50th Anniversary

Photographic Exhibition Captures Important Moments in U.S.-Lao Relations
August 10, 2005

Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach Delivers a Speech on the Occasion of the Celebration 50th Anniversary of U.S. - Lao Relations

A 50th Anniversary Photographic Exhibition, organized by the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Section, is providing viewers with over 200 photographs of important moments in the U.S.-Lao relationship over the past 50 years. The 50 photographs in Part I of the Exhibition, 1955-1975, highlight Charles Yost, the first U.S. Ambassador to Laos, pictures of the first U.S. Embassy in Laos, pictures of road construction and electrification projects undertaken by the United States Operations Mission (USOM) the precursor to USAID, and pictures of students at the first high school in Laos, which was funded by the U.S. Part II, 1975-2005, contains photographs of Ambassador Charles Salmon, Jr., being received in 1992 by the Lao President, ending the 17 year period when the U.S. did not have an ambassador in Laos. It also contains 150 other pictures of various Embassy activities, such as those to obtain the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing since the Indochina War, to eliminate the production of opium, and to conduct community development projects. Other photos highlight the Fulbright scholarship program, recent projects funded The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, the recent Lao Studies Conference held at Northern Illinois University, and visits by such U.S. officials as Senator John McCain, Senator Charles Rangel, and (then) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz. Many photos were provided by Joel Halpern, who was stationed in Laos in 1957 and 1969 with USOM. Other photographs were provided by State's Office of Overseas Buildings, the National Archives, the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane, and the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.