Amb. Quinn recounts how during their visit to Thailand in 1979, he along with Governor and Mrs. Ray visited the refugee camp at Nong Kahi, where several thousand Tai Dam refugees had been waiting several years for possible resettlement. During a tour of the very basic thatched dwellings in which they had existed for several years, the leaders of the refugee community guide the Governor to see what they described as their “symbol of hope.” Almost 40 years later, Amb. Quinn would remember this event when he was in the Rotunda of the State Capitol and the casket bearing Governor Ray’s body was carried in to lie in state.
THE ARCHIVE OF AMBASSADOR KENNETH M. QUINN
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEKONG