The 6th PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
BATTALION (AIRBORNE)

SGM Herbert A. Friedman (Ret.)

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The 6th PSYOP Battalion Crest

A gold color metal and enamel insignia 1 1/8 inches  in height overall consisting of a wreath of oak leaves in gold surmounted in base by a gold sword hilt and issuant there from to chief three lightning flashes of gray, white and black enamel from left to right respectively. The distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 3 Jan 1967.

The Battalion’s function of dissemination of propaganda by radio broadcast and prepared leaflets is characterized by the lightning flashes and oak leaves emanating from the sword hilt. The colors gray, white and black are borrowed from the coat of arms of the U.S. Army Special Warfare School (formerly Psychological Warfare School) and refer to the half-truth, the truth and the untruth.

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The Current Coat of Arms.

Sheild: Vertical, Above: A red dragon over a palm frond over a black and gold cord. Below: the Battalion Crest.

Symbolism

Shield: Jungle green is the primary color used by Psychological Operations units.

Crest: The dragon highlights the unit’s airborne mission and the palm commemorates the organization’s campaign participation credits and honors earned in Vietnam. Red symbolizes valor and sacrifice and is the color of the Meritorious Unit Commendation; gold is the color of honor and high achievement. The number of loops in the ribbon around the palm highlights the three decorations the organization was awarded in Vietnam; dark green is adapted from the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal. The coat of arms was authorized on 20 Jun 1997.

Motto: Veritas Vos Liberabit (“The truth will set you free”).

BERET FLASH

A shield-shaped embroidered item with a semicircular base 2-1/4 inches in height by 1-7/8 inches in width overall, edged with a 1/8 inch gray border; a green background divided diagonally from upper left to lower right by three lines; white, gray, and black; overall, three yellow lightning bolts diagonal from top right to bottom left. The beret flash was approved 22 July 2024.

PARACHUTE WINGS OVAL

A shield-shaped embroidered item with a semicircular base 2-1/4 inches in height by 1-7/8 inches in width overall, edged with a 1/8 inch gray border; a green background divided diagonally from upper left to lower right by three lines; white, gray, and black; overall, three yellow lightning bolts diagonal from top right to bottom left. The beret flash was approved 22 July 2024.

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6th PSYOP Battalion Challenge Coin

The 6th Psychological Operations Battalion is a subordinate unit of the 4th Psychological Operations Group. The Battalion is tasked with the dissemination of propaganda by radio broadcast and prepared leaflets. The 6th has regional responsibility over the area covered by the European Command (EUCOM), as well as over Africa, excepting the Horn of Africa.

When the U.S. Army selects an official date for the activation of a new unit there is usually good justification for that data. However, in the case of the 6th PSYOP Battalion it is not so easy. There were two of them. The original battalion was later made into a PSYOP Group and the unit was reorganized with new personnel and then started over. At the same time, in early cases like Vietnam we find that often there are detachments that later become companies and finally end up as a battalion. Could we not make a case that the starting date goes back to those early units? I shall leave it up to the reader to determine when and what is true about the 6th PSYOP Battalion. I will just tell their story and the reader can judge.

Vietnam

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The 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam stands formation

The original 6th PSYOP Battalion was constituted 20 October 1965 and was activated 1 November 1965 at Ft. Bragg NC. It was based in Saigon from February 1966 to December 1967 as the lead PSYOP unit. It was deactivated 30 June 1971 in Vietnam and reactivated 13 September 1972 at Ft. Bragg NC. The original commanders were Lieutenant Colonel Wallis J. Moulis, Colonel David W. Affleck and Lieutenant Colonel William J. Beck. A 1966 Stars and Stripes article entitled “U.S. Psywar Unit Hitting Morale of VC in Vietnam” lists the capabilities of the 6th PSYOP Battalion. It says in part:

The Battalion has designed, printed, processed, loaded and delivered more than a half billion leaflets…We can print one million leaflets in support of any given mission within a 24-hour period. We printed three million leaflets on three different occasions in support of the Mu Gia Pass bombing in North Vietnam. The Battalion uses more than 200 tons of paper a month…Here in Saigon we produce approximately 10 million leaflets a week. Our bomb loading crew can pack five million leaflets daily if necessary, and that is 75,000 to each bomb. Field units can print two and one-half million leaflets a week in support of their tactical units.

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OBSERVER
The Newsletter of the 6th PSYOP Battalion – October 1966

In 1967, the 4th PSYOP Group published a 13-page report titled 4th Psychological Operations Group – Republic of Vietnam. The report explained the mission of the Battalions:

The battalion mission in each corps tactical zone is two-fold; first, to provide psychological support to all U.S. combat units. This support includes the use of field teams equipped with powerful ground loudspeakers and audio-visual equipment. Habitually operating with front-line fighting units, loudspeaker teams provide close support to tactical operations and are highly successful in this role. Secondly, the battalions are required to support non-military “pacification” or “internal development” programs. For example, they employ audio-visual “Jeepsters” in support of revolutionary development, civic action and medical aid projects and programs throughout Vietnam. The latter role appears to be an ever-increasing one for the 4th PSYOP Group. Field teams of the Group have been part of every major combat operation in Vietnam since February 1966, including Operations Cedar Falls, Byrd, Hastings and Manhattan. The battalions work closely with the Air Force 14th Special Operations Wing, elements of which are co-located with the PSYOP Battalions. The Special Operations Squadrons fly leaflet and loudspeaker missions which are requested and targeted by the battalions.

 

A 6th PSYOP Battalion Crest. The crest made by IRA Green must have been used early in the Vietnam War.

 

The 6th PSYOP Battalion Color Patch

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The 6th PSYOP Battalion Subdued Patch

The early history of psychological operations in Vietnam is shrouded but we know that on 27 April 1960, the Commander-in-Chief Pacific deployed psychological warfare troops to Vietnam. In February 1962 the first PSYWAR Mobile Training Team was sent to Vietnam. We know that American Special Forces practiced their own PSYOP until such time as trained American forces arrived. On 7 February 1966 the 6th PSYOP Battalion was activated at Tan Sun Nhut.

The history of the 6th PSYOP Battalion is also mentioned in the United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Command History Volume II, 1967.

During 1966 the buildup of US forces had evoked changes in the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and its operations in almost every sphere, including Psychological Operations (PSYOP). In early 1966 the 6th PSYOP Battalion had arrived to fulfill the Command's initial requirement for PSYOP support. Although this unit contributed immeasurably to the PSYOP posture, the demand for PSYOP support from combat commanders and advisors still far exceeded the overall capability of the PSYOP support in-country. Tactical psychological campaigns had been greatly expanded in 1966, and were highlighted by the new Chieu Hoi Program (January), the B- 52 Strike Campaign (February), the Trail Campaign (February), the NVA Campaign (April) and the TALLY-HO Campaign (July); complementing all these PSYOP activities was the greatly-expanded Military Civic Action Program (MILCAP). The goals of these programs were to improve the living conditions of the people so as to remove one of the underlying causes of the insurgency to gain and maintain the support of the people for the Government of Vietnam and to improve the standing of the military forces with the population. While it was impossible to establish concrete factors which would measure the effectiveness of PSYOP, there were indications that the overall program had assisted the GVN in gaining support and in the ultimate goal of building a nation.

Barger mentions problems with manpower and accomplishments in his thesis: Psychological Operations Supporting Counterinsurgency: 4th PSYOP Group in Vietnam.

The Operational Report-Lessons Learned covering activities of the 6th PSYOP Battalion from 1 May 1966 through 31 July 1966 indicates that this increase in personnel requirements was greater than the number of available, qualified soldiers…The lack of qualified personnel in the next three-month reporting period caused the 6th PSYOP Battalion commander to ask for 30-day extensions of the personnel he would have lost in January 1967.The fact that MACV approved this request indicates that the personnel shortage was a significant obstacle to effectiveness.

In the first six-month period of operations (February 1966 to July 1966), the 6th PSYOP Battalion's print facility produced 200 million leaflets. Print facility personnel commonly worked 20 to 24-hour operations but while personnel could work in shifts, the print presses, generators, and paper cutters could not, resulting in numerous equipment breakdowns as well as shortages of critical supplies such as printing plates. Although lack of repair parts continued to be a problem, print output increased substantially in the next three months, with over 132 million leaflets produced.

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6th Psychological Operations Battalion Headquarters in Bien Hoa in June 1969
Photo courtesy of SP5 Bob Hermann of the 101st Admin Company, 101st Airborne Division

Former member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion Chad Spawr said about the headquarters:

Battalion headquarters was in a small compound about 2 miles from Bien Hoa AFB. We were pretty much on our own, with only our own weapons for security. No larger units nearby in case we got in trouble. However, we were in a very compact part of Bien Hoa city, so massed assaults would have been difficult to make. This whole complex was razed and is now a large housing complex on Cong Ly Street.

In 2020, Chad talked more about the year 1969 in a story he told about Tan Hiep in Perspectives, the Journal of the Psychological Operations Association:

In the early morning hours of 26 February, a force of approximately 400 men from the Viet Cong 275th Regiment, 5th Division, had infiltrated into the tiny village of Tan Hiep on the outskirts of Bien Hoa. South Vietnamese Regional Force elements moved in and the ARVN troops continued to contain the VC forces until 1100 when assault forces, in the form of the ARVN 36th Ranger Battalion reinforced the contact. U.S. and ARVN psychological operations units broadcast repeated loudspeaker appeals and warnings, and all of the remaining villagers and several wounded VC evacuated out of Tan Hiep. The US 6th PSYOP Battalion, commanded by LTC Raymond Deitch, gained access to a wounded high-ranking Communist officer, who agreed to cooperate in preparation of special leaflets, and aerial speaker broadcasts, to encourage his remaining soldiers to surrender rather than face death.

After further assaults, principally supporting fires, enemy soldiers began to surrender. Just after 1600 air strikes were directed against the VC positions in the village. By 0100 the next morning, the bodies of 264 VC soldiers lay in the village. 87 had been captured or surrendered.

The 4th PSYOP Group wrote about the Battalion in their 1967 handbook:

The “Professional Litterbugs” of the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Bien Hoa have a long and proud record of achievement. They carry on the tradition of the old 6th Battalion which was reorganized into the 4th PSYOP Group in December of 1967. The meritorious Unit Commendation was awarded to the 6th Battalion in June 1968 for “consummate skill in providing psychological operations support to allied forces.” The personnel of the battalion live and work on the Honour-Smith compound, a short distance from Bien Hoa airfield. The compound offers many recreational facilities including a newly constructed club and athletic equipment. One of the unique responsibilities of the battalion is its support of elements of the Royal Thai Army’s ‘Black Panther’ Division. The division, which arrived in-country during the summer of 1968, receives assistance in support of Civic action programs as well as during military operations. Providing PSYOP support to all of III Corps tactical zone, the men of the 6th Battalion continue to maintain their high level of pride and devotion.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion wrote a report entitled “Facts on Battalion Operations” dated 20 October 1966. It covered the time frame 19 February 1966 until 20 October. It says in part:

The battalion headquarters heavy mobile press consumes approximately 600 rolls of offset paper each month; each roll weighs 440 pounds. The total weight is 132 tons monthly.

The total number of leaflets printed on the heavy mobile press since 19 February 1966 is 315,000,000. Monthly production is approximately 45,000,000. Total battalion production, including the tactical companies, averages over 70,000,000 but has gone as high as 80,000,000.

The battalion headquarters packs 40,000,000 propaganda leaflets in approximately 560 bombs each month. Total number of leaflets processed to date is approximately 540,000,000.

The three companies conduct more than 600 aerial leaflet drops and 325 hours of aerial loudspeaker broadcasts over Vietnam each month.

A 1966 report in the Cincinnati Sunday News said in part:

Among the many civilian and military agencies conduction psychological operations in Vietnam, is the 6th PSYOP Battalion, the only American unit of its kind in the country. Since its activation, it has incorporated elements of previously deployed PSYOP detachments already in Vietnam and has designed, printed, processed, loaded and delivered more than a billion leaflets in support of the tactical missions of the allied troops.

The safe conduct pass, disseminated by air, guarantees safe passage for the bearer through the allied lines, with a cash reward if he brings his weapon with him. According to the battalion’s research and analysis section, 36,700 persons have come over to the government in the past three years. From January to July 1966, 9000 people used the safe conduct pass.

The information leaflet tells the local civilian population that the allied forces are panning an operation in their area and urges the people to assemble at a specified location to be evacuated.

The Printing Officer told us “We can print one million leaflets in support of any given mission within 24 hours. In fact, we printed three million leaflets on three different occasions in support of the Mu Gia Pass bombings in North Vietnam. The battalion uses 800 pounds of ink and more than 200 tons of paper each month.”

The Operations Officer said “Here in Saigon we produce approximately 10 million leaflets a week. The unit’s bomb loading crew can pack five million leaflets daily, 75,000 to each bomb.

Republican Congressman Craig Hosmer of California spoke to the House of Representatives on 7 February 1966 and told them of his visit to the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam and his belief that the superstitions of the Vietnamese could be used against them. Hosmer recommended dropping hundreds of thousands of plastic aces of spades on North Vietnam at night where the card was considered a deadly omen. He said the Vietnamese seeing the mysterious playing card at the doorstep in the morning would consider it a sign that the day would be one of misfortune.

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A Typical Vietnam Ace of Spades

Hosmer was wrong. The Vietnamese were not frightened by the Ace of Spades, but the men did love the idea and many soldiers used the Ace of Spades, believing in error that it did scare the enemy. Allison F. Stanley, President of the U.S. Playing Card company sent 10,000 aces of spades, free of charge to U.S. servicemen in Vietnam who requested them and used them as “calling cards” or “death cards” on the body of dead Viet Cong.

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Leaflet 2662

Chieu Hoi was considered one of the most important propaganda campaigns in Vietnam. This Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office leaflet coded 2662 depicts dead North Vietnamese troops in a ditch on the front along with Chieu Hoi symbols, and a longer all-text message on the back. The propaganda text says in part:

Chieu Hoi is a way to a new life

To: Members of the North Vietnamese Army in the South.

Xuan Thuy, the leader of the North Vietnamese delegation at the Paris Conference, declared: “North Vietnam has no troops in the South.”

Why is Hanoi afraid of the truth? Because they are afraid that the world would condemn their destruction of their brothers in the South if they admit that they have 85,000 troops there.

They keep ordering you to fight to the end. If your relatives in North Vietnam knew the truth, what would they think?

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6th PSYOP Battalion area of responsibility in Vietnam

We mention Chieu Hoi above. Major Michael G. Barger mentions the 6th PSYOP Battalion’s involvement in the Chieu Hoi campaign:

What was quickly obvious to the tactical PSYOP teams was that Chieu Hoi appeals were an extremely effective method for supporting tactical combat operations. Although it was not readily apparent, later analysis of these tactical uses of Chieu Hoi appeals would show that the combination of the appeals with military operations was much more effective than appeals done in isolation from combat operations. Military Assistance Command-Vietnam planners in 1966 did note that monthly returnee totals spiked during February, coinciding with four major and two smaller combat operations, without yet making a direct link to PSYOP effectiveness.

What was readily apparent was that Chieu Hoi ralliers provided immediate feedback to show successful use of PSYOP to an often-skeptical commander. Returnees also proved to have practical benefits on the battlefield. For example, since it was impossible on the battlefield to discern a difference between someone attempting to surrender and someone trying to rally, PSYOP teams routinely offered potential returnees a chance to cooperate with friendly forces as a show of good faith. These offers often resulted in Hoi Chanh providing information or serving as guides to locate arms caches, find Viet Cong Viet Cong safe areas, and identify Viet Cong agents among civilian populations.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion product developers designed the arguments used in these Chieu Hoi appeals to take advantage of four assumed target audience susceptibilities. The first of these was the physical and mental hardships suffered by the Viet Cong such as physical danger, illness, fatigue, and sometimes lack of food. Second, any dissension caused by either real or perceived unfair treatment. Third was disillusionment, the lack of perceived progress and resultant perception that ultimate Viet Cong victory was unlikely. The fourth susceptibility was the reputation of the Chieu Hoi program, because the program actually did what it was advertised to do and this verifiable reality enhanced the credibility of Chieu Hoi appeals. All four of these appeals were effective to the average Hoi Chanh, who was a rural farmer conscripted into the Viet Cong Viet Cong rather than being a volunteer.

On 10 February 1966, three companies were formed within the 6th PSYOP Battalion to provide tactical propaganda support.

The 244th PSYOP Company served I Corps initially from Da Nang. The unit was subsequently relocated to Nha Trang (in II Corps), with a detachment in Quang Ngai in I Corps.

The 245th PSYOP Company served II Corps initially from Nha Trang.

The 246th PSYOP Company served III Corps from Bien Hoa, about 20 miles northeast of Saigon in III Corps.

On 19 November 1966, the 19th PSYOP Company was deployed to Can Tho Vietnam as part of the 6th PSYOP Battalion to provide advice and support to military units and agencies in the Mekong Delta in IV Corps Tactical Zone.

The 246th PSYOP Company would later become the reorganized 6th Battalion so we should take a closer look at it.

The 246th PSYOP Company

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The 246th PSYOP Company’s Leaflet Catalogue

During wartime PSYOP detachments, companies, battalions and groups all generally have leaflet catalogues. The leaflets inside have been tested and approved and are ready for instant use should a combat unit require them. This is the 1966 edition and explains to the supported combat unit that they need only identify the leaflet number, quantity, date desired, changes desired (if any), and the name of the unit ordering them.

Although we do not have exact dates, we know that the 20th PSYOP Field Support Detachment and the 26th PSYWAR Detachment merged to form the 246th PSYOP Company.

Some of the Units that Company B of the 246th PSYOP Company supported are the 1st Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division, the 25th Infantry Division, The 199th Infantry Light Brigade, the 11th Cavalry, the 720th Military Police Battalion, the Hau Nghia Chieu Hoi Center, the Binh Duong PSYOP Center, The Royal Thai Queen's Cobra Volunteer Regiment and of course, the 1st Australian Task Force.

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Specialist Gerald W. Welle, pressman, 246th PSYOP Company prints thousands of propaganda leaflets on 1250LW Offset Press in the print shop in Bien Hoa, 23 kilometers northwest of Saigon, 4 October 1967

Mervyn Roberts opens with a story about the 246th PSYOP Company in his Master of Arts thesis: United States Psychological Operations in Support of Counterinsurgency: Vietnam, 1960 to 1965:

It is early morning on 8 December 1966. A battalion from the United States 1st Infantry Division surrounds the village of Chanh Luu, thirty kilometers north of Saigon. This is part of Operation FAIRFAX, General William Westmoreland’s push to clear National Liberation Front (NLF) elements from the area surrounding the capital. Men painstakingly comb the red sand road in search of mines as they approach the village. At eight that morning, field teams of the 246th Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Company, armed with food, PSYOP posters and leaflets, and loudspeakers, enter the formerly Viet Cong (VC) controlled village. The children of the village eagerly swarm around as the Americans distribute candy.

Meanwhile, work begins to remove all traces of communist propaganda from the village. In their place are fresh, colorful posters, and a pro-government slogan is painted on the wall of the only stone building in Chanh Luu. As soldiers visit the village shops, a wizened grandmother crowds the team to get a specially designed calendar. Integral to the PSYOP mission, soldiers assemble the fighting age men of the village for intelligence interviews.

Dave Kolchuk was a Specialist 4 (E4) with the 246th PSYOP Company in Vietnam from October 1965 to October 1966. He was stationed in the “Train Compound,” an old French villa a few miles from Bien Hoa. He was an Army Illustrator supporting III Corps. He told me:

My job was to design, and produce leaflets, flyers, and posters. We also did public relations work for schools and hospitals. I learned enough of the language to give some translation support. Once printed, I participated in leaflet drops and loudspeaker operations on air missions with the US Air Force out of Bien Hoa Air Base. I had enough hours and missions in various aircraft to earn crewman wings from the USAF.

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Jimmie Hurley standing in front of the loudspeakers on a U10 Courier aircraft at Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam.

We know a little bit about the loudspeaker program from the classified Confidential Operational Report - Lessons Learned, Headquarters, 6th PSYOP Battalion: period Ending 31 October 1967. It says in part:

Seven Audio-Visual (HE) Teams arrived on 29 July 1967 as separate detachments and two were deployed to the 246th Company. These teams, which will supplement the presently authorized Teams, will assist in providing the support required by the Free World Military Armed Forces in Vietnam.

In addition, The 246th PSYOP Company provided support during Operation DOI MOI, consisting mainly of "quick reaction" leaflets. Additionally, about 78 million leaflets were printed by the Battalion Headquarters printing plant during the period 25 September to 29 October. An additional 45 million leaflets were also provided by off-shore facilities.

In other operations conducted during this period the 246th PSYOP Company disseminated 390,975,000 leaflets of which 75,489,000 were printed by the unit printing section. These leaflets were part of stock leaflets which were printed by the Battalion Headquarters printing plant, 7th PSYOP Group and this unit’s printing facility. In addition, 621.5 hours of aerial loudspeaker time were directed against targets in enemy areas. Of this total, 30.5 hours were broadcast at night.

Ninety-three quick reaction leaflets were printed by the 246th PSYOP Company In support of Operation Do Moi for a total of 12,140,000. A majority of these leaflets were handwritten messages by ralliers either stating that they had been treated well, or appealing to their comrades to also rally. 

Specialist Five John Irwin told me about his assignments in PSYOP during the Vietnam War. One thing his comments show clearly is how you can become a gypsy being moved and assigned to support one combat unit after another. The Number of units he moved through are amazing. I will just mention the 246th PSYOP Company here. Vietnam PSYOP was in its infancy and none of the big units was there yet, just some odd detachments and companies. John said in part:

SP5 Irwin’s USAF 1st Air Commando Wing C-47 [callsign Gabby]
The front door is open, rear door removed for the loudspeaker system

In August of 1966, I was originally assigned as an interpreter to the 19 PSYOP Company, at that time part of the 3rd Special Forces Group. About 4 months later, I was sent to the 6th PSYOP Battalion, being formed at John F. Kennedy Center. After a couple of months, I was reassigned to the 246th PSYOP Company at Bien Hoa. While at Bien Hoa, we did night loudspeaker missions in a C-47. We would awaken the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops and attempt to goad them into shooting at us. An artillery officer then zeroed a battery on the shooters. We would continue broadcasting in the area to stir up more resistance. The enemy was wide awake so there was lots of return fire. The artillery observer zeroed in additional batteries. After several such episodes, the observer called for a "time on target," and all the artillery units fired so their shells hit at the same time.

Later I went to Phuoc Binh, southeast of Saigon to be part of a PSYOP team with the 2d Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. The team of Lieutenant Anderson and me went to Division Artillery to load leaflet shells prior to the division’s deployment with most of 246 PSYOP Company going to Tay Ninh. Andy and I went to Ben Cui plantation with the 16th Infantry Regiment. The 1st Infantry Division and the 173rd Infantry Brigade cleared the area so the 25th Infantry could occupy the area. The 25th Infantry Division went to Cu Chi, near Tay Ninh, and one of their brigades put their base exactly on top of one of the underground VC tunnel complexes. After the Tay Ninh operation, we went to Phu Loi and spent a month with the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. We returned with a convoy to Bien Hoa to rejoin the 246th PSYOP Company.

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Specialist 5 Illustrator Eugene W. Simmons

I first heard from U.S. Army Specialist 5 illustrator Eugene Simmons when he wrote to ask if I knew another illustrator named Alvin Bentley who he worked with as a member of the 246th PSYOP Company in Bien Hoa during the Vietnam War. Bentley had mentored Simmons and helped him with some projects. Bentley drew and produced the PSYOP Cartoon book History of PSYOP which we show below.

By the greatest of coincidences, when I mentioned Bentley to my pal retired Major Ed Rouse he said “I knew him.”

Ed said that Sergeant First Class Bentley worked for him in the S3 (operations) Section of the 1st PSYOP Battalion. He had received a bonus for re-enlisting in the army as a radio specialist. However, his artistic skills were so good that he was not working in his specialty but instead performing special projects for the Commanding General. He was shanghaied by General Henry "The Gunfighter" Emerson to create the Special Forces Display at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and later commissioned to paint the portraits of the Special Forces soldiers that were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was also a scrounger of renown. Ed recalled one time he started with a can of coffee and a promise to design and print Certificates of Achievement and commendations. He traded for a parachute, then a Jeep trailer, and eventually ended up with a fixed radio tower.

Ed liked Bentley so much that he went fishing with him. The military has strong rules about fraternization between soldiers of different ranks and Ed was actually called in and given a lecture about going fishing with an enlisted man. Only in the U.S. Army!

After he retired, Bentley was chosen to paint the portrait of the Governor of North Carolina.

I asked Simmons if he had saved any of the items he worked on back then because the readers might want to see them. He told me:

I never did save any of my art while I was there. I did see, several years ago, a Christmas card I drew while I was there in 1967 but didn't download or copy it. These days, all my “art work” is done with a digital camera. The end product is better, but when you consider the travel time to locations, waiting for just the right light and for the "subjects" (critters, in my case) to appear, it isn't much quicker. At 73 and with some serious medical problems my touch with the pencil and pen isn’t what it used to be.

I asked Eugene to tell me a little about how he became an Army illustrator and his time in the 246th PSYOP Company in Vietnam from February 1967 to February 1968:

As a very young child, I grew up in a little town in upstate New York and loved to draw. My parents encouraged it and I always had a supply of paper, pencils and pens. I went to a Catholic school and cursive writing with a crow quill pen was a must. Pages and pages of smooth flowing circles, peaks, and other geometric forms improved my drawing abilities. For me it was an enjoyable hobby. Later in life I would read “Self-Help” articles on drawing and art. Matchbook covers had advertisements where one could send off for lessons on how to draw. For me though, it was 90% self-taught. I did a few drawings for friends of my parents (by request - but one cannot say “no” to a parent that is also your art supplier). In school I would draw cartoons for the school newspaper as well as decorating my book covers. Back then, school books had to be covered to protect them. You could buy artsy ones but I used old paper bags and personalized each one according to the subject and my ability in that particular subject. For example, My English book showed a boat named ENGLISH sinking in the sea. That was the year poetry was one of the main topics and iambic pentameter was beyond what I thought I needed to know.

The high schools I went to as an “army brat” (The son of military personnel will travel with his family from base to base so I managed to go to three high schools) didn’t have art classes but they did have mechanical drawing and geometry. My freshman year in Munich, Germany, I made some extra money drawing “plates,” or sheets, for some fellow mechanical drawing students.

When I graduated high school in July 1964 I immediately joined the army and after basic training was sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, to study to become an intelligence analyst for the Army Security Agency. After the initial training I had to wait for the final “Top Secret” clearance before continuing. Instead of pulling “ash and trash” details, or KP, I managed to work at the base Training Aids Section. This was my first opportunity to obtain really good training as an artist. The civilian that ran the section as well as the other artists helped me tremendously. When my final clearance came through, I was offered the option of staying in training aids or continuing with intelligence analyst school. I stayed with TA.

I transferred to Arlington Hall Station, where I came into contact with more artists and more drawing opportunity. Color separations, air brush, mass production of printed materials were new to me. In 1966 I volunteered for Vietnam and received orders, non-specific as to where I would go. I had assumed it would be as support for Army Security Agency somewhere. Instead I wound up with the 246th PSYOP Company in Bien Hoa. It was a different mission but there were many great artists there. Staff Sergeant Alvin Bentley ran the section and he was the best artist I have had the pleasure to know. He became my mentor. We had a lot of short suspense missions; draw, print, drop leaflets, sometimes while the battle was still going on. We also produced audio tapes for “no doze” flights. Aircraft, usually C-47’s, would fly at night with large speakers mounted on the side of the plane, broadcasting propaganda tapes, trying to keep the enemy from getting any sleep. We also carried flares in case we had to divert to support ground troops. One of the most challenging was for the 101st Airborne Division. We had to have an eagle screech as part of it. For days our office would produce horrible sounds trying to copy an eagle.

I thought this might be a nice time to point out that the 246th PSYOP Company was very involved with playing propaganda messages over their loudspeakers. I have seen about a dozen such tapes but thought I would pick two to show the readers here:

Music-Buddhist Funeral

Mama! Where 's Daddy? Mama!

Don't ask for your Daddy anymore. It makes me suffer.

But I miss Daddy. Where is he now, Mama? Where is he? He went to work so long ago. I have not seen him home in so long. Mama, do you miss Daddy?

Oh! God! I tell you, never ask for your Daddy anymore.

But do you miss my Daddy? Toll me this, Mama.

Yes, Yes, I miss your Daddy very much.

You miss him, I do too. But why has my Daddy left home for so long? I'm sure that he doesn't miss me and you, He has already given us up.

Don't say that, probably your Daddy will be home soon.

Mama do not lie to me anymore. You told me many times that Daddy would be home, but he hasn’t returned. And Daddy also, like you, he lied to me too. He told me he would be home a few days later, but he wasn't.

Go away, my child and leave me alone.

(With tears in eyes) I don't want to go anywhere. (Then shouting) I don't want to go anywhere. (Then crying) Daddy! Daddy! Be home with me! Be home with Mama! Daddy! Daddy!

Eerie Noises

End of tape one.

Daddy, come home with me, with Mom, Daddy!

GHOSTLY VOICE: Who's there? Who calls me? Oh God! It is my beloved daughter, my wife. I am coming home to you darling. But what a shame, I've lost my body. I was dead, oh darling. Oh, my dear friends! I am now back here to let you know that I was dead. What the hell was that death of mine! It was meaningless, uncalled for and totally absurd. It is too late, too late for me to know about it now. Oh, my friends! You are still living. You shall have a day when you see your darlings again. Do you hear me?

Go home, my friends. Think it over! Make up your mind! Flee! Or else you shall be me; you shall have my tragic death! Go home before it is too late, too late! Go home, my friends!

Go home…Go home…home. How tragic is my fate!

End of tape two.

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246th PSYOP Company Leaflet 125

This leaflet numbered 125 is not the one that Simmons is working on in the photograph above. However, it is also is for Hau Nghia, which seems to be a regular target of the 246th PSYOP Company. This leaflet depicts a map of Hau Nghia and around the borders images of soldiers, medics and the flag of the Republic of Vietnam. It tells the people that the Government wants to help them and provide protection. It has placed soldiers there and as soon as the Viet Cong have been driven out of the province technical aid will arrive to better their lives. It asks that the people give information to help the government..

Leaflet 126 offers a reward to the people of Hau Nghia for information on Viet Cong mines and ambushes. The informer will be kept secret. No paperwork will be generated and a reward will be paid if the information proves correct.

At Bien Hoa most of our flights were with the Air Force 5th Commando Squadron. C-47, U-10, Otter, Beaver, Caribou, Huey’s were frequently being loaded with leaflets.

I asked Eugene if he had any favorite leaflets and to describe how he prepared the leaflets:

I don't have any particular leaflet I drew that's a favorite. There were so many different themes. We were given general guidance; that is, what unit(s), where, any specific info available, the deadline and quantity needed. We'd research to see if a suitable drawing were already available and, if so, modify it to fit. Mostly the text was done on a Varitype machine and sound markings added by hand. Text would be submitted in English to one of our translators, I think we had four of them, and they would give us the Vietnamese text to get typed. Leaflets would be given to our print shop, printed, cut and boxed and then on to the plane.

Quite a few of our leaflets used photographs. The best ones would be of a Viet Cong or a North Vietnamese Army prisoner. We would show him with the Republic of Vietnam flag in background (if possible), and a hand-written note on the other side. Ideally it would be to members of his unit saying he was captured but is being treated well. It was best to drop those leaflets on his unit while the battle still going on; otherwise they would be dropped on locations we thought his unit might be moving toward.

From Vietnam I was assigned to Fort Bragg as a member of the 91st PSYOP Company. In 1968, Ft. Bragg was a holding station so that one could get 6 months stateside before heading back to Vietnam. Almost 6 months to the day. I was discharged in July 1968; I then used the GI Bill to go to college at the State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego). I was 4 years older than my freshman classmates. A cousin told me about the reserves in 1970. He said they paid a full day’s pay for 4 hours of drill. I eventually joined an Army Reserve unit in New York State.

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Specialist Four Simmons is awarded the Army Commendation Medal

I eventually went to Officers Candidate School, and was commissioned as an Armor officer. I became a training officer, a company commander, a battalion adjutant, and a Leadership Academy (DI School) Company Commander. I retired with total of 23 years military service. During my service I was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal w/Device (2), the Good Conduct Medal (2), the Army Commendation Medal, the Aircraft Crewman Medal, a Meritorious Unit Citation, and the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal.

My reserve assignments provided me with ample opportunity to fire pretty much every hand carried weapon plus the 50 caliber Machinegun and even the old anti-tank bazooka. As an army brat, I learned weapons skills at the age of 10 from the National Rifle Association and was on a rifle team at Ft. Dix, N.J. in 1957.

I was qualified in the following weapons: M-14 Expert; M-16 Sharpshooter; M-60 Expert; M-79 Expert; .45 Caliber pistol Expert.

My art experience continued to help me in civilian life as I worked in architecture, manufacturing, and retired as a project programmer for the Department of Defense. I enjoyed my entire military experience. No regrets!

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Specialist 6 Martin Donegan’s Promotion to Specialist 7

Specialist 6 Martin Donegan did two tours with the 7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa and one with the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam dropping leaflets from C130s, C47s, U10s, and Huey helicopters. While in Vietnam he was attached to the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd brigade. He was in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 during the Tet uprising. He told me:

In early 1963 I was ordered to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina for Psychological Operations training and immediately afterwards to Okinawa as a member of the 7th PSYOP Group. I was a Russian linguist and was assigned to the Russian desk. We wrote and updated area studies of the Soviet Far East. We read books and magazines, classified as well as unclassified documents, their newspaper “Pravda,” etc. On 7 April 1966 I was assigned to the Korea Detachment.

As part of a secret project called Jilli (“Truth” in Korean) I was first assigned to the balloon team, learning how to prepare and launch leaflet balloons.We then started using weather balloons off the local cliffs and dropping them to get statistics about lift, weight and the spread of leaflets.We worked a bit with the 314th Air Detachment that flew along the Demilitarized Zone using the Douglas C-47 Gooney Bird. All Jilli missions were classified TOP SECRET until after they were was completed, then downgraded to CONFIDENTIAL.

Specialist Six Martin A. Donegan was sent on temporary duty to Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand at different times, and was awarded his first Air Medal in April 1966 for flights over North Korea and Vietnam as a member of the 7th PSYOP Group. The award said in part:

He participated in 14 PSYOP missions directed against North Korea and Vietnam. Operating in a depressurized aircraft at altitudes up to 25,000 feet, unassisted he planned the aircraft’s flight plan, selected the altitudes to be flown and areas to be targeted. He assisted in the aerial dissemination of many more millions of leaflets on other missions. He completed these tasks with complete disregard for his personal safety.

His Air Medal eventually had six oak leaf clusters.

As a member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion Donegan was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for serving as one of a PSYOP Team engaged in extensive loudspeaker broadcasts and leaflet drops in Vietnam His award states:

He participated as a team member in more than 500 aerial drop missions, the vast majority of which were over hostile territory. In addition to the hundreds of daytime loudspeaker and drop missions flown by Specialist Donegan, he also flew 18 missions in night support of infantry operations drawing hostile fire on several occasions…He also participated in medical evacuation flights in and out of hostile areas in support of friendly ground troops…

Donegan told me about Tet:

When the Viet Cong attacked in Tet 1968 they hit our “Train Compound.” It was just outside of Bien Hoa city and about 10 miles away from Division headquarters. We were surrounded for 4 days and the Viet Cong had a sniper on a nearby water tower. The compound was manned at the time by some of our PSYOP troops, some Military Police and a lot of civilians. As I recall, we had our bunker which held only a few of us right outside our hooch. Some men had pistols, some had M-16s. I had an M-14 rifle. One of the other guys had an AK-47. We still managed to hold them off until reinforcements arrived. Shortly afterwards I was on a two-man team for the 1st Infantry Division and sent to the Cholon District of Saigon where a group of Viet Cong were captured. We got some good information from their interrogations. I also worked with the South Vietnamese using PSYOP against the Viet Cong holed up in the Phu Tho Racetrack. The battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack began on 31 January 1968 and ended 11 February 1968. The attacks were repulsed with the VC suffering heavy losses.

On 7 August 1968 Donegan was awarded the bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces. He received three Army Commendation Medals by the end of his career.

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A C-130 Hercules Releases a Leaflet Box

Notice the rope that held the leaflet box hanging from the back of the aircraft. The box has torn apart as it is designed to do and the leaflets have been released into the air. The interesting thing about this photo is that there were no actual leaflets. There was a request for a film of leaflets being released. The U.S. Army did not want propaganda leaflets floating around that might stay airborne for days with the Okinawa winds. So, instead of leaflets, they used scrap paper from the printing plant.

While on Okinawa the Commanding General of the Ryukus Islands sent a Letter of Commendation stressing that Specialist Six Martin A. Donegan had established a high degree of rapport with the Chinese General Political Warfare Department and their Ministry of National Defense as a member of the Mobile Training Team to the Republic of China in 1966 where they took part in teaching the Chinese the methods of high altitude dissemination of propaganda leaflets.

Donegan told me that he went to Taiwan twice with other members of the Korea team to teach high altitude leaflet operations.

In Vietnam as a member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion the Commander of the PSYOP Development Center awarded Donegan a letter of Appreciation on 4 September 1968 which read in part:

The many challenging and varied projects you were assigned and those which you initiated tested your imagination as well as your military experience, tactfulness and resourcefulness…We are extremely appreciative that you applied your military capabilities and experience so diligently while assigned to the Product Development Center. You can be proud that you have significantly aided the 6th PSYOP Battalion accomplish its mission in the Republic of Vietnam.

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Army of South Vietnam Officer’s Candidate School Booklet

The above booklet was produced by the 246th PSYOP Company in 1966. 30,000 copies of this 14 x 7.5-inch booklet were produced at the request of the 6th PSYOP Battalion. The cover of this booklet depicting three brave ARVN soldiers was drawn by Specialist Fourth Class Dave Kolchuk. The text on the cover is:

Infantry

Monthly Publication of the Thu Duc Infantry School

The Thu Duc Infantry School was the South Vietnamese Army's officer candidate’s school. It was the training school for reserve officers, while regular army officers were trained at the Dalat Military Academy. They called it the Infantry School but it was an officer’s training school. It is interesting to note that the North Vietnamese also called their Military Academy the “Infantry School.” Perhaps a title the Vietnamese inherited from their French colonial masters in the distant past.

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History of PSYOP

The publications produced by a unit are not always for the enemy. Sometimes they produce booklets and magazines just for themselves. Sometimes comic books are just written and drawn by military cartoonists for their own amusement. This 32-page Vietnam War comic was created by a member of the 246th PSYOP Company named Bentley while stationed in Bien Hoa. The title is History of PSYOP – You really can’t believe anybody. The second page of the comic book states that it is dedicated to all Psywarriors, and especially a number of officers and men serving in the unit that were helpful to Bentley. It was varityped by Specialist 4th Grade Forrest. The text and images of the comic are a humorous look at the alleged origin of PSYOP in prehistoric days; how words like “Love” and “Hate” mold opinions and actions, and the last page depicts what appears to be PSYOP as practiced by the American forces in Vietnam. It was a nice souvenir for the unit members.

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Professional Litter Bug

The 246th PSYOP Company had an interesting pocket ID that was in the form of a “Lady Bug” with the text:

246th PSYOP Co – Professional Litter Bug

I commented to former PSYOP officer Hammond Salley about the vignette and he sent me a picture showing that it was also on the commander’s jeep. Notice that when they wrote about this unit, they called it "Litterbugs" but when they illustrated it, they used the singular "litter bug." After I placed this picture on the Internet my pal Chad Spawr wrote to tell me:

The Battalion Commander was Al Binkley who commissioned the wheel cover. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Otmer Gorrell, who was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Ray Deitch. I took the picture of that wheel cover in late 1968. Interesting that long after the unit became the 6th PSYOP Battalion, the Jeep bumper numbers still reflected the original 246th PSYOP Company as the assigned unit. Good history.

A Litterbugs Patch

The old theory that "the exception proves the rule" seems to be at work here. Their patch used the plural "Litterbugs" and it is hard to tell if this is one or two words, though I am leaning toward one word.

Leaflet 246-100

This leaflet has a rather crude design on the front of a Viet Cong soldier in the woods on the left, and the same soldier coming back to the National Cause on the right. The long text at the back mentions’ life as a Viet Cong at the left, as a free man in the South at the right, and then a finishing statement at the end:

THE LIFE OF HELL OF A VIET CONG SOLDIER

1. Low salary, sometimes no salary.
2. You are fighting for Communists masters who want to rule over the Vietnamese people illegally.
3. Only enough food to keep you from starvation, if the Army of Vietnam gives you enough time to cook it.
4. A lonely life, far from home and family.
5. No letters, no family news.
6. There is no medicine to treat you when you are injured or sick.
7. If you die on the battlefield, your body will be buried in an unmarked place in the melancholy forest. Your family will never know your whereabouts. Your family will get nothing. They may never even know that you are dead.
8. You must always avoid the Army of Vietnam soldiers.
9. And planes threaten you day and night.

THE LIFE OF A REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM ARMY SOLDIER

1. Guaranteed monthly salary and family allowances.
2. You are fighting for a just cause, the right of free people to remain free.
3. Sufficient food (rice, fish meat, poultry, vegetables, salt) for you to eat every day.
4. A good life, close to friends and family near.
5. News and mail from home every day.
6. Adequate medical treatment if you are injured or sick.
7. If you are killed in battle, you will be buried with honor. Your family can visit your grave, and your family a large amount of money from the government to help them live.
8. You sleep and eat in the same location all the time.
9. You can rest assured that you can sleep soundly without fear of an airplane or helicopter bombing or strafing your position where you sleep.

Return to the National Cause now. The government is waiting for you with open arms.

If you want, you can join the ranks of anti-Communist soldiers. All the people are looking forward to you and helping you become a good citizen. Don't follow the bloodthirsty Godless Communist bandits any longer.

Leaflet 101

100,000 copies of this early leaflet were printed in 1967 by the 246th PSYOP Company. This is before the arrival of the Battalions and groups, so the image is crude. Normally the leaflet would say 246-101-67 but this is so early they have not added the unit or year yet. The image depicts a helicopter on the ground evacuating wounded troops, both Viet Cong and friendly. The leaflet was requested by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Both sides of the leaflet depict the same image and the same text:

This is a picture of a medical aircraft. It does not carry guns. It is to evacuate all wounded prisoners. Yes, it even evacuates wounded Viet Cong who are given medical treatment. Do not shoot at this aircraft. It is your friend. Are you wounded? Do you need medical help. Give yourself up. We have the best medicine and doctors in the world.

Leaflet 134

A second early leaflet where the leaflet is not yet numbered with the "246." This leaflet depicts a young Viet Cong fighter who has seen the light and returned to the Government of Vietnam’s side. He has handwritten a letter after his return, and it is printed on the leaflet. 50,000 copies of this leaflet were prepared and printed by the 246th PSYOP Company and airdropped over Viet Cong units in Bien Hoa, Long Khanh, and Baria. The text is:

For every human being, a happy life is possible only when one can live as he likes, to eat, to sleep, or to have a good time whenever he likes. In the VC ranks and in the so-called "Liberated" areas a happy life is impossible. Come back to the Government side where you are free to be happy. Your government will forgive all your past actions and assist you in every way with food, clothing, medical care, education and to start a new life with your family. Join Phan Van Son and the 27,000 other ralliers who have found that the Government keeps its promises. You will be welcomed and forgiven.

His original letter states:

I am Phan Van Son in A5, B2, C3 unit, having returned to the National cause. On my way to return I saw many American soldiers helping the people in the construction of houses, schools, and hospitals. This shows that the American Soldiers came here to help the Government against the Communists' aggression, bring peace and prosperity for the people, but not to aggress the country as stated by the Viet Cong cadres. You should quickly leave the Viet Cong and return to the National Cause. The Government will always forgive you. I hope to see you all again.

Son

Leaflet 246-180

This leaflet depicts a Viet Cong fighter surrendering to an Allied soldier backed up by armored personnel carrier, artillery, Huey helicopters and jet fighters which look a lot like Korean War USAF F-86 Sabrejets, though as far as I know none were used in Vietnam. This leaflet was requested by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. The text on the back is: 

Dear Viet Cong.

You have recently felt the tremendous power of the Allied Forces. Many of your comrades lie dead and abandoned. The Allied forces will continue to chase you and defeat you. Why die an unmourned and sure death in a hopeless cause. Use every opportunity to leave your doomed unit. Leave as soon as you can. You will be welcomed by the Government of Vietnam and treated well.

Leaflet 246-335

Although this leaflet is undated we can say with some safety it was from 1966. The early leaflets were crude and hand-drawn; by 1967 the Company began dating their leaflets and in general the artwork was less crude. This leaflet was aimed at villages dominated by the Viet Cong. Its theme was "The Government supports you; support the government." 10,000 copies were printed at the request of the Special Forces. The front depicts a doctor treating a baby and farmers being given a bag of rice. The text on the front is:

YOUR TRUE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO HELP YOU, ITS PEOPLE

YOU ARE THE PEOPLE.

The text on the back is:

Your TRUE Government is daily improving the lives of its people. There is more food, clothing, better roads and schools for your children and more and better medical facilities. With the aid of the United States and 42 other nations, you government is speedily bringing a fuller, richer life for all.

SUPPORT YOUR TRUE GOVERNMENT

Leaflet 337

This leaflet depicts a puppet being controlled by Hanoi and Peking. 500,000 copies of this leaflet on the theme “you were tricked” was requested by the intelligence section S-2 of the 246th PSYOP Company. The text on the back is:

Soldiers in the Viet Cong ranks,

The Viet Cong tricked you into joining their ranks. They have lured you away from your family by making false promises. The VC does not care about you or your family. To the VC you are but a pair of hands to hold a weapon to fight for the unjust cause of Hanoi and Peking. Are you willing to go on enduring the hardships of serving with the VC while your family worries about you night and day? Don’t suffer any longer. Return to the warmth of your family. They miss you. You will be welcomed warmly and safely returned to your loved ones.

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Leaflet 246-55-67

Specialist 4 Eugene Simmons was an illustrator in the 246th PSYOP Company for all of 1967. He recalls that Viet Cong prisoners of war would sometimes be isolated, interviewed and photographed. They would be asked to write a note to their combat buddies letting them know they were at alive and healthy. Photos would be taken and a leaflet produced with a photo of the prisoner on one side and his handwritten or typed note on the other side. Leaflet 246-55-67 depicts Nguyen Van Tuong. 50,000 leaflets were printed to be dropped by air over the 315B Unit at the request of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. The text on the back says in part:

To Mr. Tu Thach and Friends of the 315B Unit

Hello Mr. Tu. Today I have some words for you and members in the Unit. Five years ago we were living together but I did not know where my honor was. I saw only the deaths everyday; was in need of many things and lost my freedom. The future was hopeless. I decided to leave the unit when I received the call from the Republic of Vietnam. Now I am really free. I enjoy life with my parents and my wife and family. The Republic of Vietnam has given me a house and the means to make a living…

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U-10 Courier

Staff Sergeant Robert "Dennis" Brown was a member of the 246th PSYOP Company and later the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam during 1967-1968. He was first attached to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and later the 25th Infantry Division. He also supported Special Forces, and MACV Teams. He went on operations with these units while they were in the field and flew daily from remote short-landing and take-off airstrips.

He recalls dropping leaflets from U-10 Courier aircraft with pilots from the Air Force's 5th Air Commando Squadron, Otters, C-47 Skytrain aircraft, and UH-1D Huey helicopters. He also regularly played Chieu Hoi tapes and did loudspeaker missions. He said he dropped enough leaflets over Vietnam for the Vietnamese people to never run out of toilet paper. The standard leaflet was the Chieu Hoi leaflet. It promised the bearer, a North Vietnamese Soldier or Viet Cong guerrilla, safe passage if he surrendered. It also promised him money, relocation, land, and a home in South Vietnam.

He was involved in various "hearts and minds" projects such as Medical Civil Action Programs (MEDCAP) with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and Special Forces teams.  He says he never knew how successful his efforts were, but he did get positive feedback on one occasion. He had often wondered if I had any effect on the outcome of that war. He said:

About 20 years ago a local man asked me what I did in Vietnam. He had been an Infantryman with the 1st Cavalry Division. I told him what I did, and he said, "Brown, you probably saved my life!" I said, "How is that?" He said, "We were on a patrol on a trail, and a Viet Cong stepped out from behind a tree and yelled out "Chieu Hoi." "He could have killed me, but instead he surrendered. He held out a Chieu Hoi leaflet. Your leaflet saved my life."

Another U-10 Picture

David Summers of the 6th PSYOP Battalion, 4th PSYOP Group, sends a picture of Lt. Smizer (left) and himself (right) preparing to mount up in their two-seater U-10 to do some PSYOP broadcasting somewhere in the Third Corps area of South Vietnam. He says:

My PSYOP experience was with the 246 PSYOP company, later renamed the 6th PSYOP battalion, in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. (1967-1968) I spent most my time that year attached to the 11th Armor Calvary Regiment (ACR) providing PSYOP support. This was under Colonel George S. Patton III's command. PSYOP teams during Vietnam consisted of a Lt. and an enlisted member (2-member teams).

After my PSYOP assignment I went on to serve with the American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS) for 21 years. I was a 71R4W Broadcast Specialist and retired from the Army in 1985 and retired from Civil Service in 2002.

The year was 1968, somewhere in the III Corp area of South Vietnam. One of the biggest advantages of the U-10 was that it could take off in a village that had no runway or road of any kind. Along with the C-47 we would drop leaflets and do broadcasts. The C-47 was equipped with 3,000-watt speakers and the U-10 had 500/1,000-watt speakers.

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The PSYOP-POLWAR Newsletter

The PSYOP Newsletter was first called the Military Assistance Command Psychological Operations Directorate (MACPD) Newsletter about 1966 and printed by the United States Military Assistance Command (Actually what would become the 6th Battalion to inform commanders, PSYOP personnel, and PSYWAR advisors of psychological operations in Vietnam and to exchange ideas and lessons learned. It provided hints and lessons from combat and PSYOP units all over Vietnam about what worked and what did not.

The original explanation of why the publication was printed is:

The purpose of the MACPD Newsletter is to inform PSYOP personnel and POLWAR advisors of the progress of psychological operations and to provide a forum for personnel to exchange ideas and methods which they have found to be successful. Readers are requested to submit items they consider to be of value to our combined counterinsurgency operations.

Later Vietnamese POLWAR personnel were added and the name was changed to the PSYOP-POLWAR Newsletter. Looking through my copy from April 1967 I find the following comment regarding the 246th PSYOP Company:

On 23 February 1967 Lieutenant Colonel Boettcher reported on PSYOP action in the 9th Infantry Division. One field team of the 246th PSYOP Company supported the division. Leaflet dissemination during February 1967 exceeded three million…The Vietnamese calendars for 1967 were popular and 4,830 were distributed. Each Brigade has a PSYOP Officer an S5 responsible for PSYOP and military civic action.

