Continued US funding is needed to resolve the impact of our deadly legacy and create a brighter future for my students and their families.
Stephen White| Opinion contributor
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Growing up as outdoorsy kids in the Pacific Northwest, my brother and I have always known what to look for in a good campsite. After relocating from Oregon to Laos to work as educators at an international school, we were eager to explore the country’s natural beauty. Rick and I packed our tents and set off to spend a night under the stars.
Our destination was Phou Khao Khouay National Park, located about 25 miles northeast of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Covering roughly 770 square miles, the park is home to lush forests, wildlife and a large natural reservoir. As we searched for the perfect campsite, we came across a beautiful meadow sloping gently down to the water’s edge ‒ an ideal spot.
But within minutes, our excitement turned to disbelief: Lying partially buried in the mud, wedged beneath a rock near the very place we had considered cooking dinner, was a bomb.
A remnant of a secret U.S. bombing campaign during the Vietnam War that consumed Southeast Asia, this unexploded ordnance was a stark reminder that, for many, the war is far from over.
80 million US bombs unexploded in Laos, population 8 million
During the American "secret war" to destroy communist supply lines between Laos and Vietnam, the United States dropped over 2 million tons of bombs on Laos from 1964 to 1973 ‒ more than were dropped on Germany and Japan combined during World War II.
Today, about 80 million unexploded U.S. bombs remain scattered across this country of nearly 8 million people, endangering communities and limiting land use for farming, infrastructure and development. Organizations dedicated to removing them, like the one my brother and I contacted to report the bomb we found, rely heavily on U.S. funding.
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As an American, I was deeply troubled to hear that the Trump administration on Jan. 20 placed a 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid such as vital dollars for bomb clearance. Many Americans who have lived or traveled to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam understand that the war’s impact is far from over: Unexploded U.S. ordnance has killed or injured more than 50,000 people in Laos alone since 1964.
For victims of these explosions, the COPE Center in Vientiane offers a lifeline. This is one of the organizations that rely heavily on U.S. funding to provide prosthetics, physical rehabilitation and mobile outreach to individuals who have lost limbs or suffered injuries due to America's unexploded bombs. Their mobile unit extends care to remote villages, ensuring that even those far from the capital receive the help they need.
Through my students' eyes
Recently, I took a group of my fifth graders ‒ mostly Lao children ‒ to visit COPE’s educational center. Inside, they examined a display of decommissioned bombs, various types of prosthetics and a massive map of Laos, marked in red to indicate bombed areas.
As they traced their fingers across different provinces, they whispered about family members who lived in these regions, places where economic progress has been stunted by land contamination and the constant threat of hidden bombs.
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While at the COPE Center, I saw the exact same type of bomb that Rick and I had found while camping just an hour's drive from where I was with my students. I still felt afraid of the long metal tube with fins, and as I looked around at my students, I noticed that they had the same expression of worry and fear.
For these children, unexploded U.S. bombs is not just history ‒ it is their present reality that cannot be ignored.
Efforts to clear Laos of unexploded ordnance continue, but they require sustained funding and international cooperation.
The organizations working on the ground are not just clearing bombs; they also are restoring land, educating at-risk communities and helping survivors rebuild their lives.
Many countries, including the United States, have come together as caring and responsible global citizens to return land that was violently taken from the people of Laos. The question now is whether we will continue to take responsibility for our part in a war that, for millions in Laos, never truly ended.
In the past few years, I have experienced the sadness and frustration that echoes throughout Lao society every time a U.S. bomb claims another life. Too often, the victims are children.
As an American who is attempting to shoulder the present reality of this war, I have found community and guidance through an amazing group of community organizers at Legacies of War. I now serve as a board member and am proud to advocate for continued U.S. support to resolve the impact of our deadly legacy and create a brighter future for my students and their families.
Stephen White is a board member of Legacies of War and an administrator at the Diamond International School in Vientiane, Laos.
