VICTOR. J. BLUE/The RecordVanarith Saukam, son of former Cambodian President Saukam Khoy'light incense as family and friend mound during his father's funeral thursday at the buddhist temple in Stockton.
Saukam Khoy, who led Cambodia for 11 days in 1975, died at 93
By Jennifer Torres
Record Staff Writer
November 21, 2008
STOCKTON - Funeral services began Thursday for the last man to serve as Cambodia's president before Khmer Rouge forces took control of his country and launched a devastating campaign of persecution.
Saukam Khoy, who had been living in Stockton since 1984, died last Friday. He was 93.
The former lieutenant general served as acting president of the Khmer Republic from April 1 to April 12, 1975.
Those 11 days marked the end of five years of war between the U.S.-backed Cambodian republic and the Khmer Rouge insurgents who went on to embark on a genocide that killed nearly 2 million people and led thousands of others to flee.
Even during that upheaval and throughout the rest of his life, Saukam's children said, he remained deeply committed to his family and homeland.
"He loved his country. He sacrificed for his country," his daughter Bophasy Saukam said. "He taught us to be brave, to be courageous."
Saukam Khoy was born in 1915 to parents Kam Siv and Uy Sinn Loeung, and enlisted in the Royal Khmer army when he was 25. In 1972, he served as president of Cambodia's Senate. Then on April 1, 1975, he was appointed acting president, taking over for Lon Nol, who fled into exile.
Saukam said at the time that he maintained hopes to negotiate a cease-fire and establish a coalition government.
"I shall go to the soldiers and the people to find out the situation and inspire them with confidence," he told a correspondent for Time magazine in 1975.
But by then, Phnom Penh was under siege, most of Cambodia's other major cities had fallen and American aid had been withdrawn.
"I think it's fair to say that, by the end of March, the writing was on the wall," said John Ciociari, a researcher with Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He has assisted in the work of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. "One doubts that the senior leadership remaining could have done much to save the country."
U.S. officials sent letters to Cambodian leaders, offering to evacuate them. Saukam and his family were flown to Thailand and then to the United States.
Sara Kun, who was at the Wat Dharmararam Buddhist Temple on Carpenter Road this week to help monks repair a broken screen door, said he remembers the day Saukam departed: April 12, five days before Phnom Penh fell.
"I remember, it was right before Cambodian New Year," Kun said. "We did not know how bad it would be."
After about nine years in Houston, Saukam and his wife, Vom Tep Saukam, moved to Stockton, where they lived relatively quiet lives among the thousands of other Cambodians who also were resettled here.
"We asked him about his background because we wanted more information," said Nim Ros, who helps coordinate social services at the Park Village Apartment community, where many Cambodian refugees settled. "He turned away. He didn't want to talk about it."
Vanna Prasit is assistant director of the Asian Pacific Self-development and Residential Association, which oversees Park Village. Her family escaped Cambodia before the forced labor, starvation and executions that killed an estimated 20 percent of the country's population. She said she grew up listening to her mother talk to other women who saw their babies die.
"They're still afraid," Prasit said. "Talking about politics, in Cambodia, is usually not done."
More important, Ros said, " is preserving the culture."
Vanrith Saukam, Saukam Khoy's son, said his parents agreed that Cambodian traditions should be maintained. "He was very faithful to his country, generous and devoted," Vanrith Saukam said.
He said his parents were active members of the Buddhist Temple. His mother formed dance troupes to teach children about their country's artistic heritage.
Bophasy Saukam said her family lent out her wedding dress to refugee families who wanted a traditional Cambodian ceremony.
She said her father, who was reading the work of French philosophers in the days before he died, hoped eventually to return to a peaceful Cambodia.
At the temple Thursday, his casket was draped with a Cambodian flag his wife had made for him about 15 years ago. Monks led prayers, and family members lit incense in front of Saukam's portrait.
He is survived by his children, Bopharin Saukam and Sophala Saukam of France; Vanan Saukam, Vanchan Saukam and Vanrith Saukam of Houston; and Bophasy Saukam of Stockton.