On 28 February 1967, Captain Thomas S5, and Captain Wright, PSYOP Officer of the 199th Light Infantry brigade reported on Operation Fairfax in Gia Dinh Province. The Brigade captured 88 prisoners and received 36 Hoi Chanh…Support from the 246th PSYOP Battalion and the 5th Air Commando Squadron have been very effective. Seven Hoi Chanh assisted with propaganda, including personal visits to their hamlets, as evidence of their good health and welfare.

The 7 March 1967 issue added:

In Operation Cedar Falls, the 6th PSYOP Battalion, together with the 7th PSYOP Group, provided 10,000,000 leaflets to the 246th PSYOP Company within four days.

The April 1967 issue said:

The 246th PSYOP Battalion supported the 9th US Infantry Division in February 2917 and dropped over 3,000,000 leaflets. Five shows were given for Bihn Son clearing operations. Nightly movies followed. 4830 Vietnamese calendars were disseminated. The 246th also supported the 199th US Light Infantry Brigade. The Brigade captured 88 prisoners and received 36 Hoi Chanhs.

The May 1967 issue mentioned the 6th PSYOP Battalion:

The 6th PSYOP Battalion now has the capability of providing a large volume of leaflets in a short time. Up to 2,000,0000 leaflets can be provided overnight to exploit a tactical situation. General Westmoreland said to the 6th, "Your operations are among the most important in Vietnam today."

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0-2B Skymaster in Vietnam on its way to drop leaflets

In late 1966, the USAF selected a military variant of the Cessna Model 337 Super Skymaster to supplement the 0-1 Bird Dog forward air controller aircraft then operating in Southeast Asia. Designated as the 0-2, the aircraft was distinguished by twin tail booms and tandem-mounted engines. Having twin engines enabled the 0-2 to absorb more ground fire and still return safely, endearing it to its crews. The 02-A had hard points on the wings for weapons and rockets. The 02B had no weapons but was designed to carry loudspeakers and disseminate propaganda leaflets. The photograph was taken by photographer Richard N. Levine who took enemy fire on this mission.

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The 0-2B depicted on the cover of the PSYOP Newsletter dropping leaflets

The Leaflets

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Leaflet 246-046

This is one of the earliest 246th PSYOP Company leaflets I have seen. 100,000 copies of this very crude leaflet were printed in early 1966. I have seen it themed both “Transportation” and “Movement.” Apparently it was meant to be used for control of the civilian population during military operations. The leaflet depicts a small hamlet surrounded by ARVN or American forces while helicopter gunships patrol overhead. It was distributed both by air and by hand. The text on the front is:

Your hamlet has been surrounded because there are Viet Cong hiding inside.

The text on the back is:

ATTENTION – ATTENTION

Your hamlet is surrounded by firepower and combat troops. Very shortly your hamlet will be entered by Allied Forces. These troops will utilize their overpowering firepower to annihilate the Viet Cong in this Area. Stay in your homes. Don’t move about or your lives could be in danger. Listen to all announcements by the Allied Forces and obey their instructions.

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Leaflet 343

The 246th PSYOP Company printed 500,000 copies of leaflet 343 in July 1966. This leaflet depicted the insignia of the 173rd Airborne Brigade on one side and soldiers interacting with Vietnamese children on the back. It was considered a variation of 246-069 mentioned above. Some of the text is:

We are American paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne brigade. Our unit is operations with Vietnamese and other units in this area to destroy the Viet Cong and their bases. While most of our units are busy defeating the Viet Cong, others are working on projects to help you.

We come as friends. We are part of the American forces in Vietnam helping you achieve the inevitable victory over Communist aggression in your country. We wish to help you have a better way of life free from Viet Cong terror. Help us by providing information about the Viet Cong.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sky Soldiers) arrived in Vietnam 7 May 1965. During the six years it was in-country it was located at Bien Hoa, An Khe and Bong Son. It took part in a combat parachute assault during Operation Junction City, 22 February 1967. Members of the Brigade often refer to themselves as “The Herd.” The Brigade departed Vietnam on 25 August 1971.

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Leaflet 223

This leaflet was prepared by the 246th PSYOP Company in Bien Hoa in 1967. It depicts an American medic washing a Vietnamese baby on the front. The text is:

The American forces in Vietnam not only fight the Viet Cong, but also help the Vietnamese Government in improving the health of the people.

The back of the leaflet depicts an Army doctor treating a line of Vietnamese civilians. The text is:

In villages all over Vietnam American doctors and medics make visits to give better health to the people. The medical team can help you cure skin diseases, colds, headaches, and most other complaints. When a medical team comes to your area they will be glad to help you.

This leaflet is aimed at building trust between the Vietnamese people and the Americans.

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Leaflet 246-273

This 246th PSYOP Company often worked with the Australians and prepared leaflets for them. This leaflet explains the Australian presence in Vietnam. 10,000 copies were printed to be disseminated by aircraft and hand. The text says in part:

We Australian soldiers, along with other Allied and Vietnamese Army forces, are working together to destroy the Viet Cong and their bases. We are here in a mutual effort with you to defeat the Viet Cong and to help build up your country. We are your Australian friends, who have parted from our homes and families in order to come here and fight and die beside you to stop Communist aggression. While some of our units are fighting the Viet Cong, others will assist you in your villages and hamlets. We are glad to be able to help you…

I have a list of all the American leaflets prepared for the Australians by the 246th prior to April 1970. The total is 26 leaflets starting with 246-287-67 (Death by Napalm) and ending with 246-353-68 (Viet Cong to steal rice from coming harvest). The Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) then took over the duty and the first of the new leaflets was SP-927A (Come home to your family).

My Friend, former Sergeant Derrill de Heer, who was a member of the Australian 1st Psychological Operations Unit from 1969 to 1970 told me:

During those early years there was a small Australian psychological operations group of two to four personnel, including an ARVN Vietnamese interpreter that had a printing capability for propaganda leaflets within the Task Force Headquarters. A portable printing press was set up in the back of an air-conditioned truck that had color printing capability. The Task Force was still able to order leaflets from the National PSYOP Catalogue. The leaflets were supplied by the 246 PSYOP Company.

Derrill later wrote a dissertation titled Victoria per Mentum: Psychological Operations conducted by the Australian Army in Phuoc Tuy Province South Vietnam 1965 – 1971 that mentioned the 246th PSYOP Company in greater depth:

United States military psychological warfare operators from 246 Psychological Operations Company and later from 6 Psychological Operations Battalion detached two small mobile teams, HB Loudspeaker and HE Audio Visual Teams, to the Australian Task Force to provide a number of services in support for military operations and civil action projects. These included airborne voice missions, airborne leaflet dropping missions as well as ground broadcasts in support of operations including cordon and search…A United States PSYOP HB team is a self-contained field based loudspeaker team that supports troops in the field by broadcasting appeals to the enemy. A HE PSYOP team is a self-contained audio visual field team.

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Leaflet 246-215-68

The 246th also supported Thai troops in Vietnam. 75,000 copies of this 4 x 5-inch leaflet were prepared in 1968 by the 246th PSYOP Company. They were distributed by aircraft and by hand. The leaflet depicts a Thai soldier and a Vietnamese civilian. The text is in part:

Your neighboring country is coming to work with you. We, the Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment, representing the people of Thailand, which is your close neighbor and a member of the Free World, is now here to give you a hand and collaborate with you.

You need not worry; you can count on us. We are ready to devote every bit of effort, even our lives to cooperate with you in order that the Vietnamese people, who love freedom, will live in happiness. This is the reason we volunteered to come here.

Leaflet 246-030-68

There were many native tribes like the Montagnards living in Vietnam. They were persecuted and cared little for either the Vietnamese government or the Viet Cong. They wanted to be left alone. The Americans saw them as an opportunity. They could be helped with food, medicine, clothes, and weapons and with Special Forces training would make a loyal ally in the fight against Communism. But most could not read. How do you tempt them to join your forces? This is a leaflet for the native tribes that says it all with pictures. On both sides we see the native who has been drafted and forced into service by the Viet Cong in a fire fight. On one side the wounded native crawls back to the Viet Cong camp to be treated. He finds that the communists have abandoned him, and he is left to die alone. On the other side, he surrenders to the government or American forces holding a leaflet. He is taken to a hospital where a doctor treats his wounds. Many of the native tribes of Vietnam did become loyal allies of the American forces.

Leaflet 246-115-67

This is an interesting leaflet depicting Viet Cong at a roadblock. They will stop traffic, perhaps steal food, rice, and materials, perhaps take money as taxes, and perhaps even take young men and force them to join their force. The text on the back is:

Our compatriots who live along the National Route Number 20 have been using it to transport commercial goods to markets and purchase commodities. The commercial traffic on National Route Number 20 has been beneficial to everybody. On the 29 June 1967, the Viet Cong ruthlessly destroyed five bridges on that route. This action has shown the Viet Cong did not want our compatriots to conduct commercial activities. The Viet Cong have frequently harassed the people by illegal tax extortion. Their actions have demonstrated they did not care about the wellbeing of the people.

The Government of the Republic of Vietnam and the Allies want an unimpeded traffic on the National Route. They need your assistance. Do inform the nearest government officials or allied forces about any Viet Cong plot to sabotage the traffic. You will be rewarded for your information. You can be sure that the National Route will be reopened.

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Leaflet 246-11-67

Leaflet 246-11-67 concerns the distribution of captured rice. The 246th printed 50,000 copies of the 3 x 6-inch leaflet for local villagers with dissemination by aircraft. The leaflet depicts Australian forces returning captured rice to the villagers and the supporting text:

Your friends the Australian soldiers have taken the rice that the Viet Cong forcefully took from you and are now returning it to the rightful owners. By supporting and helping the Australian soldiers you are helping your Government of Vietnam defeat the common enemy and bringing a better life to you and your loved ones.

I note this leaflet is lower than the lowest number shown in the report above. I cannot explain any of that. The military seems awful at getting numbers and dates straight. I can just report what I read from their documents.

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Leaflet 246-21-67

Leaflet 246-21-67 depicts an Allied air strike with a dead Viet Cong in the foreground. The 246th printed 50,000 of the 3 x 6-inch leaflets for distribution by aircraft and hand. The text tells of the destruction to come in future air raids.

Attention Viet Cong Soldiers. You have witnessed just a small part of the death and destruction that await you soon. The mighty air power of the Government of Viet Nam and Australian forces will destroy you and all you represent. Your only hope for survival is to rally to the Government of Viet Nam at once. There can be no doubt in your mind as to the desolation that our air strikes bring, and they will continue with greater force each time until you are completely destroyed. You can save your life and the life of your comrades. Rally at once to the Government of Viet Nam.

In general, PSYOP troops are asked not to show dead enemy bodies because it seems to be gloating and it does nothing but anger the enemy and make them fight harder. As always, we and our allies ignore the prohibition. It seems we just believe that we can scare the Hell out of the enemy and keep producing these leaflets that we are told is unproductive.

Leaflet 246-146-67

This leaflet has a remarkable image of a wanted Viet Cong guerilla being attacked by the flora and fauna of the bush. 50,000 copies of this tactical leaflet targeting the 9th Viet Cong Division were printed. The text on the front is:

No one will know about your death in the dense jungle
No one will mourn you

The text on the back is:

Attention members of the 9th Viet Cong Division and 101st NVA Regiment

Where will you hide now? Duong Minh Chau, War Zone D, and the Ho-Bo woods are no longer a safe place for you. There is only one safe place for you, the Government Chieu Hoi Center. Save yourself from certain death. Rally to the true government of Vietnam.

 

Leaflet 246-147-67

This leaflet targets the 9th Viet Cong Division. 100,000 copies were printed. It depicts a small lone Viet Cong soldier facing three giant Allied soldiers. The text on the back is:

ATTENTION MEMBERS OF THE 9TH VIET CONG DIVISION AND THE 101ST NORTH VIETNAMESE REGIMENT.

From 4 to 9 September, you have lost more than 840 tons of rice and supplies. The Allied forces have counted more than 940 of your comrades killed. It is possible that there are more than hundreds of your comrades who will never be buried in an honorable grave. Will the jungles of Tay Ninh be your death trap? There is only one escape. Rally to the government’s Chieu Hoi program.

Leaflet 246-87-68

An earlier leaflet from the 246th PSYOP Company uses the same theme, but instead of just eyes it also shows the face of the enemy soldier realizing that the eyes are behind him. 100,000 of these leaflets were prepared at the request of the 25th Infantry Division to be used about 6 May 1968. The leaflet was called "We are watching you." The text on the back is:

To the men in the Viet Cong ranks:

I the dark and hidden depths of the jungle you have watched, waited, and listened. You have fought at night and only when the odds were in your favor. You were clever and patient and only when the time came, you struck fast and deadly. We have learned from our mistakes and from your tactics. Now we fight as you do, lurking in the bushes, laying in ambush along the trails, and striking in the night! No longer are you the master of the jungle. Now you lay hidden, watching and listening in terror. Look behind you, are you alone? Are you sure you are not being watched? Can you be sure who the man next to you is? Be careful! We are watching you!

My friend Chad Spawr saw this leaflet and told me that he remembered it:

I remember this leaflet; we dropped them all over the infiltration routes along the Cambodian border between Katum and Song Be. We got shot at a lot and hit several times. I think we pissed Charlie off with these. 

Leaflet flights drew a lot of fire. One of those was a leaflet mission along the Cambodian border in a C-47 at about 5,000 feet. We could see the tracers of a 37mm Anti-Aircraft gun firing at us from just inside Cambodia. Of course, there are at least 4 non-tracers between each one, and one of them hit the trailing edge of the port wing. There was a huge "bang," and pieces went flying. The pilot cranked that thing down and around and we got back to Bien Hoa. No serious damage, but it is a very powerful memory.

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Leaflet 246-226

This crude cartoon leaflets tells the people that the Viet Cong Main Force units are pushing those people drafted from the villages to the front when attacking. 100,000 copies were printed to be distributed by air. The leaflet consists of three panels. The front depicts Viet Cong telling the local draftees to attack. The back shows dead guerrilla in front of an Allied position, and the final picture shows happy Vietnamese in front of a Chieu Hoi building. The text says in part:

It has been reported recently that several leaders of main force units in your area have forced local guerrillas to charge in the first wave of assaults…Don’t let yourselves be sacrificed like animals. Do not die a useless death.

The leaders care nothing for your lives. They care only about the success of the battle. Don’t let yourselves be sacrificed like animals. Do not die a useless death. Rally today, the Government’s Chieu Hoi program will save your life.

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Candy or Bombs

In July 2018, my pal Derrill de Heer who was with the Australian PSYOP force in Vietnam wrote to me with a request:

I wonder if you can help me. I am looking for a copy of a US leaflet 246-287-67, “Death by Napalm.” I need the photo and words of the leaflet. Australians used this leaflet 3 times. Someone sent this back to Australia during the war and someone else gave it to the newspapers and it caused an uproar in certain anti-war factions. I wanted to add it to our web site.

I had information on the alleged napalm leaflet in my files. Of course, it had nothing to do with napalm. In fact, it was a warning to the Vietnamese that if Viet Cong forces stayed within their villages, force would be used against them. The theme was “movement,” and the concept was to get the Vietnamese to leave their village for their own safety. The leaflet depicts a village with Allied aircraft bombing and strafing Viet Cong fighters. There is what appears to be a bomb blast and I suppose that the left-wing press might have tried to imply that was napalm burning innocent women and children. A Vietnamese villager is seen in a wagon escaping the village at bottom right. His life has been saved by the warning. 50,000 copies of this leaflet were prepared to be disseminated by air or by hand. The leaflet was originally requested by the 5th Special Forces Group. The text on the front is:

In order to enjoy freedom and security, you should move to a government-controlled area.

The text on the back is:

The presence of Viet Cong in your village has made it a prime target for our planes and artillery. In order that the Vietnamese and Allied Forces can use its modern weapons to rid you of the Viet Cong without harming you or your family we request that you leave immediately.

We prefer to drop candy to your children rather than bombs. But, candy will not drive out the Viet Cong. We hope that in the interest of the National Just Cause and to protect your lives your will be pleased to sacrifice some individual privileges, and will all move to a free Government of Vietnam controlled area where the necessary bombing will not harm you or your family.

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The General Hay Letter

Leaflet 246-391-67 was in the form of a personal letter from American General Hay to his opposite number on the enemy side.

Captain Edward N. Voke, S2 (Intelligence) staff officer of the 6th PSYOP Battalion from 1966 to 1967 told me about a leaflet which tells of the enemy of their dead lying unburied on the battlefield: He considered this leaflet one of the best he had seen:

One of the most effective leaflets I ever saw was printed after one of the battles in 1966 or 1967. A U.S. Infantry Division Commanding General wrote a letter to the enemy division Commanding General (on regular 2-star stationery; English on one side & Vietnamese on the other), informing him that his North Vietnamese troops had disgraced themselves on the field of battle. The American general said that he had buried the North Vietnamese dead and was carrying for the wounded; and if he could do anything else, to please contact him. We later heard the full background on that battle. Apparently, the U.S. forces were beating and pushing back the North Vietnamese slowly, and the enemy was pulling back in good order. Then, a North Vietnamese machine-gunner in the center platoon panicked, jumped up and ran to the rear. Seeing this, other troops around him also began to run to the rear and it opened up the center of the North Vietnamese defense. The American forces exploited the sudden weakness and caved in the enemy with terrible losses to the North Vietnamese.

If the enemy Battalion Commander knew what caused the rout he probably didn’t want to tell his boss. The American Commanding General’s nice letter let the North Vietnamese Army Commanding General let everyone in the immediate vicinity know of the division’s cowardice. I heard that many copies of the letter were dropped over the enemy’s area of operations. We later heard that the North Vietnamese battalion and regiment commanders were relieved. This was by far the best PSYOP leaflet I ever saw by a US combat unit.

The leaflet says in Vietnamese and English:

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
HEADQUARTERS 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE COMMANDING GENERAL

March 1967

AVDB-CG 22                                                                                                 

SUBJECT:Unsoldierly Conduct of Officers of Cong Truong 9

TO:  Commanding General
        Cong Truong 9
        HT 86500 YK

Dear General:

This is to advise you that during the battle of Ap Bau Bang. On 20 March the Regimental Commander of Q763 and his battalion commanders disgraced themselves by performing in an unsoldierly manner.

During this battle with elements of this Division and attached units your officers failed to accomplish their mission and left the battlefield covered with dead and wounded from their units.

We have buried your dead and taken care of your wounded from this battle.

Sincerely

J. H. Hay
Major General USA
Commanding

Warrant Officer 1 Chip Decker flew the “Huey” helicopter for the 128th Assault Helicopter Co. (Tomahawks) in Vietnam. He told me that in regard to the General Hay letter-leaflet:

I was just 19 years old back then. This is a leaflet I dropped in 1967 in III Corps. It is two-sided with Vietnamese text on one side and English on the other. I kept about a half-dozen as souvenirs but now I am down to just one. I know at least two boxes about two feet square full of the leaflets were dropped from my helicopter. I have one of the leaflets in my personal military paperwork. Usually we were working for the Division S2 (Intelligence) or S3 (Operations) out of Dian. We supported the 1st Infantry Division, the 25th Infantry Division, the 99th Light Infantry Brigade, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and sometimes the Vietnamese Army Division.

One other thing, the air flow around the belly of the Huey would trap leaflets against the helicopters underbelly skin and when we landed back at Division the rotor wash reacting to the ground surface would blow all the leaflets stuck on the belly all over the division helipad!

We would also drop the different Chieu Hoi leaflets all the time for the Division and run some of the loudspeaker missions. It was just another day in paradise.

I have depicted a good representation of the leaflets produced by the 246th PSYOP Company. I could have shown a hundred more. Now it is time to leave the company and see the coming of the new 6th PSYOP Battalion.

Edwin Roberts says in The Psychological War for Vietnam, 1960-1968: University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 2018:

Leaflet production since February at the 6th Battalion’s printing plant had exceeded 200 million leaflets by the fall. During the first part of the reporting period, four presses arrived from Hawaii to supplement the overworked presses. However, incessant heavy use caused the multilith presses to break down frequently. As a result, the staff began working on a modified table of organization and equipment to consider the greatly increased workload. By August, the 6th PSYOP Battalion sent forward to the department of Army a proposed table of organization and equipment for a PSYOP Group and new PSYOP Battalion formations.

The 246th PSYOP Company was officially deactivated on 31 December 1967 to become the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion on 1 January 1968. The battalion colors were presented to Major Clarence A. Barkley, the 6th PSYOP Battalion Commander by the 4th PSYOP Group Commander on 5 January 1968 at Bien Hoa.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion

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6th PSYOP Battalion Headquarters

The 6th PSYOP Battalion moved its residence from the Train Compound to the Honour-Smith Compound on the 28th of January 1968. The move was made due to expected increase in unit strength and the present lack of adequate space at the Train Compound.

By 1969, the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion consisted of 33 officers, 2 Warrant Officers, and 151 enlisted men for a total of 186 troops.

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6th Battalion Printing Plant

Printers from the 6th Battalion produce propaganda leaflets, posters, newspapers and other printed material at their printing plant in Bien Hoa. Specialist 5 Ed Kristak searches for a leaflet in the foreground above.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion Operational Report of Lessons Learned for the Quarterly Period ending 31 July 1968 mentions some of their achievements:

The 6th PSYOP Battalion started Operation Tin Tue on the first of July. The operation is scheduled to last two months and is divided into three phases. The first phase is to inform the civilian populace, Viet Cong, and infiltrating NVA troops in III Combat Tactical Zone of the Government of Vietnam's Chieu Hoi Program. This phase started on the first of July and went through the first of August.

Phase two, 2 August through 16 August, is directed at informing the target audience on how to rally, how to become a Hoi Chanh.

Phase three, 16 August through 1 September, Is the rally phase. It emphasizes the "Rally Now Theme." A fourth phase is now being developed and will be a continued and more specific effort at demoralizing and influencing the NVA soldier, in particular, to Chieu Hoi. Thus far, the 6th Battalion has dropped 87,409,000 leaflets and has recorded 478 hours of aerial loudspeaker time in support of this operation.

Contact has been made with the Bien Hoa Chieu Hoi Center for the purpose of using mobile PSYOP teams in conjunction with Armed Propaganda teams. The idea was received enthusiastically by CORDS and the Chieu Hoi Camp Commander. This unit will help to train future armed propaganda teams. Future mobile PSYOP teams will be augmented with ten (10) armed propaganda team members, for the purpose of On-the-Job and security. Formal training of these personnel will be conducted at the Blen Hoa Chieu Hoi Center.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion was mentioned in the 4th PSYOP Group publication Credibilis of July 1968. The story, titled "Mass defection at Gia Dinh" told of a surrender of Viet Cong brought about in part by psychological operations. It says in part, (edited for brevity):

In May 1968, enemy infiltrators in Saigon's Gia Dinh Section reached a critical point - the two choices: surrender or continue to fight. Vietnamese and American psychological operations teams moved in and 135 chose to surrender. Many Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers, remnants of the elite Quyet Thang (Resolved to Win) Regiment, were classified as returnees under the Government of Vietnam's Chieu Hoi "Open Arms" program. The figures add up to the largest mass defection of the war.

The enemy regiment infiltrated Gia Dinh on May 31. Elements of the U.S 6th Battalion and the Vietnamese 50th Political Warfare (POLWAR) Battalion conducted leaflet drops and aerial loudspeaker missions starting 5 June.

Captain Capers G. Barr III of the Group PSYOP Development Center said:

There is a psychological moment when the enemy is demoralized and disillusioned. His leadership is gone, and he has lost contact with the rest of his forces. There is no doubt that he could continue to fight and take his toll of Allied dead and wounded ... our job is to give the enemy an alternative: Surrender.

By June 17 only 200 were alive, less than half the regiment's original strength; of these 80 were wounded. That afternoon the unit's deputy commander, Captain Pham Van Xuong, rallied to the ARYN 5th Airborne Battalion in Gia Dinh carrying an Allied surrender leaflet. At the suggestion of the 50th POLWAR Battalion, the deputy commander recorded a surrender appeal, stating that he was being well treated and urging his former subordinates to defect, pointing out the hopelessness of their position: The tape was repeatedly broadcast by the 6th PSYOP Battalion loudspeaker team from helicopters over enemy positions that night and the next morning. By noon June 18, Vietnamese Marines had received more than 100 defectors.

A "quick reaction" team from the 4th PSYOP Group interviewed six officers from the regiment. They credited the PSYOP broadcasts with convincing them to surrender. One of the defectors directed Allied forces to a weapons cache conta1n1ng, among other things, 18 grenade launchers, 81 B-40 rocket rounds, 16 82mm mortar rounds and 5,000 AK-47 cartridges.

The Monthly Operations report of August 1969 stated:

Increased psychological operations support of Free World Military Force operations in III Corps Tactical Zone highlights the accomplishments of the 6th PSYOP Battalion during the month of August.

168 new leaflets were developed, including 22 quick reaction (QR) leaflets. Approximately 132 million leaflets were air dropped on 399 requested separate targets and enemy contacts and ralliers were rapidly exploited by 198 aerial QR missions. Continued extensive use of the Early Word System marked many of these aerial missions.

Due to extensive PSYOP activities, a significant rise in returnee rates has been realized in the 1st Infantry Division area of operations over the preceding month. In one brigade area alone, seventeen Hoi Chanhs rallied. Audio and leaflet support of a hamlet seal in Soui Dau was particularly effective resulting in three Hoi Chanhs.

