Michael Burton

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Michael “Mike” Leigh Burton was born on 4 August 1941 in Alhambra, California. Commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1962, he began his military career in special operations. His service during the Vietnam War took him to Thailand and neighbouring Laos, where American involvement was largely concealed from the public.

Between December 1966 and December 1968, Burton served with the 56th Air Commando Wing at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base and 7th/13th Air Force Headquarters at Udon, Thailand. His assignment began with a paperwork mistake: his records incorrectly stated that he spoke French, leading to his selection as an intelligence liaison officer. Despite the error, he remained assigned to work with forces operating in Laos.

Burton’s responsibilities included visiting Lima sites, the network of remote airstrips and covert installations supporting operations across Laos. He assessed their security, met local villagers and witnessed the destruction caused by fighting and bombing. He also visited Long Tieng, the CIA-supported headquarters of Hmong General Vang Pao. These experiences brought him into direct contact with civilians caught between opposing armies and left him deeply troubled by the war’s human cost.

After active service and graduate school, Burton began helping Hmong refugees resettle in Portland, Oregon, in 1977, supporting access to housing, education and employment. Working alongside Hmong community leaders, he helped establish the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. He subsequently served five terms in the Oregon Legislature and led Portland’s regional government, Metro, from 1995 to 2003.

Through Legacies of War, Burton later advocated for clearing unexploded American bombs and supporting affected communities. In 2022, he returned to Laos for the first time since 1968, revisiting a country whose wartime suffering had shaped decades of his humanitarian work.