"The government is well aware that this Communist danger may spread to our people as in the neighboring countries. Therefore, we must be in a state of readiness."
The speaker was Thailand's Premier Thanom Kittikachorn, and the occasion was proof of the conviction of his words. As Buddhist monks chanted blessings, the Thai leader stood on a wooden platform overlooking the Gulf of Siam and watched balloons lift a banner from a large stone embedded in the ground. On the stone was the inscription: "U-Tapao Airfield, dedicated to the furtherance of peace through strength and friendship."
Tanker Base. Part of a...
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