The 6th Psychological Operations Battalion reported these quarterly production totals: Leaflets printed: 49,800,000; Leaflets disseminated: 372, 800,000; Loudspeaker broadcasts: 1,425 hours and 40 minutes; Total missions: 1002. Of the 20 officers assigned to the 6th Battalion, 14 had formal PSYOP training. The remaining 6 were enrolled in after-hours study course. A small Viet Cong propaganda printing press was presented to the 6th PSYOP Battalion by the 5th Special Forces Group.

The Printing Department Office "Bien Hoa" February 1969

At one point while writing about a 4-color leaflet I mentioned that the process to make such a leaflet was slower and more expensive than making a one- or two-color leaflet because it takes two passes through the printing press and perfect registration. This led directly to Former Specialist 5 Ed Kristak writing to me and sending the picture above and stating, "on the wall behind us is a sample of color posters we printed." The picture depicts from left to right, Ed Kristak, Staff Sergeant Gail Surrem, and Specialist 5 John Johnson. Notice the stacks of leaflets on the desks and the many posters on the wall.

Leaflet 4455

When I mentioned the comment I made about a leaflet such as the Tet "Year of the Rat" leaflet above, Ed told me about his experience with 4-color printing:

In our press room we had Multilith 1250 presses, one of which was equipped with a second printing unit, a Townsend T-51, which allowed us to print two-colors at the same time. We did not have the capability to do 4-color separations or to print 4-color process (pictures or photographs, but we did have a few very talented graphic artists and prepress people. The graphics department created flat color artwork with overlays and the camera man would reduce or enlarge each overlay so that all the colors would trap to each other, that way there wouldn't be any white leaks between the colors. If there were large solid areas of a particular color, we were able to use both printing units to create a nice even color, then go back through the press with additional colors. Considering where we were and what we had to work with I think we produced some pretty creative materials. As far as me remembering specific pieces, most pieces were "hang and bang" one color. The memorable ones are the ones we put on the walls. The rest, we placed many on the wall as you can see in the picture and went to the next job.

A 1966 Stars and Stripes article entitled “U.S. Psywar Unit Hitting Morale of VC in Vietnam” mentions the 6th PSYOP Battalion mission over the Mu Gia Pass:

The Battalion has designed, printed, processed, loaded and delivered more than a half billion leaflets…We can print one million leaflets in support of any given mission within a 24-hour period. We printed three million leaflets on three different occasions in support of the Mu Gia Pass bombing in North Vietnam.

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M129 Leaflet bombs stacked outside the Printing Plant

General Westmoreland Inspects Leaflets being loaded into an M129E1 Leaflet Bomb

The Same M129E1 Leaflet Bomb loaded and ready to be airdropped

Demand for psychological operations overwhelmed capability, and on 4 December 1967 the 4th PSYOP Group was formed from the existing 6th PSYOP battalion and its companies. Upon the formation of the 4th PSYOP Group, the 6th PSYOP Battalion Commander, Col. Beck, became the new Group Commander. The former company commanders of the 6th PSYOP Battalion became the new PSYOP Battalion Commanders under the newly formed Group.

The new 6th PSYOP Battalion that became part of the 4th PSYOP Group supported the III Combat Tactical Zone from Bien Hoa. They supported the following units:

II Field Forces, Vietnam; CORDS; 1st Cavalry Division; 1st Infantry Division; 25th Infantry Division; 199th Light Infantry Brigade; 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division; 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division; 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; 1st Australian Task Force; Royal Thai Forces; Capital Military Assistance Command; 30th POLWAR Battalion (ARVN); Naval Forces, Vietnam; Company A, 5th Special Forces group; MACV Advisors.

Combat Operations: Staying the Course: October 1967 to September 1968, Erik B. Villard, Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C., 2017, mentions PSYOP campaigns in the areas controlled by the 25th Infantry Division and the II Field Force. Since the 6th PSYOP Battalion supported both of these combat units we know that they were responsible for the PSYOP actions listed:

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the 25th Division’s support for pacification in Hau Nghia involved the counter-infrastructure campaign. The Vietnamese government and CORDS advisers had established District Intelligence and Operations Coordination Centers in all of Hau Nghia’s districts. These centers brought together all of the entities generating intelligence at the district level—be they civil, military, paramilitary, police, or intelligence—for the purpose of sharing information on the enemy. Overseeing the effort in Bao Trai was a U.S.-Vietnamese Intelligence Coordination and Exploitation committee whose primary goal was to ferret out the Viet Cong politico-military apparatus. Among its activities was the publication of a “most wanted” list. This was as much a psychological as a counterintelligence action because the names on the list were not necessarily the Viet Cong the allies most wanted to neutralize, but the ones upon which they had the most information and who were therefore the easiest to target. The idea was to announce a target and then to eliminate him as soon as possible, thereby making a disproportionate impression on both the citizenry and the Viet Cong. After the publication of the first such list in November, the allies flooded the province with over a million leaflets naming known Viet Cong. The 25th Division assigned a permanent liaison officer to the committee…

The number of Revolutionary Development teams in III Corps stood at around one hundred and was set to grow by another thirty in the next few months. From November 1967 through January 1968, U.S. Army and Air Force aviation in III Corps had delivered 468 million propaganda leaflets and 2,396 hours of broadcasts from the air.

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Sergeant Rich Hosier with a Viet Cong Colonel who defected

Rich told me that the Colonel was a treasure. He eventually ran the Chieu Hoi center in Tam Ky and brought many Viet Cong back to the Government side.

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The 6th PSYOP Battalion Booklet

Although he had no PSYOP training, Rich Hosier was assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam in August 1967. He was issued a 5-page booklet that explained the mission:

To conduct psychological operations in support of military operations in the Republic of Vietnam…

He was later sent to the 244th PSYOP Company and 7th PSYOP Battalion in Da Nang. He was then sent to Chu Lai to support the 23rd Infantry (Amercal) Division where he started his “On-the-Job training.” He went on various missions winning “hearts and minds” and showing movies. He always started with hygiene movie to explain the proper way to brush your teeth or bathe a child, and then he would show a real Hollywood movie. The favorites were Westerns. The Vietnamese loved the horses! Once his team was laughing as they watched “The Green Berets” although it was in English and most of them couldn't understand a word of it.

Rich told me:

We were an HB Team (Loudspeaker), with no team members. We would broadcast on the ground and from helicopters using a cassette player with tapes sent to us from Da Nang. We usually had a script so we knew what the message was and sometimes we took the S3 (Operations) interpreter on missions for live broadcasting. We dropped leaflets by the thousands. Leaflet drops were very sophisticated. We would identify a target; usually a village and the pilot would help us with wind direction and tell us when to drop. Some missions we flew while a battle was going on. I remember at least three times when our tactical leaflets identified the enemy units so the messages were very personal. Broadcasting and dropping leaflets was very dangerous as we flew very slowly at an altitude of about 1,500 feet. I can't ever remember not getting shot at when doing this.

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Joint Vietnamese-American PSYOP Loudspeaker Team prepare
to take off. Note the bundle of leaflets on the floor of the aircraft.

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SP4 John Orr

Speaking of loudspeaker missions, there were numerous reports of the Viet Cong opening fire on the loudspeaker aircraft. Army Specialist 4th Class John (Snake) Orr of B Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion (Bien Hoa) told me that during his Vietnam tour he was assigned to and supported at different times the 101st Airborne Division, the 1st Infantry division, the 1st Air Cavalry (almost 600 hours flying speaker and leaflet missions) the 9th Infantry Division, and the 25th Infantry Division. John said that the 9th Infantry Division was the only unit that thanked him. He said that in general, most of the infantry patrols were unhappy to have his team tagging along. He suspects that they considered his PSYOP troops just dead weight who they hoped could shoot straight in a firefight. John preferred flying to ground operations; though he admits that he took a heck of a lot more bullets in choppers than he ever did on the ground.

The journal of the Viet-Nam Helicopter Association wrote about Vietnam Loudspeaker missions drawing fire in January 1969. The article details operations of 6th Battalion PSYOP aerial crews being diverted to combat situations in which injured Americans needed rescue from their serious injuries. I have edited it for brevity:

A rescue team radio message working at the crash site of a U.S. 0-1 Birddog forward observer aircraft in Phuoc Long Province was heard by the crew of a UH-1D "Huey" helicopter of the 195th Assault Helicopter Company conducting aerial PSYOP missions with a 6th PSYOP Battalion field team. During the 10-minute flight to the downed Birddog, Staff Sergeant Ray Fowler, PSYOP team leader, and the chopper door gunner began rigging a 250-foot rope to be used in the rescue. PSYOP Specialist Four Dennis Leach manned the chopper's M60 machine gun as the two prepared for the rescue. Amid a Viet Cong attack the wounded pilot was rescued and then evacuated to a military hospital by the rescue team.

Sixth Battalion, Company B, First Sergeant David K.H. Lee added: "The PSYOP helicopter team operating out of the Bien Hoa headquarters averages six-hours of flight time each day. A minimum of two-hours of loudspeaker broadcasts are logged daily. The helicopter fills several vital roles in our field operation at the 6th Battalion. We use it for quick reaction PSYOP mission, planned missions, the delivery of PSYOP supplies to line units and liaison with PSYOP personnel located throughout III Corps. We support U.S., Vietnamese, and other Allied units. Current emphasis has been placed on night PSYOP delivery and the UH-1D has again proven its merit.

"From the very first our chopper team has seen action on virtually every mission. Earlier in November the chopper came across a tank that had been demolished by a land mine. Its badly burned driver was medevacked by the chopper crew and PSYOP personnel " Specialist Five Chad Spawr and Specialist Four SP4 James Axelrod. The chopper has given our PSYOP support capabilities a tremendous boost. We've used it every day since it's been assigned to support our operations. Several Viet Cong defectors have been directly credited to our aerial PSYOP team's efforts.

Chad Spawr added:

On many occasions, 6th PSYOP Battalion aerial missions took enemy fire, with several shot down by Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army antiaircraft. One such shoot-down resulted in the death of Specialist Four John Lynch in June 1969.

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Wandering Soul Tape

Orr often played a tape called the Wandering Soul and says it always drew fire.

I played the Wandering Soul tape many times during 1969-1970; until it got my aircraft all shot up. The damn tape drew fire every time. I never understood the lack of fire discipline on the part of the enemy.

My light observation helicopter was an easy target and I always got very worried of the time lag between the first green tracers coming up and our protecting Cobra attack helicopter’s response.

It could be worse on the ground. I had an encounter with an officer who tried to convince me that my two-man team should set up an all-nighter with the tape and 1000-watt speakers in a hostile deserted village with a 200 foot high South Vietnam flag colored helium balloon attached to my speakers. I believe he fully intended that it would draw fire; though he professed that it would draw in defectors. As team leader, I refused to put my team in jeopardy and that got me in a little trouble.

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Sergeant Chad Spawr

Chad Spawr, a former PSYOP Team Leader of the 6th PSYOP Battalion during 1968 and 1969 also mentioned the Wandering Soul:

I used "Wandering Soul" in a contested area north of the Bien Hoa River. My interpreter climbed a tree, and hung a speaker from a large palm frond, with the speaker pointed into the general area north of the compound toward the villages. We connected the speaker to a small amplifier and tape player, and began playing "Wandering Soul." At first, there was no reaction to the broadcast, but then we began taking some random sniper fire from one of the villages.

We repeated this nightly broadcast for the next three or four nights, but we varied the location of the broadcast in case the local VC had staked out our previous broadcast locations. We also varied the broadcast volume so it would sound closer on one night, but farther away the next night. On either the fourth or fifth morning, at first light, we left with a small patrol to enter the village where the sniper fire had originated. We found several shell casings (7.62 x 39mm) from an AK-47 or SKS rifle probably hidden in some ground litter, but nobody knew who fired it or where the rifle was hidden. My interpreter then told a few people that the "lost spirits" were sure to return if the shooter and/or the weapon were not surrendered to our patrol. We continued searching the few houses in the village, and as we were preparing to leave, an elderly lady told my interpreter where to find the rifle. It was hidden under a small trough in a pig sty. We dug out a very nice Chinese Communist SKS with bayonet, a few rounds still in the internal magazine, with a rare sling attached.

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Speed Kills

Specialist 5 Kenneth Bennett of the 6th PSYOP Battalion flew missions in this U-10 PSYOP aircraft nicknamed: "Speed Kills" in 1968. Ken said:

An appropriate name for an aircraft. In our case, even traveling fast we still had many bullet holes in the plane but none in me or the Air Force pilot. I remember being draped over my seat, operating a tape player in the U10.

In 1968 and 1969 I was dropping all those leaflets from a small hole in the rear of a C47. Earning your flight wings and extra pay wasn't easy while stuffing propaganda through the hole, and my puking a US Army breakfast each flight: “Give up, lay down your arms and I promise to quit puking Army food on you as you reach for the paper.”

I was involved in the Propaganda Development Center (PDC) with the 6th PSYOP Battalion. I am remembering maneuvering heavy boxes of propaganda, on my hands and knees, trying to not roll over as the pilot, let's call him "Sky King" is banking the plane for another run.

A few weeks after arriving at 6th PSYOP Battalion, they wanted an enlisted man in PDC. The Colonel couldn't get anyone so I volunteered. He said: You're a Private, I need a Specialist 5.” I said, “Sir, you're a colonel, can't you promote me; you won't regret it.” A couple weeks went by and I was a SP5. I answered to him only and he never regretted promoting me.

On another occasion Bennett talked about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was flying over what was supposed to be a “Post B-52” bombed area. It was normal to go in after the bombing and tell the enemy that the B-52s would come back again and recommend that they go Chieu Hoi and turn themselves in. The enemy is considered more compliant after a bombing when they are all beat to hell and concussed. Well, in this case the timing was not quite right. Bennett says:

I was playing the Propaganda Tapes, we began taking on enemy ground fire and trying to get the hell out of there. Just as we were a short distance away, a B-52s began dropping bombs. He was late arriving for the mission. I can't repeat the heated conversation the colonel had with the controller and/or the other pilot. All I remember, the concussions shook the hell out of our Air Force U-10 plane in the picture.

Curiously, Chad Spawr who is mentioned elsewhere in this article also flew missions in this aircraft. Chad talks about the missions he flew on the aircraft “Speed Kills.”

Let me give a short Introduction to these war stories: I joined 6th PSYOP Battalion in late August 1968 upon conclusion of my first Republic of Vietnam tour. I had served with the 1st Infantry Division and with Military Assistance Command Vietnam-47 as part of the advisory team in An Loc. I volunteered to extend my tour for six additional months in exchange for the promise that I could go to any US Army unit I chose. I met a fellow from 6th Battalion on my R&R (Rest and Relaxation) trip, and he "sold" me on joining the 6th Battalion in Bien Hoa. After a year in the field, I wanted a bed, showers, clean clothes, and regular food.The 6th Battalion offered that.My job in 6th Battalion's A Company was in the S-2 as an Intelligent Analyst; there were not enough people to fly the many aerial PSYOP missions the Battalion was tasked with, so I agreed to fly missions whenever possible. These were usually UH-1 leaflet missions or C-47 leaflet missions.

Sergeant Howard Patrick

Chad mentions that his chopper was often fired at on PSYOP Mission. Howard Patrick told me the same story, and by coincidence, he often worked with Chad.

One of the things that always amazed me when you speak or read about PSYOP troops back in the 60s is how often they were shanghaied and sent to a unit with little or no training. When you read the orders from back then the commander or officers usually signed their papers something like "Mark Johnson, Captain, Infantry." None of the officers had been trained for PSYOP and they were all from Infantry or Artillery or some other type of unit. The same with the enlisted men. I have heard many stories of men that got to Vietnam ordered to one unit and when it was found out that they had writing or radio experience suddenly found themselves in a PSYOP unit, being sent on missions with little training. That is all different today, with both the officers and enlisted men being highly trained at their own school and receiving occupational specialties. An example is retired PSYOP trooper Howard Patrick. He was thrown into battle as a PSYOP specialist with no training but through perseverance and hard work had a successful and meaningful tour. He told me:

1967 started off quite well for me. I got married the previous June and began working for IBM four months after the wedding. I had education deferments from the draft for the previous 5 years while at Temple University but never thought that I would get drafted. I was wrong.

My draft notice said to report to the local processing center on 25 May 1967. Then it was off to Fort Bragg, NC, for Basic Training. My MOS testing results indicated that I was a qualified for Officer Candidate School (OCS), which I immediately refused. It took 10 months to complete the OCS training program and then my 2-year tour of duty would begin. If I wasn't married, I probably would have accepted, but at that point in my life I wanted the shortest time in the military as possible.

Cavalry Santa gives a gift to a Vietnamese Child

After Basic came Advanced Infantry Training, and then I was sent to a new training program called NCO School. This was a 22-week course that culminated with a promotion to the rank of Sergeant. I would go to Vietnam as a noncommissioned officer and leader of men never having spent a day in combat. That would usually cause some resentment from the men that had spent months learning their trade. I was a "Shake and Bake." Then it was on to Vietnam and the First Cavalry Division. I was assigned to a newly formed Reconnaissance Unit as a squad leader, my military occupational specialty 11B Infantry. In mid-January, because of a tactical disagreement with my Company Commander who wanted to send my squad, just off a 3-day firefight, tired, and hungry and out of ammo, back into the field to chase the retreating enemy, I was unceremoniously transferred to the Civil Affairs unit at 2nd Brigade HQ. I asked what civil affairs was all about and what I got for an answer was "you'll find out when you get there, so grab your gear, you're on a mail chopper that leaves in 5 minutes." I never even had a chance to say goodbye to my squad.

Howard Patrick's PSYOP helicopter

I met my new Lieutenant, who informed me I was the Noncommissioned officer in charge of the 2nd Squad of a Recon Platoon and introduced me to the men I would be working with. They gave me a brief rundown on what the unit does and then it was off to the local village to show a movie. What I did't find out until the next day was that I would also be running PSYOP missions. I then met sergeant Chad Spawr. It was Chad who provided all the relevant info about PSYOP. I was assigned a Vietnamese interpreter, Sergeant Binh soon after I arrived. His job was to broadcast surrender messages to the North Vietnamese soldiers and the Viet Cong guerrillas, while I dropped leaflets with the same messages. Apparently, the enemy we were trying to reach weren't happy with us, it was rare that we didn't take ground fire. I alternated between village-related civil affairs missions and PSYOP missions. The civil affairs missions were few, the PSYOP missions were constant.

Chad and I worked together on many joint missions and a very solid bond developed between us. That was until Chad got wounded and was medevacked to one of the field hospitals not long before my time in Vietnam was done. The tour at that time was one year, but I had spent so much time in school I was only scheduled for 10 months. Shortly after that, I refused to do any more air missions of any kind. We had just taken off for another PSYOP mission when we lost our engine, thanks to being hit with a steam of .51 caliber machinegun rounds fired by the Viet Cong. Our pilot was outstanding. He somehow managed to auto gyrate all the way back to the base runway we had taken off from. We were quite shaken up from bouncing down the runway before we came to a stop, but no one was hurt. That was it for me. I was too short with just 2 to 3 weeks to go to be in the air getting shot at.

Veterans, especially combat veterans, refer to each other as Brothers, and to a certain extent we are. That's especially true with those who were side by side in the same combat units, in the same firefights, on the same combat missions. Those are some of the things that create even stronger bonds. I think, however, the bond I have with Chad (whose real name is Clarence) goes even further. I only have one sibling, a sister, but my mother gave birth to a son before I was born. My brother was a still born, having died in the womb. At times, I feel he is with me, especially when Im thinking about, or talking to, Chad. I never asked my mother what his name was, or what it would have been, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Clarence.

Specialist 5 Albert Viator

Specialist 5 Albert Viator was a trained broadcaster and journalist who found himself assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam and instead of writing articles for a newspaper or broadcasting on a radio station found himself in the bush humping a loudspeaker or in the air dropping leaflets. He wrote a biography of his 1968 tour titled An Accidental [Psy] Warrior and mentioned some of his daily activities (edited for brevity).

The 6th designed and printed millions of propaganda leaflets and created hundreds of hours of prerecorded audio messages that were broadcast from loudspeakers onboard small aircraft and carried on the backs of field teams that joined in infantry operations throughout the country. Never having been trained in PSYOP, I was picking up the things I must know in what amount to a 12-month On the Job Training (OJT) exercise. My first assignments as a PSYOP Specialist would involve dropping leaflets from Huey helicopters and broadcasting prerecorded audio tapes from speakers hung beneath the winds of small planes. The ones I was involved with most days during my tour was a specially equipped version of the two-seat U-10 Courier fixed wing aircraft for PSYOP missions. It has an external high power speaker array attached beneath the overhead wings, and an amplifier and cassette tape recorder mounted behind the front seats that I controlled from my position behind the pilot. I would fly over an operation on the ground playing a series of tapes designed to convince the enemy fighters that they were hopelessly outnumbered and if they gave up, they would be treated humanely. If Military Intelligence found out that the VC in an area were running low on ammunition or if they had taken a lot of casualties or if morale was low, I would craft a message that capitalized on these concepts and my interpreter would translate them on the spot and we would broadcast them using my speaker pack.

I should add that not only was Viator untrained for the job he was given, but he also points out in the book that he had four different officers during his year in Vietnam and not one of them was trained in PSYOP. It was quite common in those days to just "shanghai" an infantry or artillery officer and assign him to PSYOP. Now, all the officers and enlisted men are trained and have their own PSYOP military occupational specialty (MOS).

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A B-52 dropping bombs

Chad also was in the wrong place at the wrong time:

I had a similar experience in a Huey between Tay Ninh and Quan Loi. Our pilot didn't check the NOTAMS [A "Notice to Airmen" or NOTAM is a notice containing information not known sufficiently in advance to publicize by other means] before we left Tay Ninh. We found ourselves in the middle of a bombing mission.

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X marks the spot - just a jungle being blown all to hell

There is simply no experience like flying through a B-52 strike. There is no earthquake or other natural disaster that brings your sense of mortality so close to the surface. Here is what happened. It was in late February or early March 1969. My PSYOP chopper was flying missions near Tay Ninh and DauTieng, and we'd been flying almost all day. We initially launched from Quan Loi basecamp, about 40 miles to the east. Our initial missions unloaded leaflets into the Michelin rubber plantation near Dau Tieng. We then flew to Tay Ninh where we reloaded with different leaflets and a speaker frame that was loaded and wired into the Huey's power. This began a series of 4 or 5 missions around Tay Ninh and Black Virgin Mountain. As we flew missions near the mountain, we took fire from small arms, but no heavy machine guns. These missions last most of the day. When we were finished, we returned to Tay Ninh, offloaded the speakers, and picked up a passenger who needed to go back to Quan Loi. I was sitting on the left hand side of the Huey.

We were flying at around 4.500 feet and we were about halfway through the trip when we took ground fire, this time from a Russian .51 caliber heavy machine gun, but it was very inaccurate fire. Shortly afterward, we experienced a huge blast and buffeting, and looking out toward the rear, I could see huge explosions coming our way faster than we were flying. The gunner (sitting right behind me) radioed the pilot to turn hard left to get out of the path of the explosions. The aircraft turned sharply, but we continued to be heavily buffeted by the explosions.

The pilot did a 180 degree turn to bring us parallel to the track of the bombs. We could clearly see what it was. The dust and debris flew very high, but nowhere near our aircraft, and now that we were about a half-mile away, the buffeting was less severe. When we got back to Quan Loi, we all jumped out and inspected the aircraft for shrapnel damage, but there was none. The cockpit crew had evidently radioed ahead that we had flown through an "Arclight Box" but were not damaged. As we unloaded our gear, the aviation company commander drove up and began reaming both pilots for the flight. As a matter of fact, the "Arclight Box" for that day had been posted at the Tay Ninh heliport, on a document known as a NOTAM. Had they checked that before we departed Tay Ninh, I'm sure we would have seen the B-52 strike, but from a much safer distance. There is no "safe distance" when you are in "the Box." I always wondered if those two pilots ever had to do the shit-burning detail in the aviation latrine area. It would have served them right.

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Disseminating Leaflets from a Chute

Story One: In approximately late September or October 1968 I was asked to fly on a U-10 mission dropping leaflets over a VC/NVA unit trapped by the South Vietnamese Army and American troops against the Dong Nai River near Bien Hoa. We loaded leaflets quickly on the aircraft “Speed Kills,” coordinated the mission with the pilot, and then took off for the target. When we arrived, our pilot set up our leaflet runs in coordination with the Forward Air Controller (FAC) controlling the airspace. We would fly at around 800 feet over trapped enemy soldiers, dropping "Safe Conduct" passes. This required that I lean backwards over the seat back, and toss leaflets one handful at a time through a small chute installed in the fuselage. We began the first run, but immediately took enemy fire, and the pilot was "juking" wildly to avoid incoming fire. Bent over the seat back tossing leaflets in a wildly gyrating aircraft was very disconcerting, not the least of which was the fact that I had eaten breakfast only a couple of hours before learning of the required flight. After one or two of these passes, I could not control my stomach, and literally tossed a large "barf leaflet" through the chute to the enemy soldiers below. The pilot thought this was funny, and we continued the mission. Our aircraft took several small-arms hits in the wings and fuselage, but nothing serious. Once the leaflets were expended, we returned to Bien Hoa airbase to reload for a repeat of the mission. It was now almost lunchtime, and the last thing I wanted to do was eat anything. As we patched the holes, reloaded and refueled, I asked the pilot if we could change "Speed Kills" name to "the Vomit Comet." He did not agree.

