Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P4



MORE SAFE-CONDUCT PASS & LEAFLETS IN VIETNAM PSYOP

During the Vietnam War, propaganda leaflets were used continuously in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. The use of propaganda in warfare is a tradition that dates back to Biblical times. The use of forged, parodied or overprinted currency to be the medium of that propaganda, for the most part, is a phenomenon of the twentieth century. During the Second World War, the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Germany all produced and disseminated propaganda leaflets in the form of banknotes. The reason for this popularity is obvious. Even the most law-abiding citizen or soldier who would never think of reading the enemy's poison will stoop to pick up a banknote on the ground. Almost without realizing it, he will read the message and become an unwilling recipient of enemy propaganda.

The use of forged currency in warfare is also well documented. The Germans forged millions of British pounds during World War Two in an attempt to undermine the British economy. During the Vietnam War, currency was produced that combined these concepts. These notes were both propaganda and counterfeit, of a quality that could have conceivably made a shambles of the economy of the Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam.

When the United States involved itself in the Vietnam conflict, it was quickly realized that propaganda would be a major part of the battle. In the attempt to win the friendship of the populace, American aircraft dropped 400 million leaflets in Vietnam in the period between April 1965 and November 1966 alone. The total number of leaflets of all types produced for use during the war was about 50-billion, over 1500 for every person living in both the north and the south.
(Text and photos source: psywarrior.com )

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P5



Portable Radio Drop

A PSYOP officer who operated out of the 7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa added:
We ordered small portable radios for air drop over North Vietnam. We scheduled a helicopter to drop the radios encased in a foam box on our PSYOP compound to see if they would survive. In the initial tests the batteries were installed in the radio. It didn't work. There was considerable breakage. We took the batteries out of the radio and installed them in the foam box near the radio. That worked fine. The operation was approved. We used a B-52 to drop the radios.

Specialist Five Clyde Gaidosh, the air operations NCO of Co A, 8th PSYOP Battalion in Nha Trang, Vietnam from 1969-70 recalls dropping small portable radios that could only receive the Chieu Hoi (Open Arms) station. He recalled that the radios were about 5 inches high by 4 inches wide and about 1 or 2 inches thick. The ones he dropped were a bright yellow. Although he is not sure after 35 years, he believes that they ran on a 9 volt battery and were packed in a plastic waterproof padded bag. He recalls that the small parachutes were about 18 inches to 2 feet across. The radios were dropped from helicopters for pin-point targets and fixed wing aircraft for larger targets.







"RED DOLLAR" (MILITARY PAYMENT CERTIFICATE)

You may hear of the words "Do La Do"(red Dollars), but never had a chance to see them; now you can see by click on the thumbnail pics below. They are the photo courtesy of Jim Stewart. "Red Dollar" is actually a Vietnamese dubbed term for MPC (Military Payment Certificate). That is how GI's got paid in Vietnam and used for transaction in the PXs and Clubs in lieu of the "green Dollars." Way back then, Uncle Sam had many reasons to issue this type of currency to the GI's in Vietnam. And by doing so, Uncle Sam's real US currency will never fall into the hands of the South Vietnamese (in turn it would strengthen the South Vietnam's economic base), because no one wants the funny "red Dollars." Not cautious enough, to make sure that no "smart ass" can get benefit from the "red Dollars" backmarkets exchange, sometimes Uncle Sam abruptly issued a new series of MPC. Only the GIs then can turn in their own money in the old MPC for the new one. Any one else who possessed the old MPC out side the US military bases wouldn't be able to make the exchange. They end up bankrupt with a bunch of useless "red papers." The Viet Cong later on learned from this, making many times the unannounced currency changes in the following years after they took over South Vietnam; robbing every one's last saving Piastres so that the South is equal dirt poor to the North.

Even with the MPC system, the GIs who stationed in the cities could make some big bucks. Listen to Jim Stewart, an MP Vietnam vet tells how the MPC black market works during the Vietnam War:

"Locals wanted greenbacks (real U.S. currency) to deposit in their bank accounts as MPC was not negotiable in local banks. The Piaster was the Vietnamese money. To help the local economy, the Piaster and MPC exchange rate was almost equal in value. The going legal rate was about 125 Piaster for $1.00 MPC. However a local could give you as much as 3 times the value of their Piaster to get their hands on military MPC. They would then take that MPC (which was useless to them) and give you (G.I.s) twice as much MPC for any greenback dollar you would give them. How would G.I.s get greenbacks? Simply have it sent from home. So a G.I. could take $300 in greenback, trade it to a local for $600 MPC, then take that $600 in MPC and get a money order for greenbacks and send it back home. That was part of the black market at work."

