In memory of legendary journalist Neil Davis | Bangkok Post: Arts & Culture

CultureBREAKDOWN

After the events in Bangkok of April and May this year, with journalists Fabio Polenghi and Hiro Muramoto among the scores of dead and wounded on the streets, nobody needs reminding how deadly politics in Thailand can be. In the 1980s, optimists who had argued that the country had outgrown military coups were challenged by two short-lived battles _ on April 1, 1981 and September 9, 1985. Both coup attempts were put down easily by loyalists, but the latter attempt, 25 years ago tomorrow, resulted in a tank battle in the heart of the capital. At least four civilians, an unknown number of people in a military radio station and two foreign journalists were killed. Whether the journalists were directly targeted or unlucky victims of ricocheting shrapnel was hotly debated, but the coup-plotters and rebels were granted amnesty in 1988.

Gary Burns kneels beside his fallen colleague, NBC veteran war correspondent Neil Davis, who was killed while covering the September 9, 1985 coup.

The journalists were Neil Davis, an Australian cameraman working for NBC News, and his US sound man, Bill Latch. Davis, a legendary war correspondent who had survived many more dangerous assignments in Vietnam and Cambodia, died at the scene, turning the camera on himself. Latch, who had earlier turned down a job as a subeditor with the Bangkok Post to work with Davis, was rushed to hospital but died within the hour.