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Aircraft Crewman Wings

Story Two: In late November 1968, just before I left the Republic of Vietnam for my 30-day "special leave" in the United States, I was asked to fly another "Speed Kills" mission. I readily accepted as this flight would complete the number of required missions to earn my Aircraft Crewman Badge (wings). The mission was an overflight of a North Vietnamese Army base camp discovered about 5 kilometers north and east of the Quan Loi base camp. I don't remember the messages we were to drop, but suspect it was of the variety to encourage Northern enemy soldiers to miss their homes and families in the north, thereby lowering their morale in anticipation of the Tet Lunar New Year. We departed Bien Hoa airbase loaded with leaflets and flew to Quan Loi, from which we vectored to the enemy base camp area. We could see it clearly, as it was being attacked, controlled by an Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC). Our pilot checked in with the FAC, and we orbited pending "our turn" to make our leaflet passes. The passes were to occur between 800 and 1000 feet above the ground. We made rapid descent from orbit altitude into the base camp area, and I began tossing leaflets as fast as possible. By the time we'd made about five "gun runs" as the pilot called them, most of our leaflets were expended. We made one more pass, and this time took heavy small arms fire from the base camp area. We were low enough we could hear the automatic fire, and saw dozens of green tracers around us. As we began climbing out of our last run, our aircraft took several hits in the rear fuselage. They sounded like we were being hit with ball-peen hammers. Fortunately, the hits did not damage anything but aircraft surface. We immediately exited the area, telling the FAC of our hits. He cleared us out of the area.

Our pilot decided that we could return to Bien Hoa, approximately one hour south.Once we established our cruise profile, the pilot opened a thermos of coffee, and asked me to fly the plane. I asked him "are you out of your mind? I don't know how to fly!" He simply said to hold the current compass heading and altitude, and he'd take care of anything else. So, I did, and it was pretty cool. He drank his coffee (never offering me any), then took back control of the plane, flew us into Bien Hoa and landed. After we parked, he handed me a roll of green metallic tape and told me to help him patch the bullet holes. I recall patching 5 or 6 holes, and he patched others. It seemed like just another day in the office. But, I earned my wings, and have worn them proudly ever since.

That first flying experience in the right seat stayed with me; in 1980, I completed my flight training and became a private pilot. I used to fly on business to California, and loved it. It has been over 35 years now since I've flown, but it was a great experience. I just can't afford to do it these days with the price of fuel.

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Tiger Shot by American Troops in Vietnam

It was not only the Wandering Soul tape that was played by the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam. Sometimes the Wandering Soul tape was used in conjunction with other sounds to multiply the fear in the heart of the enemy. A former member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion told me:

You know what we did on Nui Ba Den Mountain in 1970? The 6th PSYOP got an Air Force pilot to fly to Bangkok, to get an actual recording of a tiger from their zoo. We had a Chieu Hoi (rallier to the national government from enemy ranks) come down the mountain and tell of a tiger that was attacking the Viet Cong for the past few weeks. So, we mixed the tiger roar onto a tape of 69-T, "The wandering soul," and a 2-man team got up on the mountain, played the tape and 150 Viet Cong came off that mountain.

I had hoped to place tape 69 here but there were hundreds and I have 58 and 71 but am missing the one I wanted. Just to show the reader what a tape is like, here is 71, to be read over the loudspeaker in Vietnamese in 40 seconds.

Are you sick? Have you been wounded? Are you one of those who might die horribly, and alone? If you want to live, if you want to see your family again, give yourself up to the government of Vietnam or Allied Forces now. You will be well treated with modern equipment and medicine. Don’t wait until it is too late. Time is precious and getting short. Give yourself up now. The Government of Vietnam cares about your welfare. You need not die a useless death!

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PSYOP Plays the Jodie Card

The above Phil Fehrenbacher cartoon depicts a lonely Viet Cong reading an American propaganda leaflet telling him that his neighbor Nguyen is in the sack with his girlfriend. This is a great parody of a standard Chieu Hoi leaflet. Phil was assigned as an 81E Illustrator assigned to 6th PSYOP Battalion at Bien Hoa. He told me:

My cartoons about a tour of duty in Vietnam has been something I’ve wanted to do for many years, but only realized the opportunity two years ago. I self-published my book "In-Country" in early 2017.

Note: Among American soldiers, “Jody” appears in many marching cadences and songs. He is the one who stayed home and is having fun with your girlfriend:

Ain’t no use in calling home
Jody’s got your girl and gone

Ain’t no use in feeling blue
Jody’s got your sister too

Besides leaflets and cartoons, the 6th PSYOP Battalion also printed newspapers. According to the 1969 declassified report: Employment of US Army Psychological Operations Units in Vietnam, they printed Tin Tong Hop (News Roundup), issued daily, two pages, 40,000 copies per edition. The 6th PSYOP Battalion printed Tin Tong Hop for VC and general population audiences in support of CORDS Corps Tactical Zone III. They also printed Tin Chien Truong (News from the Front), one page, 50,000 copies per edition. The 6th PSYOP Battalion printed Tin Chien Truong for VC and NVA troop target audiences in support of CORDS Corps Tactical Zone III.

Retired Major Nelson Volk told me about his 1966-1967 tour in the 6th PSYOP Battalion as an S-2 (Intelligence officer):

We had Cyclos [individual bicycle-rickshaws] with rear screen projection systems to show movies to the locals. They used small reels and required frequent changes, which provided the time/opportunity to address the audience about whatever topics and subjects were being promoted. “Fumble-fingered” reel changers provided additional time for delivering the message. The films were popular as entertainment and diversion and one night when the lights came on to change reels, someone spotted the local Viet Cong commander, who had come in to enjoy the entertainment, and he was caught.

In the past you have mentioned the use of bright colors on leaflets. We started using color after doing some research into the meanings of colors to the Vietnamese; not long after I left the research was redone and my S2 (Intelligence) Section Sergeant sent me a copy. Example: lavender implied emotion associated with love, love of family, etc., and the popular romantic magazines of the day used a lot of lavender ink. So, our leaflet urging the soldier to think about the conditions faced by his faraway wife and children had the message in lavender. By the way, early on I wanted to check with the Japanese to see what they had on the meanings of color. My thought was that the Japanese were marketing stuff all over Asia, were good at it, and probably had researched the subject. I hope somebody at Bragg has started collecting and updating the meaning of colors around the world, and has checked to see what the marketing people have on the subject.

[Author’s note] During Desert Storm it was discovered that the color red signals danger to an Iraqi and he would be hesitant to pick up a leaflet with a lot of red in the image or text. Many early leaflets that used a lot of red were found to be unsuccessful, and the color might have been a contributing factor. Allegedly, there was an official recommendation to remove any trace of the color red, which is a danger signal to Iraqis.

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This is surely not the leaflet Major Volk mentions
However, it does offer gold for Pilots

The leaflet is colored a bright golden yellow with the message on the front. PSYOP records indicate that 6 million copies were printed and forwarded to the flight line at Nha Trang.

Reward
50 Taels of Gold
Reward

There was a concern about the recovery of downed aircrews. To increase the recovery rate we were asked to prepare a leaflet that offered a reward in gold for those recovered. We thought that having what looked like money on one side of the leaflet would attract people to it. Our people went to the Republic of Vietnam officials and got a sample of an obsolete bill banknote. We used that bill, in the opposite color, for one side of the leaflet; with the reward message for the other side. The reason for choosing a different color was to further distance ourselves from ”counterfeiting” charges, even though it was supposed to be obsolete currency we were copying. A batch of the leaflets was produced and sent off. Later, we got feedback that the leaflets were being used as currency in some of the more remote western areas of I & II Corps. We ran a quick check and found out the sample bill we had copied was not obsolete as we had been told! That was exciting news, and we wondered if we had “counterfeited” in our innocence!

It was the guys in the companies in the field who were out there doing the real work. I saw my job as assisting and not hindering the companies. We collected information and intelligence from the companies and a number of other sources like Special Forces, the Viet Cong, the North Vietnamese Army, and the South Vietnamese Army etc. We did analyses, looked for trends, made projections and then passed the word to the companies as appropriate. We made periodic reports and a few special reports and passed them to a wide variety of activities, to include the Reserve PSYOP units. The S2 shop did analysis for each Combat Tactical Zone. They of course talked to each other and, in addition, about every week we got together for a session where we talked things over and all were encouraged to comment and make suggestions. At Battalion level we did a few leaflets, some research, and some things really beyond our scope. Some of our people stumbled across some very

Nelson Volk did a second tour of Vietnam, now a major, in 1970-1971. He was appointed a Senior Advisor to the Vietnamese 17th Armed Cavalry Regiment, outside Da Nang.

One of the major efforts of the PSYOP Battalions was to show the people of Vietnam that the Americans came as friends and were not invaders and occupiers like the French and Japanese before them.

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SP5 Jack O'Neil with Armed Propaganda Team (APT)

Specialist Five Jack O’Neil of the 6th PSYOP Battalion told me how the men tried to help the local people:

While supporting the 82nd Airborne in 1969 First Lieutenant Ben Rogers and I volunteered at an orphanage just outside Saigon. We were happy to spend time there because the children were mostly orphans of ARVN soldiers whose parents had been killed by the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army. When we were there the kids would flock around us, wearing my hat, and wanting hugs and laughter which we were able to give them by making faces and funny noises. We also cried a lot worrying about their future. When working with 1st Air Cavalry we helped with MEDCAP and DENTCAP projects and spent time with the children teaching them how to play baseball, taking them to the Saigon Zoo, giving them comic books, coloring books, soccer balls and other items.

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Specialist 5 Kenneth Bennett

Specialist 5 Kenneth Bennett was also a member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam. His unit adopted an orphanage; one run by Catholic nuns in Bien Hoa. The unit helped care for the children on a regular basis. They often bought food and milk for them.

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The Nuns care for the Orphans

There was a minor medical emergency because the infamous hungry Vietnam rats would enter the orphanage at night and sometimes gnaw the fingers, nose, or toes, of the children. The volunteers found rabbit wire on black market and covered the doors and windows and virtually ended the rat problem. The troops also built an 8-foot high wooden fence to keep bad things outside and the children safe inside. Nobody talked about expenditures or how much money they laid out. They just did it. Their hearts were in the right place. For many of the troops, helping the children was great therapy, considering they were living in a war torn country and missing their families and homes. This was a way to think about what you could do for helpless orphans instead of thinking about the injuries and deaths of your buddies.

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The Orphans in their Classroom

They sponsored birthday parties for the orphans. The 6th Battalion members spent as much time as possible helping and doing all that was needed to keep the place running safely. The children were mostly GI babies and if the women kept them, they had hell to pay for having relationship with men, especially American soldiers. That has not changed much to this day. The Vietnamese still look down of children of mixed races.

Ken said that a few years ago he and his wife visited Vietnam and found the orphanage and all the old buildings in Tan Mai, near Bien Hoa. A Catholic Nun gave them a tour. From third floor, He could still clearly see the church and the old buildings he knew from the war. Eventually he had to walk away, trying to hold back tears. The 3-story orphanage had become a dumping ground for children with severe birth defects.

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First Lieutenant Dennis Smiser with a NVA “Hoi Chanh” defector, Vietnam 1969

From the Psychological Operations Veterans Association Newsletter (POVA):

During the Viet-Nam War, many officers were trained as advisors and sent to Viet-Nam to advise both American and Vietnamese units on matters related to Psychological Operations. Former Army officer Dennis Smiser attended and completed the Military Advisor Training Academy (MATA) course at Ft. Bragg in 1967 before deploying to Vietnam, where he was assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion from 1967 to 1969. Here is Dennis’ recollection of the training regime at Ft. Bragg:

“The MATA Curriculum as I remember centered on Culture, Religions, Geopolitics, History, and Casual language training. The course lasted 6 weeks and was pretty intense. After graduation 16 of us continued training. After completion my MOS has a 1 designator added. Supposedly the Army field grades did too. There were very interesting classes and some actually changed many of my opinions. Most classes were classified.

Chad Spawr and Dennis Smiser served together in the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Viet-Nam. While working with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment north of Bien Hoa in a village seal-and-search operation, the “seal” was put in place during hours of darkness, preventing anybody either entering or leaving the village.

In the morning, when beginning the search process, Lieutenant Dennis Smiser walked out of one of the village hootches complete with rucksack and weapons. When asked how he got into the village, he simply said he’d been there all night. He then retrieved a man who turned out to be a North Vietnamese “Hoi Chanh” defector, who Dennis had convinced to surrender during the night, alone, with no support.”

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Comic book 2078

Jack O’Niel mentions comic books above. Comic book 2078 is an example of a Chieu Hoi product. Its title is A Nightmare Passed - Chieu Hoi. This July 1967 booklet is 5 x 7-inches in size and 20-pages in length. The comic book presents, in cartoon style, the experiences and thoughts of a Hoi Chanh (defector or “rallier” from the Viet Cong) on the events which led to his decision to Chieu Hoi (return to the National Government). At the start of the book a happy young man is shown at school. Later he decides to join the Viet Cong. His group is first bombed by the Americans and then he gets sick but cannot be treated properly in the field. He is forced to take part in self-criticism and after a second American aerial attack he finds Chieu Hoi leaflets on the ground. He returns to the fold at the end of the book has returned to his old school.

There are other reports of comic books used in psychological operations in Vietnam. For instance, 60 copies of Vietnamese War Heroes children’s comic books coded 6-789 and 50 copies of a later issue coded 6-791 were distributed during Operation Lanikai, from November to December 1966 by PSYOP troops attached to the U.S. Army’s 25th Division. On other occasions during the same operation 15 Navy Heroes and 30 Children’s Heroes comic books were given to the locals. On another Medcap visit 10 copies of the comic book History of America coded 6-182 were given to the children of Long Dinh. These comics were of course all printed by the 6th PSYOP Battalion.

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A PSYOP Mobile Audiovisual Information Collection and Dissemination System (MSQ-85) waiting for the ferry on the dock at Can Tho. The MSQ-85 was the primary system in the U.S. inventory designated for tactical point dissemination of video products in other-than-broadcast mode. The AN/MSQ-85 includes a printing press, an AQ-4A movie projector, AN/UIH-6 loudspeaker public address system, AP-9 slide projector, AN/USH two-track international standard tape recorder, BM-22A large projection screen and R-520A/UUR radio receiver, a case of hand grenades, three cases of C-rations, a roll of toilet paper, and a generator. The trailer in the back could have anything from leaflets, magazines, and gifts of soap, to 105mm rounds (full of leaflets).

In early 1969, an AN/MSQ-85 team led by Lieutenant John Hilton and Specialist 4 Bruce Berglund of the 6th PSYOP Battalion was attacked in a Vietnamese village during an evening movie presentation. A satchel charge was thrown into the crew cab, where it exploded and destroyed the interior. The PSYOP team was not in the vehicle at the time; they had been accompanied by troops from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment on this operation for security, and the team was able to return to Battalion HQ in Bien Hoa.

Chad Spawr tells us more about the attack in his 2023 book, 614 Days: Memories from my Time at War:

Our Psychological Operations Battalion deployed several vehicles which were used to carry the PSYOP “tools of the trade” when moving between different assignments. Known as the MSQ-85, this was a 3/4-ton truck, based on the Dodge M-37 medium duty truck with a large box-type cargo container in the bed. In the container were a gas-powered electric generator, movie projector, movie screen, spare parts for the projector, power cords, space for several boxes of leaflets, and storage for a wide range of propaganda videos and films. There was also room for our personal traveling gear, weapons, water, food, and the range of things troops on the road might need.

Our PSYOP teams deployed with these MSQ-85’s in support of both infantry and armor forces and could set up in or near a local village and begin playing films, music, and/or distributing flyers, leaflets, posters, pamphlets, etc., to residents. In principle, it was a very useful PSYOP tool. In practice, however, it was often a very juicy target.

On one occasion, in August 1968, a two-man PSYOP team was traveling in support of the 25th Infantry Division not far from Cu Chi. The truck hit a landmine on the right front side, blowing the entire front suspension and wheel backwards into the cab, striking Lieutenant John Miller. The driver, Burton Kuhn, was badly dazed, lost control of the wreck and crashed. Within a few minutes, the ambushing enemy soldiers approached the truck. Kuhn played dead and was not further bothered. Apparently, Lieutenant Miller was not yet dead and showed signs of life. He was shot multiple times by the enemy soldiers.

In the spring of ’69, another MSQ-85 was working with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and had set up to play films for a local village. Once set up and operating, the team joined in distributing leaflets to the people watching the film.

While they were distracted, at least one local Viet Cong snuck up to the vehicle and dropped a large satchel charge into the cockpit of the truck. The explosion destroyed the front end of the truck. While nobody was injured, the PSYOP team was now stranded with only a few other Americans present to provide any semblance of security.

The destroyed MSQ-85 was towed by an armored cavalry assault vehicle (ACAV) to the Cu Chi basecamp, and then flat bedded back to the 6th Battalion headquarters in Bien Hoa. Virtually the whole battalion turned out for the show. I think it was the first time many of the soldiers saw direct evidence that we were in a real shooting war.

I only ever had to drive an MSQ-85 once after that. It was a terrible vehicle to drive, with that huge box and gear on the back, weight, and balance all out of kilter, leaning like a drunk sailor on shallow curves. There was nothing about it I liked, and I was very relieved when I was told I’d be going out to work with the 1st Cavalry Division at Quan Loi.

Specialist 5 Albert Viator’s MSQ85 truck in Vietnam

Former 6th PSYOP Battalion member Specialist 5 Albert Viator mentioned his MSQ85 truck:

This is a picture of a three-quarter ton Army truck that was assigned to the 6th Battalion that I used as a PSYOP field team member for several months during my tour in Vietnam.  Besides the speaker array it carried a generator, 16mm projector, and other gear in the box in the bed. I was assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in III Corp when I used it to support “Cordon and Search,” and other operations that could be reached by road.

SP5 Viator by his chopper

The rest of the time we used Huey helicopters and river boats for speaker missions as well as to get from place to place on occasion.

About a year after our initial discussion, several PSYOP veterans were talking about how many different combat units they supported. Viator agreed:

It seems like a lot of us were bounced around from one unit to another. I didn't realize it was common practice. I did some time with the 25th Infantry Division, then was sent over to the 1st Infantry Division, and then was sent down South to join up with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade where I remained for about 7 months of my tour. We got good at hitchhiking on mail and resupply runs, river boats and convoys to get where we needed to be.

Tim Fitzpatrick added:

The CUCV (Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle) was a commercial pickup truck used to replace the 50s/60s heavy duty dodge weapons carrier trucks. Senator Les Aspen believed you could replace Military Information Support Team specification equipment with commercial off-the-shelf equipment and just paint it green as he believed most military specifications were bureaucratic waste. The shelter on the truck was a standard communications shelter designed to be mounted on weapons carriers or trucks. This one was then modified to support PSYOP audio visual multimedia dissemination to large groups. This one was Vietnam era, but such systems have been employed since WWI.

I had the last 6 of those trucks in 8th POB at Fort Bragg in 1976 before we re-platformed to commercial pickup trucks. The weapons carriers were bought up by local fire services and served with them well into the 1990s for forest fire work.

Army Specialist 4th Class John Orr of the 6th PSYOP Battalion recalls helping an entire Montagnard village go Chieu Hoi on one occasion:

A small group of about 20 men had gathered with one of their chiefs. I had previously dropped leaflets on their village. I think that the men had either volunteered or had been chosen by their chief to test out our process. That is, were the Americans trustworthy and truthful?

I was supposed to escort them to Long Binh from their home in the highlands. They were frightened of the Caribou transport plane and seemed to think that it might eat them if they walked into the gaping hole at the back. I managed to get the chief to come into the plane with me, then showed him how the tail was closed (so his tribe would not fall out) and then took him back outside so his people could see that the Caribou had not eaten him. We then talked some and I made the chief and his warriors a gift of a few packs of Camel cigarettes (their favorites). That sealed the deal. I later heard that the entire village came over to the government side but I doubt they were ever very close to the Viet Cong anyway. I have worried on occasion (very deeply) about the plight of the Montagnards, I fear they were not treated well after the North took control.

CREDIBILIS

All the PSYOP Battalions, the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th, were subordinate to the 4th PSYOP Group. The Group was activated in the U.S. Army on 7 November 1967 and activated with headquarters in Saigon on 1 December 1967. The Group published a monthly magazine called Credibilis ("Credible, worthy of belief") that told of the exploits of the Group and the Battalions. It is a nice way of keeping track of what any battalion was doing at any specific time.

In December 1968, Credibilis looked back on that year in Vietnam and said in part about the 6th Battalion:

The "Professional Litterbugs" of the 6th PSYOP Battalion work around the clock executing psychological operations in III Corps...The most well-known PSYOP program is The Government of Vietnam's Chieu Hoi Program. In June, a record number of 121 ralliers laid down their arms in the Gia Dinh area...more recently, 95 soldiers of the famed Khrum Kampuchea Kymer rallied near the III Corps Cambodian border. In III Corps alone, more than 2,000 Hoi Chanh have come over in 1968. With the assignment of a helicopter to the unit PSYOP teams can rush to the scene of a battle to make loudspeaker appeals or drop leaflets. Another innovation, though experimental is "Early Word." This is a relaying device that allows radios messages from the ground to be sent directly to an overhead aircraft and be broadcast by loudspeaker. A rallier on the ground can broadcast directly to his comrades still in the fight. The 6th also has the unique responsibility of providing support to the Black Panthers of the Royal Thai Army. The battalion has five 1250 offset presses which run 24 hours a day. This year the Battalion printed 251 million leaflets in addition to posters and other special projects. During the first 10 months of 1968, the Battalion disseminated 1,259,000,000 leaflets and broadcast 5,620 hours in its effort to saturate III Corps with PSYOP information.

On 21 April 1971 a briefing and demonstration of Early Word broadcasting was given at the Republic of Korea headquarters. The purpose and method of acquiring loudspeaker aircraft was explained to the Koreans to insure the widest possible use of this PSYOP asset. Future demonstrations are planned for the Korean White Horse Division and the Tiger Division in May.

The Monthly Operations Report

The Magazine Credibilis is usually about 20-pages long, highly illustrated, and mostly light news for the Group members. The Monthly Operations Report is a completely different animal. It has no fancy cover. It would be sent back to Ft. Bragg and perhaps the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Its length was decided by how much the Group and Battalions did in a month, it is single-spaced, usually with no illustrations and it mentions everything that was done in each month. It is highly detailed. If a Battalion had 18 loudspeakers teams, it would mention each one of them. I was going to give an example of some of the comments on several such reports, but because they give so much information's I will just mention a few comments from the December 1969 report. The reader will understand I am ignoring 98% of the text.

Throughout the III Corps Tactical Zone emphasis continues to be placed on Pacification and Vietnamization with special emphasis placed on joint US/ARVN operations. The 6th PSYOP Battalion has organized a program called "Operation Blue Eagle Six," designed to build the Government image in Bien Hoa where the Viet Cong infrastructure is strong. The battalion also initiated "Operation Tune-in," encouraging field teams to spend time in face-to-face communication with the people. During December, the battalion processed 249 leaflet mission requests. 94 hours of aerial loudspeaker time was broadcast, and 47,000,000 leaflets were dispensed for the Tinh Tuong campaign. The battalion produced 6,923,000 impressions and printed 24,230,000 leaflets 3 x 6-inches in size. Loudspeaker team HB-15 supported the Royal Thai Army. Loudspeaker team HB-3 supported the 1st Air Cavalry Division. Mobile Loudspeaker team HB-6 supported the 1st Infantry Division. As part of a "No Fire" day, with multiple Chieu Hoi messages, 53 enemy became Hoi Chanhs. Loudspeaker Team HB-9 supported the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. 35 hours of broadcasting supported Provincial Cultural Drama Teams. Loudspeaker Team HB-17 called in a Hoi Chanh who pointed out AK-47s, mine-making materials and booby traps. Subsequent caches gave up hammocks, radios, medical supplies, food clothes, gas masks, and assorted documents and ID cards. Audio-Visual Team HB-9 supported the 1st Australian Task Force. A grenade was found wired to the wheel of one vehicle, but a village boy pointed it out. The Team supported the Aussies in the May Tao mountains resulted in 15 Hoi Chanhs and 30 prisoners of war. Six caches or arms and ammunition were found. Leaflets and posters were printed for the State Road 4 campaign.

Combat Intelligence Lessons

Before I start to depict the leaflets, I thought I would add this comment from the 4th PSYOP Group, found in the classified confidential report Combat Intelligence Lessons, printed from about 1968 to 1971 that talks about the need for better coordination:

PSYOP/Intelligence Staff Coordination in staff operations. Psychological operations (PSYOP) personnel in Vietnam have not been integrated adequately into the normal activities of military staffs. The average staff officer does not appreciate fully the importance of PSYOP and occasionally PSYOP staff members have isolated themselves and have failed to utilize the staff resources which are available to them. This lack of staff integration has been especially critical in coordination with G2 and S2 sections. In Vietnam there has been a tendency to isolate so called PSYOP intelligence from the normal intelligence gathering process. The intelligence required for effective PSYOP is an all-encompassing type of intelligence which requires an integration of all factors bearing on the conduct of the war.

The Leaflets

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Ho Chi Minh Trail Campaign Leaflet T-16

I chose this leaflet because it bears the symbol of Laos. This is the three-headed Erawan elephant national symbol from Hindu mythology of the 14th century kingdom whose name translates to “Land of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol.” This Lao image is the most popular theme among the Trail leaflets and there are over a dozen different types with various surrender messages. The United States had to deal with the Lao government to arrange for them to accept Vietnamese prisoners. All of these leaflets bear text in Vietnamese on one side and Lao on the other. The Vietnamese-language side of the leaflet says:

Pass for safe conduct

To: All North Vietnamese Soldiers in Laos.

