What is really happening in Thailand and why are we expanding our military forces there? After all the talk about increased economic and social help for South Vietnam, why are we doing next to nothing for the 3 million. Vietnamese who live in the backlash of war and the squalor of slums in the capital city of Saigon? These situations have much to do with the costly and escalating American involvement in Southeast Asia, but they have been little told until now. In the following report on the American presence in Thailand, Maynard Parker combines his experience as a journalist (LIFE magazine) and his recent Army service as a public information officer in Thailand. Mr. Parker wrote this article after completing his military assignment and before rejoining LIFE as a Far Eastern correspondent based in Hong Kong.