The parents of Sergeant Nititham Srikamsaeng spoke openly after learning their son was seriously injured stepping on a landmine while clearing the area around Prasat Ta Kwai. They admitted feeling sorrow but were proud of their son for doing his best, recognizing that being a soldier involves combat and the risk of such incidents. They also revealed that just a week ago, they held a Buddhist ordination ceremony for their son.
On 25 Dec 2025, the 2nd Army Area Operations Center reported that at 14:25, the engineering unit from Battalion 5.22 was clearing landmines around the castle area. During the operation, a soldier stepped on a PMN-2 anti-personnel mine, injuring two soldiers: Sergeant Nititham Srikamsaeng suffered serious injuries to his left leg, and Sergeant Amnat Tatsombat experienced chest tightness and ear ringing from the blast's impact.
Recently, reporters visited Sergeant Nititham Srikamsaeng's home in Ban Don Wai, Village No. 7, Non Chai Si Subdistrict, Phon Thong District, Roi Et Province, where they met Lieutenant Colonel Somporn Srikamsaeng, 56, a military recruitment officer in Mueang Yasothon District, Yasothon Province, and Mrs. Kalyaporn Srikamsaeng, 56, Sergeant Nititham's parents.
Lieutenant Colonel Somporn explained that his son has been working at the Surin border since July 2025. He is married to Miss Fin Srikamsaeng, who works in private company accounting in Bangkok, and they have a 2-year-2-month-old daughter named Porjai, who stays with her grandmother in Selaphum District, Roi Et Province.
After being informed that their son had lost his leg due to the explosion, they immediately returned home and prepared to travel with his mother to visit him. They were told he was undergoing surgery before being transferred to Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok, where his fiancée was waiting to receive him.
Sergeant Nititham graduated from the Army Non-Commissioned Officer School and enlisted in 2019. He has been stationed at the border since July 2025 and would visit his daughter at his wife's family home, but only briefly due to his duties. His father said he always knew that as a soldier, his son faced the risk of such incidents but accepted it because soldiers must fight.
Last week, Lieutenant Colonel Somporn requested permission from his superiors to ordain as a monk to support his son, having had a premonition that his son would be harmed. He sought merit through this ordination. He himself served at the border in 2011 and often thought about the risks, telling his son that if he didn't want to fight, he shouldn't be a soldier. But if he chose this path, combat was inevitable. The work his son was doing was part of his duty, much like police or teachers have their respective roles, all involving inherent risks.
This time was the most intense combat. Currently, they know their son is undergoing surgery and will be transferred to Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok. Lieutenant Colonel Somporn was informed that the explosion occurred at 2 p.m. while his son was performing mine disposal duties. Upon hearing the news, he rushed to pick up his wife so they could visit their son together.
Mrs. Kalyaporn Srikamsaeng, the mother, said she was heartbroken but proud that her son did his best. She was too overwhelmed to say much. She had no bad premonitions and would pray before bed for the safety of all brave soldiers. Still, such risks are unavoidable in the military. She expressed her wish for her son to remain a soldier. His wife was informed and told to wait in Bangkok, where his father will accompany the ambulance and their son to Phramongkutklao Hospital.