22 Facts About Kong Le

Captain Kong Le was a Laotian military officer and prominent military figure in Laos during the 1960s.

Kong Le led the premier unit of the Royal Lao Army, the 2nd Parachute Battalion, that played a significant role during the first phases of the Laotian Civil War.

Kong Le would remain in exile in Indonesia, Hong Kong, the United States, and France.

Kong Le was born on 6 March 1934 to ethnic Lao Theung parents and spoke Phu Tai.

Kong Le acquired an excellent command of French, as well as knowing functional English.

Kong Le's father died in 1940, leaving his family destitute and forcing the then six-year-old Le to farm in a rice farm.

Kong Le received a little formal education at the Savannakhet Lycee before enlisting in the Royal Lao Army in 1951.

Kong Le showed enough martial promise to be included in the third Officer Candidate School class at Dong Hene.

Kong Le was noted for his changeable temperament and rapid mood swings.

In December 1959, Captain Kong Le was approached by his uncle-in-law, General Ouane Rattikone while the commanding officer of BP 2 was in the United States, leaving Kong Le in charge.

On 10 August 1960, Kong Le led the paras in a coup that saw only six killed.

Kong Le's aims in seizing the capital became apparent in his radio broadcasts:.

Kong Le solicited support from his first cousin, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, the dictator of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Kong Le convinced Souvanna Phouma to become Prime Minister in the new government; in turn, Souvanna appointed General Ouane commander in chief of the RLA.

On 13 December 1960, Phoumi's counter-coup column began his assault on Kong Le's paratroopers occupying Vientiane.

On 12 April 1962, Kong Le reached a rapprochement with Vang Pao; the guerrilla leader agreed to loan Kong Le security forces for guard duty.

Meanwhile, Kong Le mended fences with the Royalists he had been opposing.

Kong Le, who had sat out the assault by serving as a Buddhist monk, fired the attack's commander for embezzling 1.5 million Lao kips.

Kong Le sat out the action while serving as a Buddhist monk.

Kong Le sought asylum in the Indonesian embassy in Vientiane.

In March 1967, Kong Le left Indonesia to Hong Kong.

Kong Le then lived in exile in Paris until he died in January 2014.