Sourith Don Sasorith

Major General Sourith Don Sasorith was a prominent Royal Lao Government commanding officer during the Laotian Civil War. Appointed to command the Royal Lao Air Force on two separate occasions, he was also entrusted two other times with command of a Military Region. At war's end in 1975, Sourith Don Sasorith was condemned to a communist re-education camp.

The colonial army in the French Protectorate of Laos was one of Lao recruits and French officers and noncommissioned officers. Those few Lao promoted out of the ranks rose no further than command of a company. After the Kingdom of Laos gained its freedom in 1953, the few Lao with military experience were speedily promoted to much higher command positions than they were accustomed to. Many officers were also commissioned into the upper ranks from civilian life; they tended to gain their posts through family influence rather than training or ability. The few urban elite families who dominated Lao society felt it advantageous to have family members or friends in the military command.

Major General Sourith Don Sasorith was of Vietnamese-Lao heritage. He owed his appointment as a military officer to family connections; Katay Don Sasorith, his cousin, was the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Laos. Sourith commanded Bataillon Parachutistes 1 (Battalion of Parachutists 1) and Bataillon Parachutistes 2 (Battalion of Parachutists 2) of the Royal Lao Army. He also took command of the Lao Army Air Force in January 1958. Despite its name, it consisted of only a single composite squadron of mixed types of aircraft. A French major had been in charge; however, the language barrier between French and Lao had hindered training, as had the low educational level of the Lao airmen. Sourith was appointed because he was strict on discipline. His aviation command was additional to that of the paratroopers. At the time, there was one Lao pilot trained, but 36 more still in training; Sourith was not one of them.

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