You are offered the chance to escape death and live in safety and peace for the duration. The Royal Lao Government and people will welcome you and treat you as a brother.

Show this pass to any Royal Laos Government citizen or soldier and he will guide you to safety.

Commander in Chief
Lao National Armed Forces

The Lao-language side says:

Pass for Safe Conduct – Valid at all times

To: All Citizens and Soldiers of the Royal Laotian Government.

Please welcome the bearer of this pass and provide him with safe conduct to the nearest Royal Lao Government unit or post.

Commander in Chief
Lao National Armed Forces.

In November 1967, the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam requested that the 7th PSYOP Group in Okinawa print 10 million copies of Trail leaflet T-16 with the theme: "Lao safe conduct, flag for safe conduct" to be delivered by 30 December 1967.

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Leaflet T-25

The 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam requested that the 7th PSYOP Group in Okinawa print 6 million copies of Ho Chi Minh Trail leaflet T-25 with the theme: "Return home, seek refuge in Laos" to be delivered by 25 December 1967. This leaflet uses the theme of the TET holidays to entice the enemy to return home or seek refuge in Laos. The image depicts a happy and prosperous family celebrating the TET holidays. The back is all text and says:

To all North Vietnamese fighters:

Spring has returned. This is a time when you should be enjoying the happiness of family reunion in the North. Instead, you are walking through hostile jungles and mountains on foreign soil.

What has led you to this life of hardship? It is because you have been lured by the Party into believing that the South is in need of “Liberation” by the North. In reality, the South is living in prosperity. Your comrades have turned it into a sea of fiery war with consequences reaching all the way to the North. Your southern compatriots do not wish to be liberated by the North; they only wish to live in peace.

You can end this war and your hardships by choosing a cease-fire of your own. Deny the Party the use of your person as a tool to impose Party rule on South Vietnam.

Quit the Communist ranks, return to your homes, seek refuge with the Royal Lao Government, or, if you reach South Vietnamese territory, take the opportunity to rally to the Government of the Republic of Vietnam. This is the safest way to end the war and you hardships.

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Leaflet 6-127-68

I like this patriotic little leaflet because it gives the people a copy of the flag of the Republic Of Vietnam. It is far more impressive in color, but many more copies were done in black and white. The back is all text and says in part:

Support your Government

The Government of Vietnam and Allied Forces have once again shown their strength and power in an effort to bring peace and prosperity to the people of South Vietnam. Since 4 May 1968, more than 3,000 enemies have died while trying to bring death and destruction to our homes and cities…You must protect your family by telling the Government of Vietnam and the Army of Vietnam where the enemy is hiding. This way they will be destroyed before they come to your villages. Support your government and peace will once again return to our land.

In 1969 the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense studied the effectiveness of U.S leaflets in Vietnam. A sample of 1,757 Vietnamese was used to represent the target audience. They included the inhabitants of Viet Cong controlled areas, Hoi Chanh who had defected, and prisoners of war. The questions asked of the panels was the effectiveness of symbols, appeals both locally and national, and the vulnerability of certain groups. Leaflets were judged on a scale of very good, good, fair, bad, and very bad. One problem was to reduce the number of leaflets to a workable size. In this test, 798 leaflets were judged and the leaflets were reduced to 77. Unfortunately, the report did not explain why certain leaflets were good or bad. Leaflet 6-127-68 was rated VERY BAD by the panel.

As I read further through the report it became apparent why the leaflet was so disliked. The report states:

The flag of South Vietnam had moderate appeal among uncommitted and hostile South Vietnamese, but is a strongly negative symbol to the North Vietnamese.

So, the NVA was fighting the South Vietnamese on a daily basis and taking dead and wounded. They hated the flag of their enemy. That shows how strong the symbol of a flag is, both from a positive and a negative standpoint.

Leaflet 6-333-68 

This leaflet was prepared for the Dai Doan Ket and Chieu Hoi Programs. It was nicknamed “Rallier.” It targeted the Viet Cong. 50,000 copies were printed at the request of the 101st Airborne Division.  The text on the front is:

Nguyen Van Thang has rallied to the GVN.

The text on the back is:

I am Nguyen van Thang, First Sergeant working with the [VC] independent unit. I rallied to the Government of Vietnam and Allied forces on 5 May 1968.

The reason that forced me to rally is the hardship of living that I cannot endure, such as the lack of food and clothing and having to fight for an unjust cause.

Dear friends, we must not be so foolish as to live and hide in the jungles then be killed either by bombing or by disease. I sincerely urge all the comrades in my unit and those who still believe in the North and the Party to attempt to find any way to return to the Government of Vietnam and Allied Forces. A truth that you do not realize is that when you rally you will be welcomed and given all facilities to help you become a good citizen of the nation.

Phuoc Vinh, 5 May 68
Nguyen van Thang

Leaflet 6-345-68 

This is a very common generic theme in American leaflets for Vietnam. I have seen about a dozen showing a Viet Cong or North Vietnamese soldier dead in the dust as U.S. Aircraft fly over. Most mention B-52 raids and are in black and white. This one has a bit of color so I thought I would add it. This was a tactical leaflet and targeted the enemy 2nd Independent Battalion. 10,000 copies were printed and requested by the 9th Infantry Division to be used by 11 May 1968. The text on the front is:

Don't let this be your fate

The message on the back is:

Attention Men of the 2nd Battalion! 

Look around you. How many places do you see empty where brave men stood yesterday? How many boys, who could have been in school today, learning the best way to help build a better South Vietnam, are dead? How many more men must die before you learn you cannot win? Dignity is not gained by death; suffering does not guarantee victory! Only the Government of Vietnam can offer you both dignity and victory.

Surrender now! Living is the only rightful alternative to dying! 

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Leaflet 6-600-68

This is an interesting reward leaflet that requests information. The front is a four panel comic. In the first panel a young boy is looking intently at something. In the second, he finds what appears to be a South Vietnamese soldier and tells him what he saw. In the third panel the ARVN digs up a mine by hand. In the final panel the boy is told that he will be rewarded. The actual text is:

If you see a Viet Cong mine or something you suspect may be a mine

Immediately report it to any Army of the Republic of Vietnam or allied soldier

An explosive ordnance specialist will come out to disarm it or to destroy it on the spot.

The road will be made safe and you will be rewarded for your report.

Leaflet 6-074-69

I chose to add it because once again it breaks the ban on using photographs of the dead or mutilated enemy. The psychologists and cultural experts told the U.S. Army over and over that these leaflets made the Americans look arrogant and Braggadocios about killing Vietnamese, and it just antagonized the enemy. It did not matter. The troops loved them and believed it scared the hell out of the enemy troops. The text on the front of this leaflet is:

YOU WILL SHARE THE SAME FATE WITH THOSE COMRADES IN YOUR NEXT BATTLE

The text on the back is:

To the friends, soldiers, and cadres of the Viet Cong 95C Regiment.

During the Jan 14, 1999 battle at Ben Cui and the Cau Khoi rubber plantation, 1,222 of your comrades were either killed or wounded.

Was it the kind of "liberation" that your commander Doan Van Huan wanted you to bring to South Vietnam? Your actions are futile and resulted in nothing except the unnecessary death of soldiers. What do Viet Cong soldiers get for their service for Communism? Nothing except a meaningless death and an unmarked grave with nobody to mourn over. Doan Van Huan has failed his soldiers. Is leading his men to defeat commendable? Can you avoid death under such a blind leadership by your commanders?

Note that the translator accidently or on purpose made the year 1999. Of course, it should be 1969.

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Viet Cong Terrorist Reward Leaflet 6-083-68

The 6th PSYOP Battalion was also busy preparing reward leaflets. One of the more interesting is an offer for a Viet Cong terrorist leader. The leaflet has a drawing of Tam Nui on the front and the text:

Up to $50,000 VN Reward. Nguyen Van Lac, alias Tam Nui. 53 years old, 1 meter 68 tall, armed with a pistol. He is usually accompanied by a bodyguard of 30 men and is often in or near Ap 6 Chanh (2) Michelin Plantation.

Text on the back is:

Allied Forces in Dau Tieng will pay up to $50,000VN for information which leads to the apprehension of Nguyen Van Lac, alias Tam Nui, assistant VC district chief, Tri Tam District. Tam Nui has shown himself to be an enemy of the Vietnamese people by his unlawful terrorist activities in Dan Tieng and the Michelin Plantation.

The person providing information that leads to the apprehension of Tam Nui will receive reward money that can provide the opportunity to start a new business and a new life. If he so desires, the recipient may also be provided transportation for himself, his family and his household goods to resettle anywhere with Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Hau Nghia or Gia Dinh provinces or in Saigon.

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Leaflet 6-624-69

The 1969 Tactical leaflet was produced by the 6th PSYOP Battalion and targeted the soldiers of the 275th NVA Regiment. It was prepared all in blue and depicts the Chieu Hoi symbol on one side. The other side bears the message:

To the soldiers of 275th Regiment

Your commanders have exploited your blood and flesh to satisfy their invasion dreams. Therefore, your weapons are more important than you are. They tricked you when you are alive and neglect you when you die. They order you to carry your weapons back during a retreat but leave behind the bodies of your fallen. Your life is all hardship and you may die without a proper burial, not even a single marker. What do you think about this? Don't continue to live in this situation. Return to the Government of Vietnam to live in harmony, love and unity.

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Leaflet 6-622-70

We have mentioned the Montagnard native people above so I want to show a 6th PSYOP Battalion leaflet designed for the native tribe in September, 1970. This leaflet was found by Sergeant Jim Hackbarth, a member of the 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry, in 1970. Notice that the leaflet is dirty and stained from being on the ground in rain and sunlight. My files show it is a “remake,” so it was printed earlier and apparently they liked it enough to do so again. There are numerous other leaflets for illiterates without text and six panels.

The Americans knew that most Montagnards could not read so this leaflet was designed to be understood without any text. The front and back have three cartoon panels each. On the front, an armed native who apparently was drafted by the Viet Cong finds a Chieu Hoi leaflet. He takes it to an American soldier who points him to a Chieu Hoi center. At the center a friendly ARVN accepts his AK-47 and hands him a cash reward. On the back the native is checked for any medical problems. He is then put in a class and taught a trade. In the last drawing he lives happily with his family in a peaceful setting.

Reproduction Leaflet 6-1027-70

The 6th PSYOP Battalion did produce this leaflet, but not exactly this one. In 2023 I was offered this leaflet by an owner who said it was used as a prop in a Vietnam War movie. It is identical to the original leaflet, but probably just a photocopy for the actors to look at or see fluttering down during some scene. The owner had numerous other leaflets and various cards, and even a fake booklet. I thought I should obtain this leaflet just so I could show it to my readers. The front depicts a group of Vietnamese children with some soldiers. The text is:

The gift is small, but the sentiment is limitless.

The back is all text.

The bond between the military and the people.

The military protects the people, the people love the military, this is the fine tradition of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam. Army of Vietnam servicemen are exemplary soldiers, beside their mission to kill the enemy, they provide a comprehensive care to the people. The photograph on the other side shows Army of Vietnam soldiers handing over health care items to children.

There are countless other civilian-serving deeds that the Army of Vietnam servicemen passionately carry out to secure the water-and-fish bond between the military and the people. With that heartfelt bond, we can proudly believe in our day of victory over the Communists by the National Just Cause!

My translator says that this appears to be written by a Hoi Chanh from the North. The language is more North Vietnamese propaganda jargon than Southern language. In 1961, Mao famously observed that "a guerrilla swims among the people like a fish swim in the sea. Without the support of the people the guerrilla is a fish out of water, it cannot survive" Apparently this is what the text alludes to where it says, "the water-and-fish bond."

Leaflet 6-2088-70

There was an entire series of leaflets for the Montagnards without text later in 1970. I have about a half-dozen of them and it is almost tempting to write a story just on the theme of leaflets to the native peoples of Vietnam. This leaflet is dated 30 September 1970 and printed in blue. The illustration on the front depicts evil Viet Cong stealing the Montagnards food and forcing them to work as porters. On the back, they seek help from Government of Vietnam officials and the South Vietnamese Army takes the Viet Cong prisoners.

Most of the non-text leaflets to the Montagnards Show 4 images, some show three images that they can easily understand. Some of them are:

6-2196-70 – Rally instructions. The images are: Montagnard family walking through jungle; Montagnards walk down road; Montagnards rally at an ARVN checkpoint, and Montagnards receive food and medical care from ARVN soldier.

6-2197-70 – Rally instructions. The images are: Montagnards stand in clearing waving at helicopter; Montagnards boarding helicopter; Montagnards eating food; and getting medical care from ARVN soldier.

6-2198-70 – Rally instructions. The images are: Montagnards walking through jungle; Montagnards come to a government post and are greeted by a smiling ARVN soldier; Montagnards receiving food; and medical care from ARVN soldier.

6-2228-70 – Rally instructions. The images are: Montagnards look at beam of searchlight; Montagnards near government post at dawn; and Montagnards are welcomed by smiling ARVN soldier.

Leaflet 6-848-70

This Chieu Hoi (Open Arms) leaflet targeted the enemy and tried to get them to come over to the National Government of Vietnam so that they could live a meaningful, peaceful life. It depicts two dead enemy fighters on the front. At the bottom there is a design showing bones and skulls.

The leaflet was dropped by pilot Joe Sepesy who served three tours of duty in Vietnam from 1970 to 1973, as a UH-1 helicopter pilot with the 1st Cavalry Division and 1st Aviation Brigade. Joe told me that he dropped the leaflet over Cambodia on 30 June 1970. The text at the top of the leaflet is:

Is this a glorious and noble death? Save your life by returning!

Joe mentions leaflet drops in Once We Flew, a Memoir of a US Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam and a Life with PTSD.

I dropped PSYOP leaflets three or four times, thousands of pieces of paper that advised the enemy to surrender. The leaflets were three by six inches and usually had one or two graphic photos of mangled and decomposing corpses of NVA or VC soldiers. These leaflets were part of the Chieu Hoi (Open Arms) program.

If an enemy soldier approached an American, yelling, "Chieu Hoi, Chieu Hoi!" the American was not supposed to shoot the son of a bitch. He was supposed to accept the son of a bitch's surrender and take him to a place of safety where he would be rewarded for demonstrating common sense and saving his own sorry ass. The Chieu hoi was given clothing, food, and money, and of course, pumped for as much military information as they were willing to spew. If the Chieu Hoi could be trusted, he became a scout for some infantry units. An occasional entrepreneurial Chieu Hoi was documented as going Chieu Hoi more than once, thus collecting additional money, clothing, and food.

PSYOP leaflets were usually thrown out by the handful or one box shaken empty at a time, thus increasing the area of coverage. But these leaflets also became stuck throughout the interior of the aircraft, between seats, under straps, in storage holes, down our collars, and more than any other place, in the chin bubbles. Of all these thousands of leaflets, I kept one as a souvenir" just one. I know these leaflets are now in high demand by collectors of military memorabilia" and I kept one, just one, lousy, little leaflet.

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5 Flag Safe Conduct Pass

This is the official safe conduct pass of the Vietnam War. It has many variations. The first was the five-flag pass, showing flags of the United States, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, in addition to the flag of Vietnam. This leaflet and its variants were produced before 1967. In 1967, a seven-flag version was introduced, showing the additional flags of Thailand and the Philippines. Finally, in 1972, when Vietnamization became the focus of propaganda, all flags except that of Vietnam were removed. Several different forms of propaganda were used on the back side. The original leaflet was given the code 893. Subsequently, the letters "A" through "F" were added to distinguish some of the modifications.

We do know from a 6th PSYOP Battalion Facts on Battalion Operations, that 50 million copies of leaflet SP-893 was ordered in December 1967. 10 million were delivered to Da Nang, 10 million to Bien Hoa, 6 million to Nha Trang, 12 million to Can Tho, 6 million to Pleiku, and 6 million to the 360th TWS.

A second document makes this order more clear. To show the popularity of this leaflet, in the one month of November 1967 alone the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam requested that the 7th PSYOP Group in Okinawa print 300 million copies in six different batches of 50 million each, to be delivered on 20 January, 20 February, 20 March, 20 April, 20 May and 20 June of 1958.

The Vietnam War Ends

By 1969 the American Congress had tired of the cost of the Vietnam War and the loss of life and President Nixon agreed and decided to pull out American forces and leave the South Vietnamese to fight on under a plan he called Vietnamization. A promise was made that the Americans would return if needed, but of course that never happened.

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A Vietnamization Leaflet

The full-color safe conduct pass that once depicted seven nations fighting together was ordered destroyed and a new leaflet was printed that depicted a lonely Republic of Vietnam flag, now an orphan, fighting an enemy still backed by China and the USSR.

I enjoy reading about interesting leaflets designed to mess with the enemy’s head. One of the last leaflets the 6th Battalion printed was in the form of a death notice. The leaflet, coded 6-904-70 told the enemy that the Allied forces would provide a proper burial and inform his family after his death. There were blanks on the leaflet for the enemy solider to fill in his name, rank and unit. Nobody believed the enemy would fill in the leaflet and keep it; they just wanted him to start thinking about his death in South Vietnam.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion was inactivated on 30 June 1971 in Vietnam and the men returned to Ft. Bragg in North Carolina. The last American combat troops left Vietnam on 29 March 1973.

This was not the end of the 6th PSYOP Battalion. There were other uprisings and revolutions’ occurring around the world and the U.S. Army was aware that a strong psychological operations force was needed to protect the interests of the United States of America. As a result, a new 6th PSYOP Battalion was activated on 13 September 1972 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement, 1975

Bruce Liscombe and his Translator, Mr. Hanh

In 1975 the Republic of Vietnam fell to the invading forces of Communist North Vietnam. There was a panic and the southerners tried to escape from the county and find freedom. Many had worked with and supported the United States effort, so it was decided that they would be allowed to resettle in the United States. The refugees first went to relocation processing centers in Guam, the Philippines, Thailand, Wake Island and Hawaii before being flown to four resettlement centers in the United States. The 6th PSYOP Battalion helped the 20,000 Vietnamese and 2,000 Cambodian refugees in Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania to get accustomed to the American way and to find families to sponsor them and help them to become citizens of their new home. This became Operation New Arrivals.

The refugees were given Identification and meal cards. They underwent physicals and the children received immunizations. Families were randomly assigned to barracks, which were outfitted with partitions that were adjusted to fit families of different sizes. The Vietnamese arrived classified as "refugees" and were immediately eligible for Medicare/Medicaid, welfare, and food stamps. They were given this status by the Attorney General under powers granted to him by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. By December, there were 74 weddings, 128 births and 10 deaths. During the day, sewing and craft classes were offered, as were classes that taught English. In the evening, films were screened on a projector outdoors.

Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Chart

Retired Master Sergeant Bruce Liscombe told me about his assignment working with the Vietnamese refugees:

I was with them at Ft. Indiantown Gap from May to December 1975. Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania was the fourth and last reception center to open on 28 May 1975. I joined the 6th battalion about two weeks before we deployed to Indiantown Gap. I was assigned to a HB loudspeaker team with Specialist 6 Robert DeLeon as the team leader. We had a couple of press operators with us, Specialist 4 Robert Orso from Pennsylvania, and Specialist 4 Thomas Klingler from Ohio. Klingler was a veteran of the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Vietnam, so he knew the people. We had some illustrators with us too.

One day Orso and I were sitting on one of the old coal bins by our office and we see this little Vietnamese kid heading to his barracks with an animal under his arm petting it. We figured he found a cat and was taking it into the barracks as a pet. The next thing we know there are Vietnamese jumping out of the windows. Well it wasn't a cat it was a skunk. Area reeked for a couple of days

We had about 10 of us there from the Battalion. Captain Kraft was our detachment commander and Lieutenant Meade was our detachment Executive Officer. We had some problems with the Military Police because we had 24 hour passes to all the compounds and they didn't like that as they could only come into the compounds at certain times for their shifts. 

Vietnamese Newspaper Dat Lanh Good Land

We had to go to the airport in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to meet the aircraft and escort the refugees to Indiantown Gap. I was a 31B field radio repairman at that time. The HB teams consisted of a 31B and 96B (Intelligence Analyst). I was tasked with setting up the loudspeaker system to broadcast important messages to the people about current and upcoming events. The messages that were broadcast were so that the people knew what time they had to go see the people from the State Department, church services and things like that. The detachment even printed a newspaper for the refugees. One had the news in Vietnamese on one half of the page and in English translation on the other half of the page. They did the same thing in the Cambodian language.

One day Klingler and I were at the NCO club having a beverage and playing pinball. We had our jeeps parked in the parking lot in the spots designated military vehicle only. Tom was playing and I was looking out the window and I see an MP driving Klingler's jeep away. I laughed and told him "Somebody just stole your jeep." He thought I was kidding, finished his turn walked over, looked out and said, "You are right, and, somebody is taking yours right now."

The MPs just wanted to harass us and cut the locks and took the jeeps. We went looking for the vehicles and found them in front of their Provost Marshal Office building. We went to Captain Kraft and told him about the jeeps. Being a Special Forces Captain, he asked us how they got the jeeps. We said they cut the locks and took them. He said, "Go cut their locks and take them back." We got the supply Sergeant to go with us. He went inside and started arguing with the desk Sergeant while we were cutting locks. As soon as we had the motors running, we honked the horn, and he came out and jumped in Klingler's jeep as he went by. Nothing more was ever heard of the incident

We had a running battle with the MPs. They didn't like the stuff we could do, and they could not, and of course we caught them doing some things that weren't exactly legal and turned them in. They pulled me over one time because they said I had too many passengers in my jeep. Well you know how small the Vietnamese were and I had about ten of them in the jeep. Later that night the MPs rolled one of their jeeps with seven people in it, I guess karma is a bitch!

The Vietnamese Refugees Celebrate Independence Day in their new Home

We had some Military Intelligence translators that worked with us. They worked directly for the State Department. They were asked to translate a poster for us because the Vietnamese had never used pampers before. In English they said, "Do not flush baby diapers down toilets." They made a minor error in their Vietnam translations and said, "Do not flush babies down toilet." Somehow that became our problem and we caught hell for their error.

 

The Vietnamese Independence Day issue of Good Land
From Bruce Liscombe's Bound Book of the Newspapers

I asked Bruce if he had any anecdotes about his Vietnamese guests. He told me this one:

When I was there the refugees had to go to the State Department to be interviewed. They were asked what they did in Viet Nam and why they had fled the country. We had one guy that had an interesting answer. He said "I was a First Lieutenant in the North Vietnamese Army but not a very good officer. I figured that once the North secured the country, they would start thinning the ranks and it was likely I would be discharged. I had nothing at home, so it seemed time to leave."

I smiled at that answer because in the U.S. Army they have thing called riffed." If you are not a very good officer or enlisted man from time to time the Army looks at everyone and just discharged off all the people, it thinks have no bright future or that they have no room for. I was surprised that the Vietnamese officer was afraid of being riffed. Not exactly the same thing but I knew man that after the war turned out to have been a Viet Cong Colonel. He was an authority on Viet Cong currency, so we talked often. I asked him why he left Vietnam and the answer was like that of the Lieutenant. He said:

After we won, I expected to receive a position equal to my rank. I was a Colonel; I should have been given an executive position of authority. However, the North did not trust the Southerners. They considered us to have led an easy capitalist life in Saigon while they were being bombed by B-52s. They thought we had all been infected with a love of money and luxury by the Americans. I was given a menial job watching parked bicycles in a Saigon park. Shortly afterwards I defected and made my way to Canada. I made a better life for myself.

The Bureau of Public Affairs Office of Media Services of the Department of State Special Report No. 21 of September 1975 mentions the Vietnamese settlement. It says in part (edited for brevity):

I am pleased to be able to announce to you the one hundred thousandth refugee has been processed through our system to resettlement with an American sponsor. On 18 April 1975, the Task Force was created by the President to deal with a problem unique in the history of this country. Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees were beginning to arrive by the thousands at safe havens in the Pacific.

Over a much longer period we had absorbed more than 600,000 Cuban refugees and some 40,000 Hungarian refugees when circumstances in their countries forced them to leave.

The phasing-out of the four refugee reception centers within the continental United States and the one in the Pacific is proceeding on schedule, and every state in the Union has accepted some refugees. The center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida officially closed on 15 September 1975. Camp Pendleton, California, is scheduled to close at the end of October. The center at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania will be phased out by the end of November. Fort Chaffee, Arkansas anticipates a final closing during the month of December 1975.

Before I end this tale of saving the Vietnamese, I should mention that Canada did some very similar. It was called Operation MAGNET. In 1978, following the collapse of the South Vietnamese government and the fall of Saigon in 1975, the Government of Canada through the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission and Department (CEICD) and the Canadian Forces arranged for the airlift and resettlement of over 50,000 people from Vietnam. Operation MAGNET occurred in three phases from 1978-1981.

Iran Rescue mission

Sometimes the Battalion was simply called to help support Special Force missions without even knowing what the mission was. In other cases the mission is humanitarian but could quickly turn dangerous. One former member of the 6th PSYOP Battalion told me:

Our support mission for Special Forces Phase training was an ongoing affair. They borrowed equipment from us all the time and were surprisingly good about returning it to us in good condition. One day I was handed a letter by someone who looked like a very serious civilian that ordered me to have three specific vehicles ready for delivery on such and such a date at such and such a time (very late at night). This was very out of the ordinary for us. We were to remove all markings and have all the canvass complete and in place. The letter listed the estimated return date as “to be announced.” That was even more unusual for us. As it turned out, the vehicles were used to train for the failed mission in April 1980 to rescue the American hostages in Iran. The vehicles never left the States, so I was told after the fact, but, they were nowhere near Ft Bragg for the training. It was a very grim time on Smoke Bomb Hill for quite a while. Some very good people who were the absolute best at what they did never came home for reasons they had zero control over.

