Dr. Charles Weldon MD
Doctor in the Kingdom of #Laos #CIA
Who was he?
Dr. Charles Weldon was a doctor that worked in Laos for eleven years in remote Hmong villages. Dr. “Doc Jiggs” Weldon had also lived and worked in Haiti, the Philippines, Cambodia, South Vietnam, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.
Why is he important?
Dr. Weldon did miraculous work in Laos and was a legend to all the people in the Kingdom of Laos. He saved countless lives in remote villages where no doctors and nurses existed.
Does he have any connection to me or my family?
Dr. Weldon had two sons that I went to school with, and one of the sons I knew very well. They were all geologists and went looking for precious stones in the mountains, and they found quite a few, including valuable rubies.
Summary of his accomplishments
Dr. Charles Weldon wrote this book
Tragedy In Paradise : A Country Doctor At War In Laos
Saved 1000’s of lives, trained nurses, created hospitals and clinics in Laos during the Vietnam War.
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has a large collection of papers of Dr. Weldon
Epilogue
He retired to Chiang Rai Thailand, a small provincial capital and farming center in Northern Thailand in 1987.
He saw the genocide of the Hmong tribes in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Laos and Vietnam.
Dr. Weldon died in Thailand in 2002.
What is his legacy?
Press, Grant Peck Associated. “Dr. Charles Weldon, of Laos Fame, Dies.” Wilmington Star News, Wilmington Star News, 29 Nov. 2002, www.starnewsonline.com/article/NC/20021129/news/605097641/WM.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)