Easy money for the GIs! But the "underdog South Vietnamese" at that time worked back and forth with their humble Piastres just to gain little of Uncle Sam's real green Dollars. Today Hanoi regime didn't have to do a damn thing but their economic machine receives each year more than four billion "green, fresh, real US Dollars" from Vietnamese abroad (not counting the other "underground," unofficial money transfers). If you wonder why a bunch of "red mafia" could hold on their power for so long, the above 4 billion "ecomomic aid" is one of the answers.
(Text and photos source: psywarrior.com )

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P6


US STAMPS WITH SOUTH VIETNAM FLAG'S IMAGE



Three US postage 39¢ are going to be issued (today is January 8, 2006 as this news posted). The stamps bear the image of South Vietnam's flag. If you are a stamp collector, remember to get them. In the future, they will become not only the mementos to many but also the valuable stamp collection for sure. The old 37¢ stamp has been previously issued sometime ago. Someone thinks those stamps are a hoax, having no value. As I understood, those stamps are custom orders from some Vietnamese overseas organizations. Once I have more information about the stamps, will post here.

More information about the stamps: The three above US stamps are custom ordered by a San Jose Chapter of The National Military Academy of Vietnam's Association (incorporated with the Zazzle.com and Pitney Bowes Co.). Although they are not the official US Post Office stamps, but they are certified and have the same value as the one of the other US Postage 39¢. The difference is you have to pay 65¢ for a 39¢ stamp.

For more information and questions, or how to buy them, you can email to lamvienmutualfund@ya hoo.com or check in the website www.vobivietnam.com .Thanks for all concerns. What a smart idea to promote the spirit and images of the Vietnamese Nationalists by issuing such special stamps. By the way, there are some nostalgia images of the Republic of Vietnam's old stamps to be posted below. How about making some "phony" VNAF stamps, they should look greater than the real stamps just issued. See VNAF DIGITAL ART section for " US' VNAF stamps." As of today Feb. 14. '06, some have been done!






EVACUEE INFORMATION CARD



Evacuee Informaation Card

Perhaps most Vietnamese-Americans who came to America as a refugee in April 1974 wouldn't be able to recognize the documentary papers on the top, because it was more than 30 years since the day they personally carried those papers. So what the hell is those weirdo looking papers? They are the personal documentary papers (beside the I-94 form card) the Vietnamese refugees carried when they left the refugee camps. You can call it I.D. card or "re-birth certificate" or what ever it fits your sense of humor; for a simple reason: as a Vietnamese refugee at that time, the guy had no home, no property, no official identification, and lastly he belonged to no nation. Click on the picture to see a large image, you can read the details of that paper. Very interesting isn't it. The small paper is "Medical Screening Record" pass. You can leave the refugee camp only when you are "medical clean!"

Today a lot of Vietnamese-Americans, for pleasure and fun flocked back to a place where some years ago they were so fearful to live and risked their lives to escape, even the "bogey man" whom they were so afraid of and try to run away from, today still reign over that old place. Why there's such an ironic, hilarious, paradoxical situation? Someone can give you 101 good reasons for that question, but there's a very solid answer: Today they carry an "amulet paper": US PASSPORT (not the above funny paper any more). And each year, they funnel back to feed the "bogeyman" around 4,000.000.000 fresh Dollars (tien tuoi). Four billion fresh green dollars without string attached, without conditions what so ever! For those whose memories are still good, they would cry if they remember that on the final year of Vietnam War, US Congress has cut 3 hundred million Dollars of military aids to South Vietnam, sealing the fate of a free nation.

By the way, even if the aids had been granted, South Vietnam wouldn't have got 3 hundred million fresh Dollars, all she receives would be the surplus, non-practical items that didn't fit the needs of ARVN at that critical moment. One still remembers the last batch of US military aid pallets sitting on Tan Son Nhat airbase in the April of 1975. Guess what? All were "concertinas"(ba rb wires), helmets and "sac-au-dos!"