The Cuban Mariel Boat Lift

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The Mariel Boat Lift

On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announced that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. were free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana, launching the Mariel. The first of 125,000 Cuban refugees from Mariel reached Florida the next day. It was discovered that a number of the exiles had been released from Cuban jails and mental health facilities. They were placed in refugee camps while others were held in federal prisons to undergo deportation hearings. Of the 125,000 Marielitos, as the refugees came to be known, who landed in Florida, more than 1,700 were jailed and another 587 were detained until they could find sponsors.

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Sergeant Ronald F. Marcil

Many of the Cubans were taken to the Army Base at Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. PSYOP troops were used to print newsletters, make loudspeaker broadcasts and generally keep the peace. A former 6th PSYOP Battalion sergeant named Ron Marcil sent there to provide support told me:

The 6th PSYOP Battalion was sent to Ft Indiantown Gap to work with the State Department. Our mission was to print the camp newspaper. The Mariel Boat Lift was my last hurrah so to speak. The State Department had the camp organized in separate areas. Area 1 was the bad apples; many were known criminals. Area 2 was the homosexuals, a very friendly place…too friendly. Area 3 was mainly single men and on up to area 5 which was families. As people were sponsored, they moved out. By the time I got there, area 5 was empty; and Area 4 had very few left. Needless to say, area 1 and 2 was still full.

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The Jeep wrecked by the Cubans

A few weeks into my routine, I was told to come quick, a riot had started. By the time I got there, my jeep was missing. The driver had backed it up to the building with the trailer attached to it so they could clear the building of our valuable gear before it got torn up. He left it running and didn't lock it, two Cubans saw that and came up over the wire, hopped in and took off. The story I heard was that something like 34 Cuban nationals were in and on my jeep when they flipped it. The driver was very badly injured; the rest were thrown clear. I have a very poor picture of that jeep on the back of a wrecker.

During the riot, a C-130 landed on the runway and when the ramp came down, out poured 120 combat loaded paratroopers from the 82nd. They formed up on the runway and double timed over to area 1 very slowly. Not one work was spoken from them. Dead silence. They jogged slowly through the area. Not 1 word spoken. The Cubans saw them and within a very short time, everyone went back inside the building and things quieted down. Not a word spoken. No one went inside the wire! Once they were given the OK, they marched back to their C130 and off they went. That was the most brilliant PSYOP in action even I had ever witnessed.

I read another description of this action written by one of the soldiers involved in the Hardscrabble Farmer Website. The stories differ slightly but one is coming from a PSYOP observer and the other from one of the airborne troops called to Indiantown Gap:

From a distance, you could see pillars of smoke rising from the camp and you could smell it on the wind. It was a hot day and we wore battle fatigues and jump boots. Our shields were lowered, visors turned down and we marched with a slow and steady cadence; left foot stamping down, right foot dragging at a 90-degree angle behind, a stomp, drag, stomp, drag that magnified by 120 other soldiers gave us the sound of something formidable, an organic machine filled with ominous intent. With each step we took, we would rap the back of our shields with the tip of the baton in unison, a sharp crack to emphasize each step forward.

The mob was jumping and screaming; some of them holding weapons fashioned from broken bunk beds and ruined buildings. At the same time that we saw them, they saw us. In that instant, all the sounds, the acrid sting of burning mattresses, the steady vibration of 240 boot-shod feet hitting the ground at precisely the same second, the World simply stopped in its tracks. The sound of our boots on the street, the crack of maple against metal the unified chuff of each breath that you could hear as if it were your own suddenly became the only presence in my thoughts and in that instant, you could see it move like a light wave out and away from us, traveling tsunami-like towards the Marielitos. And that was it. They dropped whatever they were carrying, they broke and ran. Not one shot was fired, not one man was so much as tapped with a baton.

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The Indiantown Gap Newsletter La Libertad for Cuban Refugees

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Lieutenant Colonel Michael W Totten

A message from the 6th PSYOP Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Michael W Totten in the above newsletter said:

The 6th PSYOP Battalion is uniquely equipped and trained to support projects like “Operation Resettlement.” Our mobile and highly flexible printing equipment makes it possible for us to produce a wide variety of printed material on very short notice. In fact, among other things; we are producing the camp newsletter, “La Libertad.” Our public address and mobile audio-visual equipment enable us to reach large audiences rapidly with perishable information or entertainment. Our most important asset, however, is our soldiers. They are the highly-skilled and motivated professionals who make the equipment work. Many of them are linguists, and several speak more than one foreign language. They make our operations effective.

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Instructional Cartoons

As usual when you are dealing with newcomers to the United States who are not aware of the customs, the PSYOP newsletters almost always has instructional cartoons. When it was Vietnamese and Muslim refugees much of the instructions had to do with the American way of sanitation. The concept of toilet paper was very strange for many Muslims who were used to cleansing themselves with a damp rag. The cartoon above shows a lone Cuban boy cleaning up the mess left by the older Cubans. He drags a bag so full that the garbage is bursting out of the back. He says:

What a lot of trouble it is for those grown-ups over there to pick up a piece of paper.

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Instructional Cartoon Two

Cartoon two is more in the form of pest control. When you go through basic training if you bring food back to your barracks you are in a world of trouble. The Army knows that food left in foot lockers or closets tend to invite ants, roaches, mice, rats and God only know what else into the living quarters. Apparently the Cubans were prohibited from bringing food into their quarters because two are depicted talking and one says:

Brother, let’s behave well; people are going to feel ill will against us.

His companion replies:

Well? If you say so; let’s begin by not bringing any food out of the mess hall.

As an aside, the last time I visited Ft. Bragg and used the term “mess hall” from my generation, I was corrected and told that the term was now “dining facility,” mess hall was considered a derogatory term. God, I love politically correct people!

The Newsletter mentions that each area has its own elected Mayor and even a local Cuban “police” force to keep the peace. I thought it funny that the worst “criminal” problems seem to be from the homosexuals. The explanation is: “Here in America, homosexuality is not a crime, so it appears that gays are enjoying their new-found freedom, perhaps in an exaggerated way, and causing problems by agitating straight men and families who do like their children to see or hear certain things. There is a radio station with Spanish speaking Disk Jockey and Cuban music. The American Red Cross offers first aid and health safety classes as well as English classes and supplies for drawing, painting, writing, and even musical instruments. The Cubans had their own theater where they put on plays. It seems that everything possible was done to keep them busy while they awaited sponsors.

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6th PSYOP Battalion Officers, 1981-1982

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6th PSYOP Battalion Enlisted, 1981-1982

Desert Storm

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The 4th PSYOP Group Booklet: Leaflets of the Persian Gulf War

At about 0200 on 2 August 1990, seven divisions of Iraqi armor, mechanized infantry, helicopter forces, and the elite Republic Guard invaded Kuwait. The invasion force of 120,000 troops and 2,000 tanks quickly overwhelmed Kuwait. Iraq declared the annexation of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti government-in-exile fled to Saudi Arabia where it was recognized as the legitimate voice of Kuwait. President George Bush immediately froze all Iraqi and Kuwaiti assets in the United States and called on Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops. United Nations Security Council Resolutions 660 and 662 condemned Iraq's invasion and annexation and called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces.

On 20 August 1990, President Bush signed National Security Directive 45, the “U.S. Policy in Response to the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait." The U.S. objectives included the “immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait,” and the “restoration of Kuwait's legitimate government to replace the puppet regime installed by Iraq.” President George Bush authorized the first call-up of 40,000 Selected Reservists for 90 days active duty on 22 August 1990. By November Bush upped the active duty time to 180 days with the option of a 180-day extension. On 18 January 1991, Bush signed an order authorizing 220,000 Reservists to be called up for 12 months.

A U.N. ultimatum, Security Council Resolution 678, followed on November 29, 1990. It gave Saddam Hussein until 15 January 1991 to leave Kuwait. After that time, a coalition of American and allied troops was authorized to drive them out. Eventually, 30 nations joined the military coalition arrayed against Iraq, with a further 18 countries supplying economic, humanitarian, or other type of assistance.

It is difficult to find much about what the 6th PSYOP Battalion did in Desert Storm. We know that they were there, but most of the official publications do not mention battalions, they usually just point out that PSYOP forces from the 4th Group were deployed.

Colonel Noll wrote a 164-page Personal Experience Monograph entitled The 13th Psychological Operations Battalion (EPW) During Mobilization, Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Demobilization in 1993. The 6th PSYOP Battalion is mentioned several times in regard to Desert Storm and the relief of the Kurdish people:

It was decided that all of the reserve companies would be attached to the 6th and 9th Tactical PSYOP Battalions for command and control and for support of the combat units in theater… On 14 April 1991 the 4th POG commander and staff along with all its operationally assigned units departed Saudi Arabia for Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The 6th PSYOP Battalion, however, was deployed to northern Iraq in support of "Operation Provide Comfort."

Jeffrey B. Jones and Jack N. Summe mention the 6th Battalion exactly one time in their 1997 paper: Psychological Operations in Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Urban Freedom

By mid-January 1991, the task force had grown to five battalions, including the 6th PSYOP Battalion in support of VII Corps.

We don’t know exactly which leaflets were made by the 6th PSYOP Battalion, but they were supporting VII Corps and some leaflets do mention the Corps.

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VII Corps Patch

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Iraqi thinks of Overwhelming Power of Coalition, Thinks of his Family, and Surrenders

The back has a “Cease resistance” message and the VII Corps symbol which is similar to the Star of David. The text is:

Cease resistance - Be safe

To seek refuge safely, the bearer must strictly adhere to the following procedures:

1. Remove the magazine from your weapon.

2. Sling your weapon over your left shoulder, muzzle down.

3. Have both arms raised above your head.

4. Approach the Multi-national forces slowly, with the soldier holding this document above his head.

5. If you do this, you will not die.

This is a deception leaflet used to hold Iraqi Army in central Kuwait. The symbol of the VII Corps is on the leaflet in hopes that the Iraqi Army would believe that they were facing that organization In fact, VII Corps had moved far to the west of the expected battleground. 270,000 leaflets were printed. It is alleged that because the Corps symbol of a seven-pointed star was similar to the six-pointed Hebrew Star of David, the Iraqi troops fought more fiercely where it was dropped. It is believed that Iraqi intelligence told their troops that they were facing Israeli forces and this motivated the Iraqi soldiers to fight with religious fervor. It was also thought that this symbol might infuriate the other Muslim Coalition allies who would not want to be aligned with the Israelis. As a result, the symbol was quickly changed to a Jayhawk.

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A New VII Corps Symbol, the Mythical Jayhawk

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Jayhawk leaflet

The text on the back is identical to the above leaflet.

This is another deception leaflet used to hold Iraqi Army in central Kuwait. The VII Corps symbol has been changed to a Jayhawk. 270,000 leaflets were printed.

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Giant cannon with Coalition flags aimed at Iraqi

The text on the front is:

The VII Corps of the Multi-national forces is heading in your direction. Your fellow soldiers along the front either surrendered or have been killed. Your turn will be next.

The text on the back is:

Follow these procedures to cease resistance. Pull your ammunition magazine from your weapon. Put your weapon on your left shoulder and aim the barrel at the ground. Raise your hands over your head and walk slowly. Wave with a white cloth or raise this leaflet to show you are willing to surrender. All Allied soldiers know this initiative shows that you are willing to surrender.

Two hundred 155mm leaflet artillery shells were taken to the Gulf. Nine were actually fired at the enemy. The cannon leaflet above is one that was found in the shells. I had a warrant officer friend in EOD who actually opened some of the shells and gave me the leaflets rolled inside. He told me:

The leaflets were downloaded from the shells at the King Khalid Military City (KKMC) Theater Storage Facility Area 4 in January 1992. There were between 100 and 200 engineering prototype 155mm projectiles stored in two areas from two different units. They were unmarked but bore a metal parts number that indicated they were experimental and were produced in November 1990. A small quantity of the projectiles, perhaps 12-20, had been prepared for fire, loaded with leaflets, expulsion charges installed, but not fused. The leaflets were in four round bundles, separated by pusher plates, spacers, and enclosed in two semi-circular steel sleeves. I saw some evidence on the projectiles that they had been hastily converted from VX binary chemical shells. They were on the pallet in a horizontal rather than the normal upright configuration.

200,000 of the leaflets were printed. The Air Force claims to have dropped 311,000 and the artillery had 100,000 at their disposal, so once again we obviously do not have complete data on printing. This leaflet was designed by 4th PSYOP Group artist Tim Wallace.

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VII Corps Certificate of Commendation

Provide Comfort – Humanitarian Assistance to the Kurds

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Psychological Operations Support for Operation Provide Comfort

In 1994, the 4th PSYOP Group published a 24-page booklet entitled Psychological Operations Support for Operation Provide Comfort. Curiously, the 6th PSYOP Battalion was mentioned just once on page two. The short comment was:

Elements of the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion deployed from Iraq and Fort Bragg, North Carolina to provide PSYOP support to the Combined Task Force located in Incirlik Air Force Base, Turkey. The Psychological Operations Task Force which was formed to support this operation was co-located with the Combined Task Force at Incirlik.

As the Gulf War came to an end, the Iraqis immediately began attacking the Muslim Shiites in the south and the Kurds in the North. This ultimately led to operations Southern and Northern Watch to guard the skies against Iraqi military aircraft. The emergency was such that it quickly led to Operation Provide Comfort, the attempt by the Coalition to protect and nourish the Kurdish people.

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Kurdish Freedom Fighters

The Kurds tried to take local power in March 1991; occupied several towns and put the province of Mosul under siege. Saddam Hussein counter-attacked with a vengeance and his revamped Republic Guard drove the Kurds into the mountains. Kurds are the second largest ethnic group in Iraq and Turkey and the third largest group in Iran. Like the Armenians and Jews, the Kurds are a close-knit nationalistic people who want a nation of their own. This land, called Kurdistan, would be made up of parts of Turkey, Iran and Iraq. As a result, the Kurds are unwelcome in all three nations and there were numerous purges and pogroms against them over the centuries. For instance, The Kurds supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq War and as a result in 1988, hundreds of Kurdish villages in northern Iraq were destroyed, and as many as 200,000 Kurds were killed. The Iraqi government used chemical weapons against Kurdish soldiers and civilians alike, causing an international uproar. A March 1988 poison gas attack in Halabja, Iraq, killed an estimated 5,000 Kurds.

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Kurdish refugees fled towards Turkey and Iran

After the failed rebellion, well over one million Kurds attempted to flee northward into Turkey and Iran. The Iranians accepted some of the fleeing people. The Turks, no friends of the Kurds, refused entry. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Kurdish men, women and children were left stranded in the mountains, starving, ill-prepared for the winter, and at the mercy of Iraqi forces. The temperatures were below freezing each night and the Kurds were dying by the hundreds due to lack of food, water, medicines, shelter, and blankets.

On 6 April 1991, President George Bush ordered that a Joint Task Force (JTF) be assigned the mission of protecting the Kurds of northern Iraq. Bush stated the political objectives of Operation Provide Comfort:

This is an interim measure designed to meet an immediate, penetrating humanitarian need. Our long-term objective remains the same for Iraqi Kurds, and indeed, for all Iraqi refugees, wherever they are, to return home and to live in peace, free from oppression, free to live their lives.

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PSYOP Loudspeaker Humvee

A Psychological Operations Task Force (POTF) was formed to support the Combined Task Force. It consisted of 31 officers and soldiers. The POTF was broken up into a command and control element, a propaganda development center, a liaison cell, and loudspeaker teams. The POTF provided planning support and both printed and audio products to assist in the humanitarian relief effort. They produced leaflets, posters and broadcasts to tell about where food was available, what was in the Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), and explain the danger of land mines and how to avoid them. They also produced language cards containing key phrases in the local languages to assist JTF soldiers in communicating with refugees and local officials. At the height of the operation the POTF expanded to 78 officers and soldiers. The major PSYOP themes were: Introduction of Coalition forces, safety, aid distribution, health and sanitation, medical care, mine awareness, safe passage home, safe conduct passes, and command information. Company A, 6th PSYOP Battalion, also worked closely with Civil Affairs troops. PSYOP strength never exceeded fifty personnel.

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The U.S. and its allies saved countless Kurds by establishing safe havens and
providing humanitarian assistance. Special Operations Forces spearheaded this effort.

The Leaflets

I have about two dozen of the PSYOP leaflets prepared for the Kurds. They are mostly printed on poor quality paper and many are all text. For the purposes of this article I will select four items to give the readers an example of what was printed during this campaign.

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My Friends

This black and white leaflet depicts a family of Kurds arriving at a tent marked with a red cross and a green crescent. The man of the family shakes hands with soldiers guarding the tent. There are baskets and bags of food on the ground. There is no text on the front. Text on the back in English, Kurdish and Arabic is:

My friends!

The time for violence is over. We must all find peace and harmony again. Guns will not be allowed inside the camp. If the international security forces at the checkpoints find a gun, you will not be allowed into the camp. In the name of Allah, seek peace in your heart; pray that Allah will give us compassion and forgiveness.

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Baby Food

It was not enough, just to give aid. Sometimes what the aid was and how it was to be used had to be explained. This bright pink leaflet depicts an infant with a bottle. It was dropped with bundles of food to explain to the Kurds in English, Kurdish, Arabic, and Turcoman that the package contained baby food. The leaflet is also found in blue.

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Stop! Don’t Touch these Things.

A standard mine warning leaflet was prepared for the Kurds that is almost identical to the type prepared just months earlier during Operation Desert Storm. The earlier leaflets had some bright red color to catch the eye of the finder. The provide Comfort leaflets are in black and white, depict nine different explosives, and have text in English, Kurdish and Arabic:

Stop! Don’t touch these things. Call the authorities.

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Language Card

In almost every war that the United States is involved in, at some point, language or “Pointee-Talkee” cards are prepared to help with communication. The speaker can pronounce or point at the word he wants the listener to understand. I have seen at least four such products produced for Operation Provide Comfort. This card shows the same words in English, Arabic and Kurdish.

Yugoslavia

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Psychological Support to Operation Allied Force

The 4th PSYOP Group published a magazine entitled Psychological Support to Operation Allied Force in 1999. It gave the history of the U.S. PSYOP effort in the war against the ethnic cleansing ordered by the Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. It regard to the 6th PSYOP Battalion is said in part:

In early August 1988, planners from the 6th PSYOP Battalion were dispatched to the 32nd Air Operations Group, U.S. Air Force Europe Headquarters, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to participate in planning for future operations in the area.

In February 1999, soldiers of the 4th Psychological Operations Group deployed to establish and form the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force in support of Joint Task Force NOBLE ANVIL. During the 78-day campaign, the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force (JPOTF) developed over 40 different leaflets. More than 104.5 million leaflets were dropped throughout Serbia from the Air Force’s MC-130 Hercules, F-16 fighters and B-52 bombers over the course of the campaign. The 6th POB formed the core of the JPOTF.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion established two Product Development Centers (PDC), one at the Warrior Preparation Center, near Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and one at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. The PDC at Ft. Bragg wrote the scripts for the radio and television program and translated products, while the PDC in Germany created the leaflets.

Their mission was to get the message of truth to the diverse masses, which included Serb military, police forces in Kosovo, and the civilian population in Belgrade as well as in the small towns and villages throughout the remainder of Serbia, and to Kosovo refugees in Albania and Macedonia.

The Psychological Operations Task Force prepared a multimedia campaign consisting of leaflets, handbills, posters, and radio and television broadcasts aimed at countering the distorted reports being fed to the Serbian people by their own government. This effort included informing the Serbian people of the scope and magnitude of Slobodan Milosevic’s campaign of mass murder, systematic rape, forced evacuation and destruction of Kosovo. Additionally, the PSYOP campaign served as a source of information and hope for the Kosovo refugees in Albania and Macedonia.

In March 1989, days after NATO began an air campaign against Yugoslavia, Commando Solo broadcast aircraft deployed to Europe. The 6th PSYOP Battalion soldiers working in the Product Development Center at Fort Bragg wrote a daily radio and television program for broadcast into Serbia over AM, FM and television frequencies. The broadcast was called “Allied Voice Radio and Television.”

Now that we have reported the official story of Operation Allied Force; I add some data from my own notes and previous articles I have written.

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Joseph Tito

The United States found itself involved in the nation once called Yugoslavia several times in the past decades. There was a violent disintegration of that country after the death of Joseph Broz (Tito) in 1980. Tito had ruled a divided Serbian people. Those Serbs, the largest ethnic group of Yugoslavia, were spread over four "Socialist Federative Republics" and two Autonomous Regions. Much of this population shift had been caused by the Ottoman Empire conquests and the politics of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Some 42% of the Serbs were located outside Serbia proper.

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Slobodan Milosevic

In 1989, a new nationalist leader by the name of Slobodan Milosevic took power in the Serbian Republic. He had previously served as the leader of Belgrade Communist Party and the Serbian Communist Party. He wanted to dominate all of the old Yugoslavia, but when it became clear that he could not, he decided upon the ethnic cleansing of his country and the creation of a Greater Serbia. He abolished Kosovo's autonomy. Croats and Slovenes feared that they were next in line. There were daily news reports of murders, rapes, mass killings and other atrocities carried out by the Serbs as Milosevic drove the minorities from their lands and homes, "purifying" his Greater Serbia. The problem of course, was that several portions of this new Greater Serbia were to consist of lands that had never been part of the old Serbia or populated by Serbians. This was a policy of naked aggression.

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Two Operation Provide Promise aerial leaflets dropped on Bosnia

Two leaflets were prepared and dropped over Bosnia. They both depict a Hercules C-130 USAF cargo plane in front of a faint United States flag. Both leaflets picture crates falling by parachute marked with a bright red cross, and both are written in Serbo-Croat text, in Latin script on one side and Cyrillic on the other side.

On the first leaflet, the C-130 drops four containers. The leaflet tells the Serbs not to fire on the aircraft. They drop food for all the people. The text is:

American aircraft will be dropping humanitarian aid for all people. Do not fire on American aircraft. Food and medical supplies are intended for all people.

On the second leaflet, the C-130 drops three containers labeled "500 KG." This leaflet was prepared because of accidents that occurred in Somalia. Starving people rushed mindlessly into the drop zone only to be crushed by falling food crates. The leaflet text is:

Danger! For everyone's safety, let humanitarian aid land before approaching.

Milosevic’s actions forced the United Nations to deploy peacekeeping forces and begin humanitarian relief operations. Operation Provide Promise began on 2 July 1992. Twenty-one nations formed a coalition to resupply war-torn Sarajevo with food and medicine. The U.N. established "no-fly" zones over Bosnia. The United States mediated an agreement between the Bosnians, the Bosnian Croats, and the Government of Croatia to form a federation of Bosnians and Croats.

Before this first leaflet drop the U.S. Army’s 6th PSYOP Battalion had many alerts, false starts and partial deployments while the great powers decided if the action would be solely by the United States, under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or the United Nations. As a result, these first leaflets were designed in three different formats in Germany. Eventually it was decided that this would be a NATO operation, but the decision was already made that the first leaflets would display the American flag. The images were faxed via a secure link back to Ft. Bragg for printing by the Product Dissemination Battalion. When the leaflets were delivered shortly before the first drop they were found to be poorly printed with a “grainy” appearance. The PSYOP troops were very disappointed with the quality but it was too late to make any changes or reprint the entire stock of leaflets.

There were numerous published reports of the aerial leafleting. On 25 February 1993, U.S. aircraft dropped about 600,000 leaflets over Srebrenica, Cerska, Gorazde, and Zera. On 27 February, two C-130s dropped another million leaflets. Five C-130s dropped 80 1-ton food containers on 28 February. Aircraft dropped another one million leaflets on 1 March.

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The Superman PSYOP comic book

There were many other propaganda publications used in Bosnia. Perhaps the most interesting is the mine-warning 12-page Superman comic book entitled "Deadly Legacy" that was produced pro-bono with DC Comics. The cover shows the man of steel swooping down to save a two young boys who are about to pick up an explosive device on the ground. The back of the book shows Superman flying the children to safety and the text:

Superman has come to help the children of Bosnia-Herzegovina! But even when he can't be here, you can keep yourself safe from land mines! Mines kill kids! For more information on how you can prevent these accidents, call the mine action center.

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Sergeant Mark Jenkins
Sarajevo Airport - Good Friday, 1996.

Sergeant Mark Jenkins of the 6th PSYOP Battalion was not very enthused about the comics. He was a stickler for details, planning and Intelligence studies and the comics just appeared one day with the order to disseminate them. He told me:

I disagreed with them on principle, i.e., that they were pushed on us from outside and had not gone through our campaign planning process, nor were they coordinated with any of our existing mine-awareness efforts. So my reaction, as I recall, was, “Whatever,” and I hoped they might do some good. But I was definitely worried it was further evidence of our pre-packaged “ready-fire-aim” approach to it all.

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Then Major Roger Smith (Ret.) with then Captain Karl Zetmeir (Ret.)

My friend retired Lieutenant Colonel Karl Zetmeir, formerly of the 6th PSYOP Battalion, was the publisher of the Herald of Peace for a short time. He told me about his experience with the magazine:

One of the most professionally satisfying psychological operations products I ever worked on was the Herald of Peace. Though a relatively short-lived product, it represented the hard work and true dedication to our craft on the part of its PSYOP soldiers as no other. In a leaflet-dominated world often marked by simple illustrations and hip-shoot phraseology, the Herald of Peace stands in a class of its own.

