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43 years ago......
In early 1969 approximately 74 young men
and women met in Escondido, California to begin a two year
commitment with the Peace Corps that would take them to
Thailand.
We were Thai 27, the twenty-seventh group of volunteers
to serve in Thailand since the
inception of the Peace Corps in 1961..
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Our journey took us to Pepeekeo, a small
village north of Hilo, Hawaii.
We were housed in the old dilapidated school at the edge
of some sugar cane fields.
For three months we trained: learning to speak elementary
Thai, studying Thai customs and culture and learning how
to teach English as a foreign language. |
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On our days off we were free to hitchike around the island
and explore.
Upon completion of training we were all flown to Honolulu
for a week to apply our teaching techniques in the local
schools.
Then on May 12, 1969 it was off to Thailand to begin our
two year tour |
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In 1969 Thailand was still a developing 3rd world country.
Bangkok was still a "small" city with only 3 million people. The only large shopping centers were the Thai Diamaru and Central Department store. The tallest building was the Amarin Hotel (12 stories I think).
The Communists were very active in the North East. And Bangkok was teeming with US soldiers on R&R from the war in Vietnam.
Back then Few people in Thailand had access to a telephone or television. Those living upcountry were cut off from the rest of the world and had no way of communicating with home except by mail. (an air letter took 2-3 weeks to get to the US). To make a long distance call to the United States you had to travel to Bangkok, go to the post office and call from one of their international phone booths.
Air conditioning was a luxury only hotels and a few offices had.
A bowl of noodles cost 3 baht.
A bus ride was 1 baht
Bangkok volunteers got $80
per month living allowance. Upcountry volunteers got $72 per month (25 baht to 1 us dollar)
Since then over 11 8 groups and over 5000 volunteers have
served in Peace Corps Thailand
Though we all share similar experiences, our personal journeys
took us in different directions
This site documents the people and events of our group: Peace
Corps Thailand Group 27. |
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Rachel
Baker (Liz Baker)
James Barber (Jim Barber)
Sue Becker (Susie Becker)
Charles Berry (Chuck Berry)
Donald Blakemore (Don Blakemore)
Robert Blau (Bob Blau)
Derek Brereton
Barton Butler (Bart Butler)
Sharon Conger (Cher Conger)
Susan Corcoran (Sue Corcoran)
Peter Coombs (Pete Coombs)
Ingrid Danapel
Ken DeBevoise
Wynn DeBevoise
Barbara Drexler
Robert Drexler (Bob Drexler)
Janice Dunn (Jan Dunn)
Patricia Forsyth (Pat Forsyth)
Brian Francis
Kathleen Fukao (Kathy Fukao)
Ernie Geefay (Ernest Geefay)
Francis Gelsone (Fran Gelsone)
Mary Hackbarth
Dewleen Hayes
Harold Hayes
Grace Hendershott
Paul Hobelman
Tom Horne (Tony Horne)
Maria Hruscov
Paul Hyndman
David Johnson (Dave Johnson)
Stephen Krichels (Steve Krichels)
Linda Leon
Hugh Leong
James Marion (Jim Marion)
Lucia McAlpin
Diana McConkey
Thomas McEachron (Tom McEachron)
Mona Melanson
Lloyd Miller
William Muir (Bill Muir)
Anthony Mynar (Skip Mynar)
Robert Narcisi (Bob Narcisi)
Maureen O'Brien
Louis Parisien (Lou Parisien)
John Pearce
Chesley Prince
Georgia Proctor (Kitty Proctor)
Geza Ruszka
Michael Schmuecker (Mike Schmicker)
Paulette Seiler
Dianne Sherman
Kevin Snow
Elaine Somogyi
Samual Sorich (Sam Sorich)
Alina Stephanovsky (Alina Butler)
Nancy Straky
Michele Stroshine
Robert Stroshine (Bob Stroshine)
Barbara Talbot
Barbara Theobald
Steven Theobald (Steve Theobald)
Barbara Thomas
Renee Trent
Steven Tripp (Steve Tripp)
Gaynor Turner (Gay Turner)
Joyce Wagner
Patricia Weber
Frances Wells (Fran Wells)
Kevin Wheeler
Richard Williams
Charles Wyant
Mary Wyant
Website of Peace Corps Thailand Group 27 . From 1969 to Today. We started out in Pepeekeo Hawaii and ended up all across the world. See what we did and where we are today
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