He also is survived by 21 grandchildren, three of whom live in Stockton: Sytana Dany Khloth, Bonaka Dean Khloth and Boramy Tina Khloth.
Funeral services continue today.
Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com.
By Jennifer Torres
Record Staff Writer
November 21, 2008
STOCKTON - Funeral services began Thursday for the last man to serve as Cambodia's president before Khmer Rouge forces took control of his country and launched a devastating campaign of persecution.
Saukam Khoy, who had been living in Stockton since 1984, died last Friday. He was 93.
The former lieutenant general served as acting president of the Khmer Republic from April 1 to April 12, 1975.
Those 11 days marked the end of five years of war between the U.S.-backed Cambodian republic and the Khmer Rouge insurgents who went on to embark on a genocide that killed nearly 2 million people and led thousands of others to flee.
Even during that upheaval and throughout the rest of his life, Saukam's children said, he remained deeply committed to his family and homeland.
"He loved his country. He sacrificed for his country," his daughter Bophasy Saukam said. "He taught us to be brave, to be courageous."
Saukam Khoy was born in 1915 to parents Kam Siv and Uy Sinn Loeung, and enlisted in the Royal Khmer army when he was 25. In 1972, he served as president of Cambodia's Senate. Then on April 1, 1975, he was appointed acting president, taking over for Lon Nol, who fled into exile.
Saukam said at the time that he maintained hopes to negotiate a cease-fire and establish a coalition government.
"I shall go to the soldiers and the people to find out the situation and inspire them with confidence," he told a correspondent for Time magazine in 1975.
But by then, Phnom Penh was under siege, most of Cambodia's other major cities had fallen and American aid had been withdrawn.
"I think it's fair to say that, by the end of March, the writing was on the wall," said John Ciociari, a researcher with Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He has assisted in the work of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. "One doubts that the senior leadership remaining could have done much to save the country."
U.S. officials sent letters to Cambodian leaders, offering to evacuate them. Saukam and his family were flown to Thailand and then to the United States.
Sara Kun, who was at the Wat Dharmararam Buddhist Temple on Carpenter Road this week to help monks repair a broken screen door, said he remembers the day Saukam departed: April 12, five days before Phnom Penh fell.
"I remember, it was right before Cambodian New Year," Kun said. "We did not know how bad it would be."
After about nine years in Houston, Saukam and his wife, Vom Tep Saukam, moved to Stockton, where they lived relatively quiet lives among the thousands of other Cambodians who also were resettled here.
"We asked him about his background because we wanted more information," said Nim Ros, who helps coordinate social services at the Park Village Apartment community, where many Cambodian refugees settled. "He turned away. He didn't want to talk about it."
Vanna Prasit is assistant director of the Asian Pacific Self-development and Residential Association, which oversees Park Village. Her family escaped Cambodia before the forced labor, starvation and executions that killed an estimated 20 percent of the country's population. She said she grew up listening to her mother talk to other women who saw their babies die.
"They're still afraid," Prasit said. "Talking about politics, in Cambodia, is usually not done."
More important, Ros said, " is preserving the culture."
Vanrith Saukam, Saukam Khoy's son, said his parents agreed that Cambodian traditions should be maintained. "He was very faithful to his country, generous and devoted," Vanrith Saukam said.
He said his parents were active members of the Buddhist Temple. His mother formed dance troupes to teach children about their country's artistic heritage.
Bophasy Saukam said her family lent out her wedding dress to refugee families who wanted a traditional Cambodian ceremony.
She said her father, who was reading the work of French philosophers in the days before he died, hoped eventually to return to a peaceful Cambodia.
At the temple Thursday, his casket was draped with a Cambodian flag his wife had made for him about 15 years ago. Monks led prayers, and family members lit incense in front of Saukam's portrait.
He is survived by his children, Bopharin Saukam and Sophala Saukam of France; Vanan Saukam, Vanchan Saukam and Vanrith Saukam of Houston; and Bophasy Saukam of Stockton.
He also is survived by 21 grandchildren, three of whom live in Stockton: Sytana Dany Khloth, Bonaka Dean Khloth and Boramy Tina Khloth.
Funeral services continue today.
Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com.
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