"THE PRISONER'S DISCHARGE PAPER"



Prisoner's Dischage Paper

Most of my military buddies are..."inmates." Their crimes: Defending South Vietnam. Each spent at the minimum 6 years in the so-called "Reeducation Camp." One of them has just sent me a "Prisoner's discharge paper" that has been issued to him when he was released from the Communist prison (click on the picture to see larger image). I myself first time saw this document. The terms and language used in the official form sounds ridiculous and absurd; but it could really frighten you because this is an actual historical event. I translate only this line from the paper:
Crime committed: 1st Lieutenant, deputy of security office

In the paper, a note indicates that the guy is not quite free, he still under some sort of house-arrest for 12 months (under the supervision of local authority)

So when you are an officer of ARVN, you become a criminal. Many Westerners mistook in comparing the Vietnam War with the US Civil War. They forgot that there was the whole Communist Warsaw Block behind Hanoi regime. After the US civil war ended, all soldiers of General Robert Lee were allowed to go home with their horses and guns to farm and protect their land. After Hanoi regime took over South Vietnam, all officers of ARVN marched straight into the concentration camps. Since the end of Vietnam War, my friend still keep his "Prisoner's discharge paper" as a memento. He has no short memory and still considers himself a professional soldier.

There's another detail I should point out. The Certificate was issued in 1982, near the end of 20th century, but the quality of the paper didn't match any type of 8.5x11 letter paper in the free world that I know. Its paper tissue seemed to be made from some ancient time, when human rights and civilization didn't exist. This really scares me!

Some art works, photos, and articles are properties of their owners, the rest by VNAF MA MN.© Copyright 2005 vnafmamn.com.

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P7


PHOTOS OF DINH DOC LAP, Independence Palace

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P7

PALACE OF INDEPENDENCE DURING INDOCHINA ERA

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Nhìn lại cuộc chiến Việt Nam
MEMENTOS OF VIETNAM WAR
P8


THE CODE OF CONDUCT MANUAL FOR ARVN SOLDIERS



ARVN Manual


ARVN Manual

Click on the left thumbnails to see in details three articles (covering 18 items) of the code of conduct for ARVN soldiers during Vietnam war. BTW, below is the US Armed Forces' six articles of Code of Conduct.
US Armed Forces' Six Articles of Code of Conduct

I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me, and will back them up in every way.

When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.


MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS CARD



Christmas Card

Remember this Chirstmas Card? A watercolor, hand-drew painting on a small piece of silk mounted on postcard. They used to be displayed for sale in bookstores or on souvenir-stands along Nguyen Hue Boulevard when Christmas season approached.


VNAF PASSPORT CARD
VNAF AIRBASE SECURITY ID CARD
VNAF SECURITY ID




The Airbase Passport Card on the left belongs to a VNAF soldier. He was allowed to access the base through the 1st Air Division gate and was assigned to work with the 239th Squadron ("PD 239" seen near the middle of the card). KBC 3198 appears to the left of the photo, documenting its association with the 1st Air Division.

The vertical boxed hand stamp on the back of the card stipulates that the "card must be worn when entering base until exiting it" and the printed text states "when the card is missing, a report must be filed with the Military Police unit."

When the collapse of the Republic of Viet Nam became evident, many VNAF personnel and their families flew to US air bases in Thailand. During the final hours of the war, a fleet of VNAF helicopters evacuated some 5,500 South Vietnamese, 2,300 Americans including nearly 1,000 US Marines, and 85 foreign nationals to US ships waiting offshore. In total, less than 200 VNAF aircraft were saved; the rest were pushed into the ocean during rescue missions to clear ship landing areas for incoming flights or the Communist forces captured them.

On 3 May 1975, just three days after the fall of Saigon on 30 April, the Vietnamese Communist issued "Order Number One" requiring all citizens of the former Republic of Viet Nam to register with the new regime. Military personnel were among those targeted for "reeducation" or "thought reform" in addition to registration, the length of which depended on Communist perceived degrees of "guilt,"but most stretched out more than 6 to 17 years.

(Source: Imnaha Stamps)

VNAF PAYROLL CARD



VNAF Payroll card

This is a VNAF payroll card that also functioned as a payroll receipt. It bears handstamps ("Tra Roi") from the Finance Officer . Not all units had payroll cards; many soldiers just got paid.

(Brief information on the left)
KBC 4324 Issued: 01 January 1974
Certified by Captain Nguyen Manh Kiem (Finance Officer/Base Wing/TSN airbase
Rank: "36"
Name: N.H.X Military Service Number: 72/605.316
Signature of ID bearer
Boxes list months of the year with amount paid (e.g. January: 17,100 Piastre).

(On the right)
Payroll Card
5th Air Division (Su Doan 5 Khong Quan)
Base Wing/ Tan Son Nhat Airbase
Unit.....
Payroll record: 53
1974

(Source: Imnaha Stamps)