The American Association
In 1946, there were about 30-40 resident Americans. By 1949, that number had jumped to 300 or so. There were other Americans whose names are too dim to recall or of whom I have read about but do not remember. An informal census by the American Association of Thailand found that in October 1949 there were about 300 American men, women and children resident in Bangkok.
Most of these men and women, among the 60 or so American civilian businesspersons in the early 1950s in Siam, were instrumental in the establishment in 1956 of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AmCham) and its forerunner from 1947, revived in 1949, the American Association of Thailand (previously the American Businessmen's Association) which met at Herman Seiler's American Club on Phya Thai Road before shifting to the Oriental Hotel in 1950.
Actually, in late 1955, preliminary steps were taken to create the United States Club of Thailand. That effort quickly faded and based on the idea of my father in September 1955, was replaced by an initiative to create an American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand following the template used by the Dutch who formed the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce some months earlier.
That idea took root and, supported by the US Embassy, in early 1956 an organizing committee was formed with Reeve Hankins as Chairman. The AmCham was created drafting its constitution as an adaptation of the constitutions of the Manila and Tokyo American Chambers. I cannot find the records but I believe that my father was its Secretary, and for sure, was its legal counsel.
Based on an initiation in October 1949 of the male-dominated American Association of Thailand, American spouses, upon the call of Mrs. John E. Puerifoy, wife of the then American Ambassador, decided in May 1955 to form the American Women’s Auxiliary of the American Association of Thailand.
A year later, just as AmCham was being formed, The American Women’s Club was officially chartered at a ceremony officiated by the wife of Prime Minister Phibun Songkhram. Its first meetings were held at my family’s home, my mother being its recording secretary and soon after, its presidentThe American Association
In 1946, there were about 30-40 resident Americans. By 1949, that number had jumped to 300 or so. There were other Americans whose names are too dim to recall or of whom I have read about but do not remember. An informal census by the American Association of Thailand found that in October 1949 there were about 300 American men, women and children resident in Bangkok.
In 1946, there were about 30-40 resident Americans. By 1949, that number had jumped to 300 or so. There were other Americans whose names are too dim to recall or of whom I have read about but do not remember. An informal census by the American Association of Thailand found that in October 1949 there were about 300 American men, women and children resident in Bangkok.
Most of these men and women, among the 60 or so American civilian businesspersons in the early 1950s in Siam, were instrumental in the establishment in 1956 of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AmCham) and its forerunner from 1947, revived in 1949, the American Association of Thailand (previously the American Businessmen's Association) which met at Herman Seiler's American Club on Phya Thai Road before shifting to the Oriental Hotel in 1950.
Actually, in late 1955, preliminary steps were taken to create the United States Club of Thailand. That effort quickly faded and based on the idea of my father in September 1955, was replaced by an initiative to create an American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand following the template used by the Dutch who formed the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce some months earlier.
That idea took root and, supported by the US Embassy, in early 1956 an organizing committee was formed with Reeve Hankins as Chairman. The AmCham was created drafting its constitution as an adaptation of the constitutions of the Manila and Tokyo American Chambers. I cannot find the records but I believe that my father was its Secretary, and for sure, was its legal counsel.
Based on an initiation in October 1949 of the male-dominated American Association of Thailand, American spouses, upon the call of Mrs. John E. Puerifoy, wife of the then American Ambassador, decided in May 1955 to form the American Women’s Auxiliary of the American Association of Thailand.
A year later, just as AmCham was being formed, The American Women’s Club was officially chartered at a ceremony officiated by the wife of Prime Minister Phibun Songkhram. Its first meetings were held at my family’s home, my mother being its recording secretary and soon after, its presidentThe American Association
In 1946, there were about 30-40 resident Americans. By 1949, that number had jumped to 300 or so. There were other Americans whose names are too dim to recall or of whom I have read about but do not remember. An informal census by the American Association of Thailand found that in October 1949 there were about 300 American men, women and children resident in Bangkok.
Colonies Lost
Bangkok was beguiling, charming, soft, sophisticated, relatively orderly but always accommodating, adapting to the demands and needs of a modernizing Siamese public and American influences.
From the mid-1950s, rapid changes took place throughout the nation. Free enterprise in commerce was the order of the day and a free-wheeling social scene was swinging. The pleasure-loving, gracious and hospitable Siamese made it easy then for Americans to thrive here.
It was their way of saying "thank you" to the United States for supporting the anti-Japanese resistance and for prevailing over the British desire to convert Thailand into a post-War British colony, convincing the UK to accept war reparations instead. The Thais have never forgotten that the United States took none – for the US view was that no state of war ever existed between America and Thailand.
