Frederick Robert Branfman (March 18, 1942 – September 24, 2014) was an American anti-war activist and author of a number of books about the Vietnam War and the Laotian Civil War who exposed the covert bombing of Laos by the US. Working as the Director of Project Air War in 1969 he wrote about the U.S. bombing in Indochina, which he claimed was directed at civilians.
In September 1969, Branfman was working as an educational advisor for the U.S. government in Laos when thousands of refugees fled into the Laotian capital of Vientiane. Working as a translator for international media, he began to interpret countless villagers' stories of planes dropping bombs. When U.S. officials in Laos claimed Americans had nothing to do with the bombs, Branfman became consumed with the desire to understand what was happening. Gathering details, he journeyed to Washington and spoke at a special session of the U.S. Senate Committee on Refugees, exposing the U.S. government's covert activities.
In his last years, Branfman worked as a writer, living in Santa Barbara and Budapest. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harper's Magazine, Playboy, Salon and The New Republic.
He contributed to the Glendon Association.
He also contributed to the traveling exhibition Legacies of War,[2] that was created to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos.
In the acclaimed 2007 TV documentary, now released on DVD, Most Secret Place On Earth: CIA's Covert War In Laos Branfman is one of those who speak to camera.
The Village of the Deep Pond, Ban Xa Phang Meuk, Laos, International Area Studies Programs, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1978, ASIN: B0000E92G5
