Golden Bones: An Extraordinary Journey from Hell in Cambodia to a New Life in America

344 Pages·2009·2.54 MB·English

by  Sichan Siv

GOLDEN
BONES
An Extraordinary Journey
from Hell in Cambodia
to a New Life in America
D D D D D D D D

SICHAN SIV
To Mae,
who gave me life, love, and hope
To Martha,
who continues to give me happiness
La force lie un temps.
L’idée enchaine pour toujours.
“Force ties for a time.
Ideas bind forever.”
—Inscription, National Library of Cambodia,
December 24, 1924

Contents
Epigraph iii
Map of Cambodia vii
Preface viii
Two Thousand Six 1
First Episode:
CAMBODIA
Part I: Dreams and Hope, 1948–1970
1 Pochentong 7
2 Paradise Lost 14
3 Angkor 20
4 Four B’s 27
5 The Sixties 36
6 The Moon 59
Part II: War and Peace, 1970–1976
7 Life Under the Sword 71
8 Caring and Sharing 83
9 Year of the Bloody Peace 95
10 Friday the Thirteenth 140
vi CON T EN T S
Second Episode:
AMERICA
Part III: Freedom and Survival
11 New England 169
12 New York 188
Photographic Insert
13 Texas 219
Part IV: On Behalf of the President
14 41 and 41 233
15 The White House 242
16 Americans First 250
17 Return to Cambodia 265
Part V: On Behalf of the United States
18 The Principles 279
19 The Good, the Bad, the Ugly 288
20 The Ambassadors 293
21 The Caravan 297
22 Two Thousand Six 303
Acknowledgments 319
About the Author
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
Map of Cambodia
Based on a United Nations map.
Preface
I
t took me thirty years to write Golden Bones.
After my arrival in America on June 4, 1976, each time I intro-
duced myself, people asked me if I was going to write a book. Then
the question became when. Some even asked where they could get a
copy. I occasionally joked that I was waiting for a few more chap-
ters.
At the beginning I was very reluctant. I did not want to revisit a
painful past. I was looking forward to building a new life. However,
during my travels around the country and the world, the questions
persisted. As time went by, I started to realize that the benefits of shar-
ing the story would outweigh any temporary sadness. On March 1,
2006, I began to put pen to paper.
Golden Bones starts and ends in 2006. Although it covers some
2,000 years of history, the main story takes place in the second half of
twentieth century and the first decade of the t wenty-fi rst. The book
has two episodes: Cambodia and America. The first episode, “Cambo-
dia,” is divided into parts with a time frame, to reflect memory. The
second episode, “America,” has no time frame, to project timelessness.
As you go through the pages of Golden Bones, whatever you do
and wherever you are, I trust you will find something that you can re-
late to. After all, it is a human story.