26 Facts About Dawee Chullasapya

Air chief marshal Dawee was widely considered a pillar of Thailand's sporting world.

Dawee Chullasapya later served as minister of transport and communications and of agriculture.

Dawee Chullasapya himself won a silver medal in sailing at the 1970 Asian Games.

Dawee Chullasapya became a cadet at the Army Academy upon finishing secondary school, and graduated with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in 1935.

Dawee Chullasapya soon joined the Air Force, and by 1938 had been promoted to flying officer.

The conflict with French Indochina saw Dawee Chullasapya leading the 60th Fighter Squadron, which was composed of nine Hawk 75Ns.

Flight Lieutenant Dawee Chullasapya was a member of the last Thai military mission to Malaya in October 1941, and returned just days before the commencement of the Pacific War.

Dawee Chullasapya was sent later to serve as an attache to General Yamashita's headquarters at Alor Star.

Dawee Chullasapya accompanied the Japanese 25th Army to as far as Johore before being forced to return to Bangkok as a result of malarial infections.

In March 1945, Wing Commander Dawee Chullasapya was ordered to report to the Army Deputy Commander-in-Chief, who quickly presented the Wing Commander to the Regent at his riverside residence.

The regent proceeded to explain that Dawee Chullasapya had been chosen to carry out liaison duties with the Allies in India on behalf of the Seri Thai.

Dawee Chullasapya was to make the journey with three Americans: two OSS officers, Majors John Wester and Howard Palmer; and the Flying Tigers' "Black Mac" McGarry, who since being shot down in the Chiang Mai area in January 1942 had been in a POW camp.

The party arrived in Madras some hours later, and Dawee Chullasapya continued on to Colombo, where he met Sanguan Tularak, a fellow Seri Thai agent.

Wing Commander Dawee Chullasapya spent his time at Kandy studying aerial photographs of Thailand and assisting the bombing planners at South East Asia Command in selecting accurate Japanese military targets as opposed to Thai civilian ones.

Dawee Chullasapya received lessons in espionage and sabotage, and was forced to attend an intensive week-long OSS training course in Maryland.

Dawee Chullasapya returned to Thailand a while later via seaplane.

Dawee Chullasapya was to collect intelligence regarding Japanese troop dispositions, and to aid in the establishment of secret airfields for which the Allies could fly in agents and supplies to reinforce the Seri Thai.

Dawee Chullasapya returned to Calcutta to pick up OSS Major Nicol Smith and Lloyd George, a civilian reports officer, and to bring them to Bangkok for direct talks with Pridi.

Dawee Chullasapya accompanied Seni Pramoj back to Bangkok on September 16, and returned permanently on December 5,1945, escorting the young King Ananda Mahidol.

Dawee Chullasapya was the head of the organising committees for the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games, both held in Bangkok.

Dawee Chullasapya was vice minister of defence in Thanom Kittikachorn's government from 1963 to 1969.

Dawee Chullasapya then served as minister of communication and transport from 1969 to 1971.

Dawee Chullasapya could achieve the release of all the hostages and a bloodless end of the crisis.

In 1974, Dawee Chullasapya co-founded the Social Justice Party, of which he became the chairman in 1976.

Dawee Chullasapya served as deputy prime minister and minister of public health under Seni Pramoj, until the day of the Thammasat University massacre, 6 October 1976.

Dawee Chullasapya was again deputy prime minister, this time under Kriangsak Chomanan, from 1979 to 1980.