Museum Entrance

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Welcome to the Museum ofWelcome to the Museum ofProxy Wars of the Cold WarProxy Wars of the Cold War

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Curator’s Office

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Room 1

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Cambodian Civil WarCambodian Civil War

Room 2

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Laotian Civil WarLaotian Civil War

Room 3

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Vietnam WarVietnam War

Room 4

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Middle Eastern ConflictsMiddle Eastern Conflicts

Room 5

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Nicaraguan Civil WarNicaraguan Civil War

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl02.html

On March 18, 1969, American B-52s began carpet-bombing eastern Cambodia. The bombing was kept a secret from congress be the Nixon administration eventually leading the Watergate scandal. During the carpet bombing over 2,500,000 tons of bombs were dropped and somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 Civilians were killed. The indiscriminate bombing gave rise to Pol Pot.

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Us Intervention of Cambodian Civil War

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/profile03.html

Pol Pot born Saloth Sar was born around 1928 and died in 1998. Pol Pot was incredibly secretive and what little we o know about him has come out post mortem, first he was a former school teacher, while in France in the 1950’s while studying he became attracted to Communism and eventually became a Maoist after visiting China in the 1960’s. He rose to power in the 1970’s as the leader of the Khmer Rouge and led one of the harshest genocides the world has ever seen.

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Pol Pot (Saloth Sar)

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl03.html

On April 17, 1975, less than two weeks before the fall of Saigon, the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh and immediately began to drive the city's 2 million residents into the countryside. This was the first action made after rising to power after their quick rise to power after American bombing led to skyrocketing enlistment. After forcing an agrarian society on Cambodia they also had a genocide against all those who were reasonably well educated essentially wiping out the entire educated class.

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Khmer Rouge Flag

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/American_Empire/

Nixon_Cambodia_LFE.html

In 1969, President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor, Henry A. Kissinger, unleashed B-52 carpet bombing for over fourteen months. Nixon kept the bombings top secret and on a need to know basis. Eventually The New York Times leaked about the bombing. The people were out raged, and Nixon became a nervous wreck who wire tapped a lot of high ranking officials. This mass wire tapping of those unaware became the Watergate scandal which got Nixon impeached.

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Richard Nixon

http://rlge.org/home.htm

On May 11, 1975 Prince Souvannaphouma the Prime Minister of Lao Provisional Government of national Union (PGNU) had issued an executive order to appoint Gen. Ouane Boupha the communist Pathet Lao faction representative to take in charge of Laos National Defence Ministry and the Royal Laos Armed Forces to replace Tiao Sisouk Nachampasack the Royal Laos faction representative. This was the beginning of the communist uprising in Laos with the civil war in swing there was a cry to help from the government in peril and Nixon cam to there aid with B-52’s.

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Royal Laos Government in Exile

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/446407/Pathet-Lao

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Pathet Lao

Founded in 1950, the Pathet Lao (Lao Country) movement joined with the Viet Minh, the Communist-oriented Vietnamese nationalist organization, in armed resistance to French rule in Indochina . They took control over Laos after Gen. Ouane Boupha was appointed and he issued executive orders condemning all RLGE officers.

http://www.uxolao.org/index.php/en/the-uxo-problem

This image shows the lasting impression of bombing Laos, specifically the tons and tons of UneXploded Ordinance (UXO). These unexploded bombs cause dozens of deaths and injuries a year, many to children. This lasting image of American made bombs causing harm to children was used intensely by rebels to recruit people by the dozens.

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Laotian Monk with part of an American plane

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When the Laotian government was under attack they called tot the Americans for help, the Americans responded with 50 million tons of bombs making Laos the most bombed country in the world. When the American pilots were given orders on where to bomb a vast majority of targets were civilian or were never specified.

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Bombing of Laos

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/ho-chi-minh/biography.htm

Ho Minh founded the Viet Minh during the war with Vietnams war with Japan. Became leader of said Viet Minh and led the war in Vietnam against the Americans with incredible cunning. Ho Chi Minh ended up winning the war with American and taking all of Vietnam and converting it to communism.

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Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam-War

The Vietnam war was a proxy war between the US and the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong were backed by the Soviets and also had the Ho Chi Minh trail though indo-china. The lasting effects of the war today are that Vietnam is communist, and Agent Orange contamination is rampant.

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Vietnam War (1954–75)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628312/Viet-Minh

Core group of Viet Cong formed in 1941 in China. They eventually made there way into Vietnam and created the Viet Cong army. They were the closest group to Ho Chi Minh, and the original leaders of the revolution.

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Viet Minh flag

http://www.biography.com/people/william-westmoreland-9528510#vietnam&awesm=~oCHXbxnQHV11DV

Gen. William Westmoreland was the Commander of the American Assistance Command, which meant he was in control of all American troops fighting in Vietnam. Moreland was the general that faced the brutal Tet Offensive, the Tet Offensive was the final straw in the war that pushed America out.

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Gen. William Wesmoreland (1914-2005)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/238982/Mikhail-Gorbachev

Gorbachev was the last of the Soviet rulers and over saw the dismantling of the USSR. Towards the end of 1988 and beginning of 1989 Gorbachev oversaw the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Gorbachev also oversaw the end of the communist rulers in the Soviet bloc countries and tacitly ended the Cold War by dissolving the USSR after watching the communist hold dissipate.

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Mikhail Gorbachev

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-

afghanistan

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan started in 1979 with the movement of thousands of soldiers into Afghanistan The Soviets saw it more as an intervention as there was a military coup at the time.

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Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/70s/afghan_war.asp

The Mujahideen were a terrorist group formed when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan to help a military take over that would’ve formed a communist alliance. The soviets backed the military and the US backed the Mujahideen with training and rockets, such as the ones used to down the Soviet helicopter pictured.

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Mujahideen

http://www.afghan-web.com/bios/yest/asmasood.html

Masood was the leader of the Mujahideen, the main opponent of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He led the Mujahideen to a glorious victory over the Soviets. He has been hailed as the Afghan that won the war.

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Ahmad Shah Masood (1951-2001)

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Artifact 17

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Artifact 18

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Artifact 19

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Artifact 20

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Artifact 22

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Artifact 23

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Back Wall Artifact