Legacies Post

From the desk of Stephen White , Emeritus Board member, Legacies of War Stephen White instructing, Vientiane, Lao PDR, Photo: Diamond International School As an American educator, when I accepted a leadership role at an international school in Laos, I never imagined that part of my responsibility would include teaching children about the dangers posed by American bombs still buried in their communities. Seeking to better understand this reality, I joined the Board of Director

From the desk of Richard A. Berliner, IVS volunteer in Viet Nam from 1966 to 1968, author of A Different Journey: Vietnam 1965-1973 International Voluntary Services (IVS) was founded February 16, 1953 Hill overlooking An Khe, Richard A. Berliner In the fall of 2022 former volunteers with the International Voluntary Services (IVS) came together in Birmingham, Alabama, with at least two things on their minds. One was to reminisce about the time they served together some fifty

From the desk of: Jewelry Pouna Keodara , 2025 Titus and Linda Peachey Peace Fellow, Advocacy Ambassador, Legacies of War We often grow up hearing stories from our parents and loved ones about lifetimes before our own, tales that blur truth and myth. Crossing rivers, trekking through jungles to school—each story shaped by the eyes that tell it. As a young girl, I heard tales of war from my family's homeland, but I could not grasp their meaning. During childhood summers, I vis

From the desk of Alexandra Hansen , Legacies Advocacy Ambassador Growing up south of Houston, Texas, I was surrounded by an infectious enthusiasm for innovation. My father was a career engineer at NASA, and has contributed to many incredible innovations that have sent men and women (some who were parents of my high school classmates) into orbit. I have always been thrilled by the belief that even the toughest challenges can be overcome with a team and a shared vision. I follo

From the desk of Jeremy Kuzmarov In the winter-spring semester of 2003, I was a graduate student at Brandeis University working on a thesis on the Vietnam War and modern War on Drugs. For that project, which was eventually published as a book with the University of Massachusetts Press, I began reading deeply into the literature of the Indochina Wars. One day, I came upon a slim volume in the library called Voices From the Plain of Jars: Life Under an Air War by Fred Branfman

From the desk of Jessica Pearce Rotondi Chair, Legacies Library and author of What We Inherit : A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers Walking into the Geography and Maps Reading Room in the Library of Congress is like walking into the multiverse; you can follow city streets as they existed hundreds of years in the past, long before pavement and power lines swooped overhead; globes from an era when most of the planet thought the Earth was flat; or slide open a dr

From the desk of Dr. Ramya Ravisankar , Associate Professor Columbus College of Art & Design Before starting the fall 2024 semester at Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), I joined a meeting with my colleagues to discuss a partnership and exhibition with Legacies of War. I was unsure what to expect, but when I heard Sera Koulabdara share her personal recollections and the impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos, I was deeply moved and excited to begin this project. At

From the desk of Lily Poulom Baugher During the spring semester of my freshman year, I was unhappy with the direction my life was taking. My major at the time, computer science, no longer felt like the right fit for me. I was close to failing my coding class, and the rest of my grades reflected my struggles. Noticing my behavior, my dad decided to buy plane tickets for us to Laos in the summer of 2023. He told me the trip would be a perfect getaway from my stressful life at