Some interviewees share memories about their life during the Khmer Republic, which began after the 1970 coup d’état and lasted until the fall of Lon Nol’s government when the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. Interviewees in the countryside frequently describe being caught in the crossfires of the Cambodian Civil War or surviving the American bombing raids, while interviewees in the capital of Phnom Penh may describe the political tension of the period. Many of our interviewees also describe being soldiers or leaders in Lon Nol’s military.
