Visitors to Piew Cave reminisce about the tragedy of war

Many people visit Piew Cave in Xieng Khuang province every day to pay their respects to the 374 people who died when a US combat aircraft carried out an attack with missiles 54 years ago.
At a short distance from Kham district’s three main intersections at the market, turn left onto Route 6 and head north for four kilometres, then turn left again and continue for two kilometres, and the historic cave is there before you.

Some people come to pay their respects to those who died in the cave.

When a team of journalists were recently taken to Kham district by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and UNICEF to identify key challenges in increasing Covid-19 vaccination coverage in the region, the reporters had time to visit the cave.
Most of the people who visit the site nowadays are students from colleges and universities located across the country.
During the second Indochina War that lasted from 1955 to 1975, Xieng Khuang’s strategic position continued to draw the province and its people into battle. Xieng Khuang’s citizens participated on both sides of the first Indochina War.
This involvement carried over into the second Indochina War, and domination of the plateau and its routes was key to victory during the second conflict. However, no one could control the plateau for any length of time.
In August 1960, Captain Kong Le staged a coup against the US-backed royalist government. Kong Le and his neutralist government fled to Xieng Khuang.
There were many American attacks on Xieng Khuang province during the Indochina War. It was in the late afternoon of November 24, 1968, that Piew Cave was hit. Children and elderly people were sheltering within the cave while others were working in the fields.
The US aircraft launched four missiles at the cave. The first and second missed the target but the third and fourth found their way into the cave and killed all 374 people inside.
All those who died in the attack are buried in front of the cave.
Most people abandoned their homes when American forces attacked the area. Homes, schools and hospitals were hit. Some people hid in the jungle, while others sought shelter in caves.
Fragments of Buddha statues, cooking utensils, medical equipment and human remains were found inside the cave, which was also used as a makeshift hospital at the time.
Laos is the most heavily bombed nation on earth. More than two million tonnes of ordnance were dropped on the country by American warplanes during the Indochina War.
Every five years, a special ceremony is held to commemorate the massacre, and thousands of people visit the cave to pay their respects to the dead.
Party and state leaders, officials and people from around the country travel to the province to attend the ceremony.
The government has spent some of its budget on developing the cave site for tourism.
Piew Cave is located in Boumlong village in Kham district, about 60 km east of the provincial capital of Phonsavanh.
The cave is one of several sites in Xieng Khuang that attract a growing number of visitors. The Plain of Jars, Keng Mountain, and Kha and Ka waterfalls are also popular with foreign visitors.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update August 17, 2022)