this, so a deal was done to revert Thailand back to democracy and the UK was given Thai rice!