Legacies of War

Legacies of War is a U.S.-based advocacy and education organization dedicated to confronting the continuing humanitarian consequences of the Vietnam War-era bombing of Laos. It works to increase public understanding of the bombing, support the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO), expand assistance for survivors, and create opportunities for communities affected by war and displacement to discuss history, healing, and peace. The project is fiscally sponsored by NEO Philanthropy, Inc., a New York-based nonprofit that provides administrative and financial sponsorship to mission-driven organizations. The organization’s work is rooted in the scale and persistence of the bombing campaign conducted over Laos from 1964 to 1973. More than two million tons of ordnance were dropped in approximately 580,000 missions. A significant proportion of cluster submunitions failed to detonate, leaving contamination in agricultural land, villages, and infrastructure areas after the war ended. These devices have continued to kill and injure people, restrict land use, impede development, and impose long-term costs on Lao communities. Legacies of War does not itself function primarily as a clearance contractor. Instead, it advocates for public funding and international attention while supporting awareness, survivor-centered dialogue, and partnerships with organizations carrying out demining, risk education, and victim assistance in Laos. The project emerged from founder Channapha Khamvongsa’s work in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. In 2004, while working at the Ford Foundation, she was introduced to the history of the so-called Secret War in Laos and to drawings made by bombing survivors. That encounter helped motivate the creation of an organization capable of connecting U.S. audiences, Lao American communities, policymakers, and people directly affected by UXO. Legacies subsequently developed exhibitions, public events, speaker tours, film programs, oral-history projects, educational materials, and congressional advocacy. A central part of the organization’s public strategy has been to translate a little-known chapter of U.S. foreign-policy history into accessible cultural and civic programming. Its National Traveling Exhibition has incorporated survivor drawings, archival material, photographs, recorded testimony, documentary content, Lao artifacts, and interactive explanations of cluster-munition hazards. Other initiatives, including A Peaceful Legacy, Our Shared Journey, Voices from Laos, and the Thip Khao Talk series, have used petitions, exhibitions, performances, school curricula, online conversations, and survivor appearances to encourage public engagement. Legacies has also pursued sustained advocacy in Washington. Its activities helped elevate UXO clearance and survivor assistance in congressional debates and during visits by senior U.S. officials to Laos. The organization participated in international discussions connected to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and worked with former U.S. ambassadors, legislators, civil-society groups, and demining organizations. The funding increases associated with its advocacy included U.S. appropriations for clearance, risk education, and victim assistance that rose substantially during the 2010s, culminating in a presidential pledge of increased annual support during Barack Obama’s 2016 visit to Laos. The organization’s broader positioning combines humanitarian advocacy, historical remembrance, diaspora engagement, and peace education. It seeks both practical results—such as greater resources for UXO clearance—and a wider cultural objective: enabling Lao American and other affected communities to reclaim historical narratives, process intergenerational trauma, and connect the legacy of war to contemporary questions of security and development. Its work is funded through individual, foundation, and corporate contributions rather than government grants to Legacies itself; government funds it advocates for are directed to implementing partners and related programs on the ground.

