But our two Jeep mates -- Keo Viphakone from Luang Prabang and John Cool from Beaver, Pennsylvania -- were beaming under their coatings of dust. Together they had probably done more than any other men to help push Laos toward the 20th century -- constructively. Mr. Keo, once a diplomat in Paris and Washington, was Commissioner of Rural Affairs. John, an engineer and anthropologist with a doctorate from the London School of Economics, headed the rural development division of USOM, the United States Operations Mission administering U. S. aid.

``What you see are self-help projects,'' John said. ``We ask the people what they want, and they supply the labor. We send shovels, cement, nails, and corrugated iron for roofs. That way they have an infirmary for $400. We have 2500 such projects, and they add up to a lot more than just roads and wells and schools. Ask Mr. Keo.''

Mr. Keo agreed. ``Our people have been used to accepting things as they found them,'' he said. ``Where there was no road, they lived without one. Now they learn that men can change their surroundings, through their traditional village elders, without violence. That's a big step toward a modern state. You might say we are in the nation building business.''

In the villages people lined up to give us flowers. Then came coconuts, eggs, and rice wine. The Prime Minister paid his respects to the Buddhist monks, strode rapidly among the houses, joked with the local soldiery, and made a speech. The soldiers are fighting and the Americans are helping, he said, but in the fight against the Pathet Lao the key factor is the villager himself.