It wasn’t long before the strategic geographic position of Thailand was appreciated internationally. Thailand became a member of the United Nations in late 1946, and in 1950 the UN made Bangkok its regional headquarters. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the British had their hands full unsuccessfully attempting to quell independence and communist uprisings in India, Burma, Malaya and the Straits settlements.
The Dutch were losing their 400-year hold on Indonesia; the Americans were granting independence to the Philippines; and the French were fighting desperate but losing battles throughout Indochina to remain colonial masters there. And the vast and mighty China was being overrun by Chinese Communist armies under Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
Thailand was indeed the eye of the typhoon of unrest swirling around it, but some anti-Americanism and leftist political cadres tried to take root.
An American-owned company named “Sea Supply Company” was established – an open secret was that it was supplying arms and training to the Border Patrol Police as a constabulary to keep the spread of communism in check. The Korean War took some 4,000 Thai soldiers to fight alongside the UN allied forces there from 1950-53. America was committed to keeping Thailand communist-free and democratic. Well, sort of democratic anyway, a façade at best, and also as a bastion of capitalism. The latter was not difficult to achieve.
The French in Indochina fell to the Communist Viet Minh in 1954. That same year, the Manila Pact, a mutual defense treaty sponsored by Thailand and the U.S. to counter the further spread of communism, was signed creating SEATO, the South East Asia Treaty Organization, with Thailand as its lynchpin and headquarters.
Bangkok was beguiling, charming, soft, sophisticated, relatively orderly but always accommodating, adapting to the demands and needs of a modernizing Siamese public and American influences.
From the mid-1950s, rapid changes took place throughout the nation. Free enterprise in commerce was the order of the day and a free-wheeling social scene was swinging. The pleasure-loving, gracious and hospitable Siamese made it easy then for Americans to thrive here.
It was their way of saying "thank you" to the United States for supporting the anti-Japanese resistance and for prevailing over the British desire to convert Thailand into a post-War British colony, convincing the UK to accept war reparations instead. The Thais have never forgotten that the United States took none – for the US view was that no state of war ever existed between America and Thailand.
It wasn’t long before the strategic geographic position of Thailand was appreciated internationally. Thailand became a member of the United Nations in late 1946, and in 1950 the UN made Bangkok its regional headquarters. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the British had their hands full unsuccessfully attempting to quell independence and communist uprisings in India, Burma, Malaya and the Straits settlements.
The Dutch were losing their 400-year hold on Indonesia; the Americans were granting independence to the Philippines; and the French were fighting desperate but losing battles throughout Indochina to remain colonial masters there. And the vast and mighty China was being overrun by Chinese Communist armies under Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
Thailand was indeed the eye of the typhoon of unrest swirling around it, but some anti-Americanism and leftist political cadres tried to take root.
An American-owned company named “Sea Supply Company” was established – an open secret was that it was supplying arms and training to the Border Patrol Police as a constabulary to keep the spread of communism in check. The Korean War took some 4,000 Thai soldiers to fight alongside the UN allied forces there from 1950-53. America was committed to keeping Thailand communist-free and democratic. Well, sort of democratic anyway, a façade at best, and also as a bastion of capitalism. The latter was not difficult to achieve.
The French in Indochina fell to the Communist Viet Minh in 1954. That same year, the Manila Pact, a mutual defense treaty sponsored by Thailand and the U.S. to counter the further spread of communism, was signed creating SEATO, the South East Asia Treaty Organization, with Thailand as its lynchpin and headquarters.
"For a variety of reasons, the Thai political scene was dominated by the Thai military and their rivals, the Thai police, and subordinated to that was the influence of the Thai military in business circles. American policy, military and economic aid at the time supported a stable and strong anticommunist Thailand while overlooking shameless improprieties" |
For a variety of reasons, the Thai political scene was dominated by the Thai military and their rivals, the Thai police, and subordinated to that was the influence of the Thai military in business circles. American policy, military and economic aid at the time supported a stable and strong anticommunist Thailand while overlooking shameless improprieties.
By 1956, Thailand was well along the path to post-War social and economic development but politically was beset with sometimes violent infighting among the military/political elite. Thailand was coup d'etat prone, to say the least, and political corruption and vote-rigging were rampant as well as unofficial official participation in illegal businesses. Beneath the smiles, there was little local tolerance for political dissent – political prisoners, killings and disappearances were not uncommon. But such discord never spilled over into the foreign community. The Thais were too gracious and well-mannered for that to have occurred. Actually, Bangkok was, and still is, one of the safest cities in the world for foreign residents. |
While the Cold War was hot in 1956 with the Soviet invasion of Hungary and the British, French and Israelis had seized the Suez Canal, young Asian nations were learning to live with their newly won independence from colonial masters.
