I am a result of the Vietnam War, actually-the "Secret War" in Laos--a bastard son of an American soldier stationed in Udon Thani during the decades-long Indochina conflict. When American soldiers moved into Udon Air Force Base, the promise of great opportunities and riches excited many impoverished villagers around the rural Isaan farmlands; long overlooked by the Thai government. My mother, a young woman at the time, embraced this chance to make money, and even dreamed of being married off to a rich Tahaan Falaang who would take her away from the misery of subsistence living-a poor rural...