The humanitarian issue addressed by Legacies of War began with the extensive U.S. bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War era. Between 1964 and 1973, the United States conducted hundreds of thousands of bombing missions over Laos and dropped more than two million tons of ordnance. Cluster munitions left behind large quantities of unexploded submunitions. After the war ended in 1975, Lao villagers were largely left to manage the danger in fields, gardens, forests, and construction areas, where unexploded devices continued to cause deaths and injuries and restrict economic development. Early humanitarian clearance efforts developed outside the organization. The Mennonite Central Committee helped initiate a privately funded demining program in 1994 in cooperation with the Lao government and the Mines Advisory Group. UXO Lao, the national demining organization, was established in 1996. Although international and U.S. assistance later expanded, advocates argued that available funding remained far below the scale required to survey contaminated land, clear ordnance, provide risk education, and assist survivors. Legacies of War was founded in 2004 by Channapha Khamvongsa. While working at the Ford Foundation, Khamvongsa learned more about the Secret War in Laos through John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies and encountered drawings made by bombing survivors. The drawings became an important source of inspiration for an organization that could connect historical education with public advocacy and community healing. The organization’s National Traveling Exhibition premiered in Massachusetts in 2007. It combined historic survivor drawings with photographs, interviews, film, artifacts, and interactive educational material. Through this and related programs, Legacies brought the story of Laos to U.S. audiences, including Lao American communities, students, veterans, artists, policymakers, and peace activists. In 2010, Khamvongsa testified at a U.S. House hearing devoted to UXO in Laos. That year Legacies also coordinated a letter from five former U.S. ambassadors to Laos requesting substantially higher U.S. support. The organization participated in the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, held in Vientiane, and continued working with international advocacy networks, including the Cluster Munition Coalition and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. U.S. funding for Laos increased from the 2009 level cited by the organization to a substantially higher amount in 2010, followed by further congressional appropriations in subsequent years. In 2012, Legacies helped ensure that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Laos addressed UXO and that the issue received extensive international media attention. The organization’s advocacy was followed by a larger U.S. funding request for the next fiscal year. In 2013 it created the Voices from Laos Speaker Tour, which visited twelve cities and featured people with direct experience of UXO and its consequences. A related event at the United Nations in New York was held in April 2013 with participation from the United Nations Development Programme and the Lao government. The organization marked its tenth anniversary in 2014, the same year that commemorated five decades since the beginning of the U.S. bombing campaign. During the middle of the decade, Legacies’ work was profiled internationally as U.S. funding for UXO programs rose. Secretary of State John Kerry’s 2016 visit to Laos again brought the issue into high-level U.S. diplomacy. Later that year, President Barack Obama visited Laos for the ASEAN summit, the first visit by a sitting U.S. president. Obama recognized Khamvongsa and announced a commitment to increased annual support for UXO work. In 2017, Legacies helped support congressional passage of another installment of that commitment, funding clearance, victim assistance, risk education, and a nationwide UXO survey. In addition to policy work, Legacies has maintained cultural and educational programs. Our Shared Journey connects personal accounts from refugees, veterans, and community members to broader histories of war. The organization has supported film screenings, oral histories, performances, school lessons, and the Thip Khao Talk series, an online forum for academics, policymakers, and community leaders. Legacies is fiscally sponsored by NEO Philanthropy and relies on private contributions while advocating for public funds to be granted to implementing organizations in Laos.

• 2017

  Further installment of increased UXO funding passes Congress

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Legacies helps support passage of another $30 million installment for clearance, survivor assistance, risk education, and a national survey.

• 2016

  UXO issue highlighted during Obama’s Laos visit

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  President Obama publicly recognizes Legacies’ advocacy and announces increased U.S. support for UXO work in Laos.

• 2013

  Voices from Laos tour begins

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  A twelve-city speaker tour brings survivor and clearance perspectives to U.S. communities.

• 2010

  Congressional testimony and international cluster-munitions engagement

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Legacies testifies before the U.S. House and participates in the first Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane.

• 2007

  National Traveling Exhibition premieres

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  The organization presents an exhibition combining survivor drawings, historical material, interviews, photographs, film, and educational displays.

• 2004

  Legacies of War is founded

  [1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Channapha Khamvongsa establishes the organization after learning more about the Secret War in Laos and seeing drawings created by bombing survivors.

A humanitarian advocacy and public-history organization connecting Lao survivor experiences and Lao American communities with U.S. policy advocacy, peace education, and international efforts to address unexploded ordnance.

• Public-history exhibition · 2007

  National Traveling Exhibition

  A traveling educational exhibition about the bombing of Laos and its continuing consequences. Its materials have included original survivor drawings from 1971, archival and contemporary photography, recorded oral histories, documentary video, Lao artifacts, community healing activities, and interactive explanations of unexploded cluster munitions. The exhibition is designed to connect historical evidence with the lived experiences of survivors and the Lao diaspora.

• Advocacy campaign

  A Peaceful Legacy

  A petition and public-education campaign intended to explain the UXO problem in Laos to American audiences and build support for increased U.S. assistance for clearance, survivor services, and risk education.

• Speaker and community program · 2013

  Voices from Laos

  A national speaking initiative that brought Lao survivors, advocates, and people involved in bomb clearance to communities across the United States. The program sought to combine first-person testimony with public dialogue, fundraising, and education about the continuing effects of wartime ordnance.

• Healing and education program

  Our Shared Journey

  An exhibit and educational concept linking stories of refugees, veterans, and community members to the broader political and human context of war. Related school curricula use history, writing, and art to help students examine the Southeast Asian conflict and its legacies.

• Online discussion series

  Thip Khao Talk

  A virtual conversation series featuring academic, policy, and community voices on historical recognition, healing from war and displacement, and prospects for peace. The name refers to the Lao container traditionally used to carry sticky rice and draws on the informal social character of a shared meal.

• 2016Obama Visit UXO Awareness Campaign

  United States · Laos

  In advance of President Obama’s visit to Laos, Legacies worked to raise awareness of UXO and encourage attention to the issue during the presidential trip.

  Outcome. Obama addressed the UXO legacy, recognized Khamvongsa, and pledged increased annual U.S. support.

  Source
• 2013Voices from Laos Speaker Tour

  United States

  A twelve-city tour used survivor testimony and bomb-clearance perspectives to generate public awareness, dialogue, and support.

  Outcome. The tour expanded community engagement around Laos, UXO, and the Lao American experience.

  Source
• 2010Former Ambassadors’ UXO Funding Letter

  United States · Laos

  Legacies coordinated a public appeal by five former U.S. ambassadors to Laos calling for a major increase in annual funding for UXO removal.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to heightened policy attention and was followed by increased U.S. funding for clearance efforts.

  Source

• 2016

  Advocate for expanded U.S. UXO support during presidential diplomacyStrategy

  Background

  The first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Laos created an opportunity to place the unexploded-ordnance legacy at the center of bilateral discussion.

  Action taken

  Legacies ran an awareness effort and worked with congressional allies in advance of and around President Obama’s visit.

  Aftermath

  Obama announced a commitment to increase annual support for UXO cleanup in Laos, with subsequent congressional funding action.

  Proposed annual U.S. UXO support for Laos. $30 million (Fiscal years 2016, 2017, and 2018)

  Source

• 2004

  Create a public-advocacy organization focused on Laos UXOStrategy

  Background

  The continuing danger from unexploded ordnance was receiving limited public attention in the United States, despite its effects on Lao communities and development.

  Action taken

  Channapha Khamvongsa founded Legacies of War to combine historical education, survivor storytelling, community engagement, and policy advocacy.

  Aftermath

  The organization developed exhibitions, public programs, and sustained congressional advocacy for clearance and survivor assistance.

  Source

• 2016

  Barack Obama acknowledges UXO advocacy during Laos visit[1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  During the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Laos, Obama publicly recognized Khamvongsa’s work and announced a higher U.S. funding commitment for UXO clearance and related assistance.

• 2013

  Voices from Laos launches as a national speaker tour[1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  The organization launched a twelve-city tour featuring a survivor and a member of an all-women bomb-clearance team to build awareness and support.

• 2010

  Legacies of War testifies at U.S. House hearing on unexploded ordnance in Laos[1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Executive director Channapha Khamvongsa testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, helping bring the historical bombing of Laos and the continuing UXO problem into congressional discussion.

• 2010

  Former U.S. ambassadors support increased Laos UXO funding[1]Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Legacies coordinated a letter from five former U.S. ambassadors to Laos urging the U.S. government to raise annual support for UXO removal.

1. 1Legacies of Waren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Legacies of War official websitelegaciesofwar.org