But Thailand was at peace, between coups d'etat, and using the lull to prepare for the anticipated conflicts to eventually come across its borders through upgrading its sea ports and airports (aerodromes) and constructing many new highways and bridges and rail links to open up the provinces, plus dams, reservoirs, irrigation canals and rural electrification.
mericans across the spectrum of occupations became heavily involved in bolstering Thailand’s development from then on for the ensuing 50 years. The European and American supported Catholic, Protestant, Mormon and Anglican churches were reinstituted and reinvigorated with personnel and funding
But Thailand was at peace, between coups d'etat, and using the lull to prepare for the anticipated conflicts to eventually come across its borders through upgrading its sea ports and airports (aerodromes) and constructing many new highways and bridges and rail links to open up the provinces, plus dams, reservoirs, irrigation canals and rural electrification.
mericans across the spectrum of occupations became heavily involved in bolstering Thailand’s development from then on for the ensuing 50 years. The European and American supported Catholic, Protestant, Mormon and Anglican churches were reinstituted and reinvigorated with personnel and funding
Economic Diplomacy One final observation before we leave the scene setting. Vis-à- vis the American private sector presence in Thailand, the U.S. Embassy in 1956, with its 200+ American staff, was pre-disposed to focus almost exclusively on intelligence-gathering, political, military and macro-economic aid projects. That reflected U.S. foreign policy of the day. This left scant time for attention to the American business community and civilian citizens. There was a Commercial Counselor who tried his best, but he was often outranked by other priorities. ‘Economic diplomacy’ supporting the role of the vast, growing and widely disbursed American business population across Asia was a concept to be coined by APCAC (the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce) a decade later. Then, almost anywhere in Asia, if you, as an American, were in trouble, you sought help first from the British Embassy. The Brits’ local contacts were broader, deeper and better than anyone else’s. But if there was really big trouble, then the U.S. Marines were called out. At least, that was the line the State Department used to placate critics. |
The Americans who gravitated here were an eclectic, fun-loving group which was small enough so everyone pretty much knew each other but large enough to be able to avoid those who you wanted to avoid. With the offices of some companies, including AmCham, being in the area bounded by Siphya to Sathorn Road and New Road to Patpong Road – the latter was very tame in those days – the guys formed the Patpong Posse’ complete with sheriff’s badges, handcuffs and photo IDs – which came in handy to get out of trouble when stopped by the ‘good ole boy’ local cops in the American South and West with their dark glasses with mirror finishes.
What the Posse members failed to mention to their ‘brethren’ was that the Patpong Posse was an eating, drinking and carousing bunch with their headquarters at the Red Door and Mizu’s Kitchen restaurants, on Patpong Road, of course. Any semblance between the Patpong Posse and law enforcement was purely coincidental.
It wasn’t all play time; business and commerce were conducted, albeit at a much slower pace compared to today. Thailand continued its traditional exports of natural resources, minerals, seafood and agriculture commodities to earn foreign exchange to buy consumer goods and needed construction materials and machinery to help in its reconstruction and business expansion.
he BOI (Board of Investment) was yet to come into existence until 1959 to promote a home-grown import substitution manufacturing industrial base.
The American founders of AmCham were involved in trading companies, insurance, import and distribution of petroleum, pharmaceutical and medical products, aviation, business machines and office products, sewing machines, soft drinks, developing the silk and cotton industries for export, exporting of handicrafts such as bronzeware, neilloware, silver, jewelry and gems, lawyering, and doing construction work around the country.
The old American Embassy on Wireless Road (still being used as the American Consulate) was the first purpose-built office building in town and was designed and
constructed by an American – Dave Workman
What the Posse members failed to mention to their ‘brethren’ was that the Patpong Posse was an eating, drinking and carousing bunch with their headquarters at the Red Door and Mizu’s Kitchen restaurants, on Patpong Road, of course. Any semblance between the Patpong Posse and law enforcement was purely coincidental.
It wasn’t all play time; business and commerce were conducted, albeit at a much slower pace compared to today. Thailand continued its traditional exports of natural resources, minerals, seafood and agriculture commodities to earn foreign exchange to buy consumer goods and needed construction materials and machinery to help in its reconstruction and business expansion.
he BOI (Board of Investment) was yet to come into existence until 1959 to promote a home-grown import substitution manufacturing industrial base.
The American founders of AmCham were involved in trading companies, insurance, import and distribution of petroleum, pharmaceutical and medical products, aviation, business machines and office products, sewing machines, soft drinks, developing the silk and cotton industries for export, exporting of handicrafts such as bronzeware, neilloware, silver, jewelry and gems, lawyering, and doing construction work around the country.
The old American Embassy on Wireless Road (still being used as the American Consulate) was the first purpose-built office building in town and was designed and
constructed by an American – Dave Workman