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The Herald of Peace
August 1997 – The theme – “Election 97”

We simply called it “the HoP.” It was a magazine produced by the Combined Joint Information Task Force in Sarajevo, Bosnia from 1996 through 1997. I myself reported to the CJICTF in June 1997, where I worked for the Product Development Chief, Major Roger Smith, as the Officer in Charge for all print product development, which included being Chief Editor of the HoP, as well as the Budget/Finance officer for our overall PSYOP campaign efforts. The officer I was replacing in both those functions was Captain Roger Lintz. Roger’s drive and initiative had raised the bar from the HoP’s initial format to that of a glossy, four-color, 36-page, TIME-quality magazine. He’d also negotiated a robust print contract with a Zagreb-based company that made this quality leap possible. Our transition from his team to mine was seamless and we eagerly accepted this challenging job.

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Distributing copies of the Herald of Peace newspaper

The operational direction of the HoP came from our boss Roger Smith. Roger insisted the magazine hold true to stories that supported the Stabilization Force’s country-wide objectives, and we focused on themes like freedom of movement, election participation, and other peace initiatives. The major stories covered subjects like the recently restored Sarajevo ambulance service or the purchase of new firefighting equipment. We deliberately steered clear of ‘collage’ photos of US or other nation’s military forces conducting peacekeeping operations, unit rotations, changes of command, etc. One Stabilization Force logo was found on the inside cover, along with letters from the chief editor (Roger Lintz, followed by myself) and our Noncommissioned Officer editor (Bob Kellogg followed by Hans-Marc Hurd) in each issue. In retrospect, we were going for the same appeal as that of a “Readers Digest,” that even older copies would be interesting and fresh to a war-devastated target audience, particularly in the hinterlands, that rarely saw any printed media at all.

Sergeant Mark Jenkins of the 6th PSYOP Battalion tells us more about the Herald of Peace, some of these facts from his After Action Report prepared 11 June 1996.

Production work for the Herald of Peace in Zagreb began the week of 25 December 1995.The first Zagreb issue was laid out on 28 December 1995 and printed at Radin Press over the weekend. Dissemination began in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 4 January 1996. Approved articles were received early in the week (usually Tuesday), translations were completed by Wednesday evening, Disk files were prepared and forwarded to EuropaPress on Thursday, printing over the weekend, quality control check on Monday, delivered and placed on pallets on Tuesday, shipped to Bosnia on Wednesday.

Sergeant Jenkins told me some of the problems that he encountered:

Many of my memories are of frustration. We in the 6th PSYOP Battalion had been alerted and then stood down so many times about Bosnia that I think some people had decided we were never really going to go. I was apparently one of the few Serbo-Croat linguists that had kept up language skills (and there were only three in the Battalion and one did not deploy), something that I found difficult to comprehend, (and I was only all too aware of my shortcomings as a translator). The potential for deployment to the former Yugoslavia had been apparent for several years. We went in with so many good ideas and were consistently defeated and ground down by bureaucracy and worse, such as the ridiculously long time it took for news items to get approval for publication. At one time, we had to submit everything back to Naples, and they tended to sit on it, no matter our deadlines.

I took pains whenever I was briefing any officers to stress that this was a European country we were dealing with, one with modern media, and if we weren't speedy, we had to at least be credible, or we could kiss our influence goodbye. I'd watched some of Milosevic's speeches on Serbian TV during my stint at the US embassy in Belgrade a year or two earlier, and I was struck by how media-savvy he was (so unlike his portrayal in many Western sources).

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Attention Serbian Forces. You are a NATO target

This Allied leaflet depicts target crosshairs on a Serb tank. Text on the back reads:

Attention Serbian Armed Forces. You are a NATO target. Halt your current operations and return to your garrisons immediately. If you fail to follow these instructions, NATO will continue to attack your unit. Save your lives. Flee while you can.

This leaflet is coded 03-Q-02-L003. NATO aircraft dropped 800,000 copies of this leaflet.

Master Sergeant (retired) Rod Schmidt of B Company of the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion told me:

The sniper-scope green target leaflet dropped on Yugoslavia was based on a design I provided to 6th POB, although they modified it. Originally, I had designed it to resemble the light green, grainy tinge of low-light scopes without the NATO symbol. They were forced to darken the green color because the presses they had at that time just couldn't print the light green design at a high enough resolution to render the image clearly.

More than 3 million posters and handbills were disseminated throughout theater between December 1995 and November 1997.

I will end this section with one of my favorite leaflets, a U.S. B-52 bomber in action.

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Attention VJ Forces, Leave Kosovo

This leaflet depicts a B-52 dropping bombs. The code number of this leaflet is 03-NN-17-L002. NATO aircraft dropped 1.6 million copies of this leaflet. The text on the back is:

Attention VJ Forces, Leave Kosovo, NATO is now using B-52 bombers to drop MK-82 225-kilogram heavy bombs on the Yugoslav Army units in Kosovo. Every B-52 bomber can carry more than 50 of these bombs. These planes will keep coming back for you until they expel your unit from Kosovo and prevent you from committing atrocities. If you want to survive and see your family again, abandon your unit and weapon and leave Kosovo immediately! Thousands of bombs…and the will, and the power, and the support of the entire world to relentlessly drop them on your unit.

The Virgin Islands

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Hurrican Hugo

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Hurricane Hugo caused widespread damage

Hurricane Hugo was a powerful hurricane that caused widespread damage and loss of life in Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, Puerto Rico, and the Southeast United States. It formed over the eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands on 9 September 1989. Hurricane Hugo caused 34 fatalities (most by electrocution or drowning) in the Caribbean and 27 in South Carolina, left nearly 100,000 homeless, and resulted in $10 billion (1989 US Dollars) in damage overall, making it the most damaging hurricane ever recorded at the time. On 17 September 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. Wind-speeds were maintained at approximately 140 mph as it crossed the islands. The hurricane destroyed nearly all of the life support systems for a population of over 50,000; including the fresh water supply, the island's electrical generation capability, and the fuel supply.

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Hurricane Hugo's devastation led to a President Bush sending in the troops

The ensuing chaos and total breakdown of law and order resulted in widespread looting and general lawlessness throughout the island. From 200 to 600 prisoners escaped from the island's only territorial prison. On 20 September 1989, President Bush invoked the Insurrection Act to federalize the National Guard to impose order following violence and looting in the wake of Hurricane Hugo. Elements of the Army, Navy and the Coast Guard, along with a contingent from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation formed Joint Task Force (JTF) 40 for Operation Hawkeye.

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Broadcasting news and instructions

The 6th Psychological Operations Battalion deployed to Saint Croix and the U. S. Virgin Islands as part of JTF-140 to provide Humanitarian Relief after Hurricane Hugo in support of Operation Hawkeye. In general, when natural disasters occur the PSYOP troops tell the people where to find food and water, where the medical tents are located and generally inform the people and try to keep them calm. To see hurricane relief in greater detail click here to see my article on PSYOP during Hurricane Andrew.

Clinton R. Van Zandt mentioned the hurricane in an article entitled “When Forces Work Together: Army PSYOP & the FBI in St. Croix” in Special Warfare, May, 1993:

With the approval of both the FBI special-agent-in-charge and the commander of U.S. Army personnel in St. Croix, the FBI negotiators and PSYOP soldiers developed an assessment of the psychological mood of the local residents. They provided their respective commanders with proactive ways to stop the looting of local businesses. The looting had to be halted to prevent the situation from escalating into a full-scale riot. The FBI advisers and their PSYOP counterparts made the following recommendations to the FBI and the U.S. Army on-scene commanders:

• The PSYOP detachment should obtain current information on distribution sites for food, water and medical aid from the local office of the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Agency.

• The PSYOP detachment should be authorized to disseminate that information via mobile broadcast units and leaflets and to provide taped messages for broadcast by local radio stations when they became operational.

• To ensure that the image of U.S. forces was one of providing assistance, public-service leaflets should be distributed by FBI and military personnel while on patrol throughout St. Croix.

Once the local citizens saw the FBI and the U.S. military forces providing information, aid and assistance, they began to view the joint operation as one of assistance, not occupation. Local residents began to provide FBI and military personnel with information concerning the location of escaped prisoners and the identity of looters, and order soon returned to paradise…This blending of psychological thought and direct application supported the mission of U.S. government forces deployed there, and broke new ground in joint civilian law-enforcement and military operations.

Liberia

The African nation of Liberia has always held a special place in the hearts of Americans. Founded by Americans of African descent in 1848, the capitol city Monrovia was named after James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States. For many years, Americans saw the oldest black African republic as a bastion of democracy on the African continent.

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President Charles Taylor

Civil war came to Nigeria in the late 1990s and the fighting left the country dependent on other nations for food, fuel, and supplies. Rebel advances in 2003 culminating with attacks on Monrovia, coupled with two years of UN-imposed sanctions for President Charles Taylor’s meddling in Sierra Leone's civil war, finally prompted Taylor’s abdication from power in August 2003. One-half of Liberia's three million people were displaced. Taylor became the only person in history (besides Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia) to be charged with war crimes while in office as the leader of a nation. He flew to exile in Nigeria. In July 2003, following a cease-fire, the U. S. Army Southern European Task Force was directed to establish a joint task force and provide support to military forces of the Economic Community of West African States as it led peace support operations in Monrovia, Liberia.

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Leaflet LBM3aD02 – U. S. Forces are near

The 6th PSYOP Battalion deployed a five-man PSYOP Support Element to Vicenza, Italy. These elements enable tactical commanders to communicate directly with the enemy and foreign civilians. At the same time, the Product Development Center was making and sending PSYOP products via "Reachback." Reachback is a term used for the ability to exploit resources, capabilities, and expertise not physically located in the theater or joint operations area. In the case of Liberia, the leaflets were prepared at Ft. Bragg, and then forwarded to Vicenza. The leaflets were reviewed in Vicenza and then sent to the U. S. Embassy for approval and the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group at sea for printing by the Navy. The 6th PSYOP Battalion was assigned two loudspeaker team attachments, which were deployed to the Iwo Jima. They performed some missions on the ground in Liberia, and were critical in helping the U. S. Navy print the PSYOP products aboard ship.

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LBM5aD01 – U. S. Forces continue to monitor… prolong your suffering

Specialist Heidi Cardona of the 6th PSYOP Battalion was a MOS 25M multimedia illustrator member of the 5-person PSYOP team that prepared and printed the Liberia leaflets and posters. Once the project was well underway she went forward with the team to Monrovia, Liberia where they worked hand in hand with both the Marines and the U.S. Embassy. She says in regard to the operation:

In doing the products, I based my designs on what the PSYOP troops envisioned. They told me the kind of images they wanted and I put their basic concepts on paper. It was a team effort. We put the products together with their concepts and my design skills. We were there as peacekeepers. We were there to tell them to “play nice and to get along.” It was proven by the end of the war that the messages we gave them helped. We gave them good visual images and basic, simple words for them to understand their situation and the consequences of their actions.

The most difficult aspect of the operation for us was that when we started out we weren't on location. We were in a different time zone so it was difficult to get an immediate response from the U.S. Embassy and to learn the reactions of the local people. Towards the end of our mission we ended up erecting billboards so that everyone could see how the U.S. and the U.N. were just in Liberia to help. I think it was a successful mission. They now have a new president and things seem to be getting better.

The Army Illustrators

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George Banagis artwork from the 1980s
Some members made T-shirts using this design and text such as “HB Team 1975-1978”
“HB” indicates “Loudspeaker”

Retired Sergeant First Class George E. Banagis served as team leader for the 6th PSYOP Battalion's Graphic section from 1996 to 1998. There were from nine to eleven Illustrators in his section at different times and he was surprised to discover that over half of the illustrators had no drawing skills because the Department of the Army never checked their bona fides at the time they enlisted. That made his job really difficult because he soon learned that those without any natural drawing talent cannot be taught how to draw.

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A “Stock” Drawing to be stored for use by PSYOP Troops in a Military Action

George says about the picture above:

The picture was an idea I had for 4th PSYOP Group to use stock photos done by our illustrator staff to complete artwork for a mission ahead of time in their home base. The analysts would have a stockpile of hundreds of images ready to use and a great saving of time in the war zone. The artwork depicts the child of one of my soldiers and another one of my soldiers is posing as a combat medic. I photographed the scene and then drew it by hand. I presented this idea to the 4th PSYOP Group commander a few days before I was transferred to a new assignment in Washington DC. I moved on to my new assignment and that is the last I heard of the plan.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion graphic section was located in the old wooden barracks in Ft. Bragg and they were in such bad shape that the members were required to do a lot of construction work to improve the buildings. There was also a print van the section worked in that was one of the five tractor trailers belonging to the print platoon.

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Army Illustrator George Banagis

Banagis arrived at Ft. Bragg in March 1986 and was deployed within a week to Hohenfels, one of the main bases in Germany, called at that time the Combat Maneuver Training Command. The name was changed later to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. George was a platoon sergeant in charge of the Mobil Video Platoon and his platoon was in the VIPERs or Visual Information Personal and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Hohenfels.

While stationed with the 6th PSYOP Battalion in Germany about 1987 George and his fellow PSYOP specialists did some day trips into East Berlin. George told me:

We took the duty train at night to Berlin with the curtains drawn until we got to the city of Berlin. I still remember the overly tall East German Soldier on the train as we went through customs with his AK-47. It was an amazing city the moment we had stepped off the train and one of my favorites. We walked around the area of the train station until the van arrived that took us to Checkpoint Charlie museum which we toured. We had exchanged East German marks in West Germany to get a better rate. The East Germans would give you a one DDR mark for one West German mark, while in West Germany you got TEN DDR marks for one West German mark. It made the drip to East Germany a lot more affordable. The East Germans did not know what to think about our red berets and bloused greens.

 

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Part of the 6th PSYOP Battalion Graphics Team in East Berlin

From left to right: SGT Banagis; SPC French; SPC Sims; SPC Semanski; and SPC Burdock

We first drove around the city and you could see bullets holes left over from WWII and the city seemed like a slum compared to the rest of Germany I had seen. We drove past the Brandenburg gate and Hitler’s Bunker as well as the KGB Headquarters with its mirrored windows so you could not see what was going on inside. We stopped at a shopping area and had a beer and some food and were able to walk around the city but were not allowed to speak to the East German people. We wore our class B uniforms with our red berets and jump boots. We stood out like an elite unit.

Banagis made Staff Sergeant on his return trip from the temporary duty assignment after completing Airborne School. He was later assigned to the Department of Army Personnel Command out of Fort Myers, Virginia, and his last assignment was Platoon Sergeant for Combat Camera in Hohenfels, Germany. About 1992 he was temporarily assigned to the US Army Center of Military History Army Artist program and his art work was used in documenting the US Army in Honduras and Panama. It is now part of the permanent collection at the US Army Center of military history. He made honor graduate at the US Army Advanced course for visual Information at Lowery AFB. He retired in May 1995 from Hohenfels, Germany, and now appears at Art Festivals in New York State.

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Martin J. Cervantez

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Retired Master Sergeant Martin J. Cervantez enlisted in the Army Signal Corps in July 1986 as an 81E, Illustrator. During his first enlistment he was assigned to A Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion. He was later detailed to the 9th PSYOP Battalion, which deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm while attached to the 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Regiment. Martin told me:

I was assigned to A Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion, as an 81E, Illustrator. We did Cold War programs, and a lot of field training exercises, and Army training and evaluation programs. I made leaflets, did print ready artwork, and color separations by hand, and worked closely with out then company organic light print platoon.I was then moved to C Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion, which was the startup for Africa Company.We were given the last of 6 operational Jeeps to start our motor pool.They each had a trailer.I helped paint all of them tan, and then a darker tan for camouflage.

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I Got your Six

Members of 3rd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1/26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, perform a security halt during a mounted patrol on 9 November, 2008.

His assignments included Graphics Non-commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) for the, Operations Section, 509th Signal Battalion at Camp Darby, Italy from 1991 to 1992 and later with the 7th Signal Brigade in Karlsruhe, Germany from 1992 to 1994.

In June 2000, while serving as platoon sergeant for 2d Platoon, 55th Signal Company, he led Combat Camera teams during a deployment to Kosovo and again as the Joint Combat Camera Team NCOIC for Foal Eagle 2002. He later served as First Sergeant for B Company, 3rd PSYOP Battalion from September 2002 until March 2005. While serving in this position, he deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism to Iraq and Afghanistan.

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A Huge Responsibility

Second Lieutenant Patrick Farrell of The American Provincial Police Mentor Team and his interpreter are meeting with the Afghan National Police Chief in the town of Khost in November, 2008, to review local situations and provide mentorship on several issues. The interpreter is covering his face so that he can’t be identified by anyone that may have ties with the Taliban or Al-Qaida.

He is a former Artist in Residence at the U.S. Army Center of Military History where he was responsible for capturing the Army's history on paper and canvas. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from February to April 2011 and from September to December 2008. He was also deployed in support of Operation Unified Response in Haiti from January-February 2010. During these deployments he produced artwork that visually recorded Soldiers’ experiences the Army’s achievements.

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An Informal Open Air Latrine

Most of his paintings are remarkable for their clarity and color. I like this one because it shows the boredom of the mundane life behind the lines in a war zone in a foreign land. I don’t know what title Martin gave this painting, but every GI that saw it called it “Piss tubes,” and added, “Been there, done that.”

The original photo was taken in Afghanistan, 2011, at Combat Outpost Iron. The oil painting was completed in his studio at Ft. Belvior, Virginia, 2012. This piece will be in the art exhibit at the National Museum of the US Army starting around summer 2021.

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Mural Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift

Now retired, he took part in the creation of a mural commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Berlin airlift along with Fabian Stenzel, a German graffiti artist, unveiled at Clay Kaserne, 22 June 2018.

Randy Llewellyn

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Randall (Randy) Llewellyn onboard a U.S. Air Force C-141 returning to Ft Bragg from a NATO Exercise at RAF West Raynham May, 1981. The aircraft is on the tarmac at Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville NC. They were unloading the plane and then the men would be off to their barracks on Smoke Bomb Hill.

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Randy Llewellyn at 3rd Support Command in Frankfurt on the Main, Germany where he was the Non-commissioned Officer in charge of the Operations (G3) Graphics Department.

Randy Llewellyn served in the 6th PSYOP Battalion from 1980 to 1982. He told me:

I started drawing at a very early age, one of my earliest memories was at my grandparent’s farm stressing over making the wheels look right on car sketches. I enlisted on the “Stripes for Skills” program as an Army Illustrator (81E) at the rank of PFC. Right after basic training; I skipped Advanced Individual Training and reported directly to the 6th PSYOP Battalion at Ft. Bragg, NC in June 1980 and was assigned to the Battalion S-3 (Operations). The first months of my enlistment were the adventure of my lifetime. I went from basic training to Ft Bragg, was promoted to Specialist 4, graduated the Primary Leadership Development Course and earned my jump wings in less than a year. My confidence was higher than any other time in my life, and I was pumped and eager for more, but best of all, I met people and made friends that changed my life forever.

Many of the propaganda campaigns I worked on were classified real world North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) packs. Some of my best work at the 6th PSYOP Battalion was for NATO. Here is some of the work I did during my tour with 6th PSYOP. Unfortunately, much of what I prepared was classified at the time and I was not allowed to keep samples of the products.

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Warning

This leaflet was used during an Army Training and Evaluation Program (ARTEP). It was dropped on a division of airborne infantry in the field and supported with loudspeaker broadcasts of snarling barking dogs throughout the nights of the exercise to cause worry and sleep deprivation among the division. Notice the official looking U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) signature at the bottom designed to create authenticity. The reverse side of the Rabies Epidemic Leaflet played off of the sleep deprivation caused by the loudspeaker broadcasts creating disorientation, and paranoia with the troops. Sick call was swamped with patients throughout the ARTEP and the unit strength suffered greatly.

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OPSEC Poster

I remember a campaign that actually caused one division to fail their ARTEP. Unfortunately I didn’t actually work on it, but I’ll tell you about it anyway. The 6th PSYOP Battalion was doing their Opposing Force (OPFOR) thing with leaflets and loudspeakers and they managed to capture several of the division’s troops. (I seem to remember they were trying to take out loudspeaker team, but I could be wrong) During their interrogation they let slip the name of the most respected NCO in the unit. I’m not sure if it was luck or skill but that NCO was also captured. He was reunited with the other captives in the day room at the 6th barracks with women, beer and a few games of pocket billiards and the photographs were made into leaflets. Combined with the other campaigns the 6th PSYOP was running, the results were devastating to the division.

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OPSEC Booklet

After the division failed the ARTEP above, it was realized that most units were under-trained on fighting propaganda and as a result the Operation Security (OPSEC) 11 x 17-inch poster above along with a Soviet PSYOP Threat booklet and a pocket card with OPSEC guidelines as well as other information was written and distributed in the effort to educate our troops.

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The Graffiti Pig

This graffiti pig was part of an effort to convince the Opposing Force soldiers to believe they would be given pig’s blood transfusions if they were ever injured in combat. I designed it so it could be spray painted easily by anybody in a matter of seconds to avoid capture or worse. It took me a long time to come up with the pig. Sometimes it very hard to keep things simple. The campaign was supported with the typical propaganda methods and at one point we experimented with printing on kites.

[Author's Note]: I was rather interested in the kite propaganda because The Chinese used leaflet kites as early as 549 A.D. The British used propaganda kites against Napoleon and again against the Central Powers in WWI. During the Cold War the Chinese used kites to move propaganda between the mainland and Quemoy. Most recently, in 2018 the residents of Gaza used kites to carry burning rags and gasoline into Israel. I asked Randy to tell me more about the kites:

One of our Specialist 4 intelligence analysts came up with the kite idea and our leaders let him run with it. We were on a NATO exercise at RAF West Raynham, His first task was to build a kite which may not seem to be difficult, but we didn’t have any of the materials needed to actually build one. No string, no paper or kite sticks. The whole project turned into a scavenger hunt. He cut sticks from trees outside of the air base and used tabloid newspaper to cover it. I don’t recall where he got the string but in the end, he found everything he needed. The final kite as I recall was not pretty and I don’t remember if it flew, but I give him an “A” for effort. Beyond that, the rest of the kite project was all in reports and no art work was ever created for it. I do know the idea was to get the kite flying where Opposing Force were likely to see it or tie it off so it could fly on its own.

After my tour at the 6th PSYOP Battalion, I got Permanent Change of Station orders to Germany. I got out of the regular army did a tour in the Army Reserves. (The 365th Engineers of the 79th Army Reserve Command) and was activated for Desert Storm. However, I was then training to be a carpenter masonry specialist but since my military occupational specialty was still 81E I was sent home. Later they called me to come back to continue my training in the hope that they could get me ready in time for deployment. My Commander was determined to get all of his troops to deploy with the 365th and I was called back again but in the end a group of us who were as yet unqualified were reassigned to a Bailey bridge company for training so I never deployed. Neither did the 365th. They got as far as Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, and spent the remainder of Desert Storm there.

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Operational Detachment One, 6th PSYOP Battalion, late 1981

SP5 Williams, SSG McCreedy, CPT Rieger, CPT Jones.
SP4 Dorfer, SP4 Jennifer Stengel, PFC Robinson SSG Linthicum.
MAJ Van Nest, SP4 Moses, SP4 Hecht, SP4 Marek, SP6 Chunn, SFC Jones.

I note that Specialist Stengel would later marry Illustrator Randy Llewellyn (above) and change her name. I also note Illustrator Ed Marek (who we also mention below) in the front row.

During his time in the 6th PSYOP Battalion Randy worked on numerous training-related Cold War PSYOP campaigns: North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises and war games such as Reforger with the British Royal Air Force at West Raynham, a former RAF base built in 1939 during WWII.

The Reforger (Return of Forces to Germany) exercise itself was first conceived in 1967 during the Vietnam War. The Johnson administration announced plans to withdraw approximately two divisions from Europe in 1968. As a demonstration of its continuing commitment to the defense of NATO, a large scale force deployment was planned that would deploy a division or more to West Germany in a regular annual exercise. The first such exercise was conducted beginning on 6 January 1969. Reforger became an annual exercise conducted during the Cold War by NATO. The exercise was intended to ensure that NATO had the ability to quickly deploy forces to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact.

Joint Training Exercise Solid Shield 1977

In 1977 we find the 6th PSYOP Battalion taking part in Joint Training Exercise Solid Shield. Solid Shield was an annual massive military exercise that lasted one week each year. It emphasized command and control in a unified environment. More than 50,000 personnel from the U.S. Army's Forces Command, the Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the Marine Corps' Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, TAC, MAC, and the Coast Guard joined in the massive exercise. Although I have about a dozen leaflets from this exercise, most are in black and white. I add two there were printed in color here.

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U.S. and Blue Allied for Victory

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Armored Soldiers of Red

Some of the black and white leaflets were very attractive. I add one here:

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Will you Ever Return to Her?

This Solid Shield leaflet depicts a lonely woman thinking of her man. It is the kind of leaflet that is always used in every war. The back is also interesting since it shows the insignia of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.

Ed Marek

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Ed Marek “Self Portrait”

Ed Marek originally entered the Army as an 11B (Infantryman) in 1977 and was first stationed at the Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. As a Specialist 4th Class member of the 25th Infantry Division in 1979 he was already showing artistic skills and received a letter of commendation for making display cards for the division reunion. In 1980 he reenlisted for “Graphics Apprentice” School. He was interested in art and drawing since childhood. His father was an artist so it came naturally. After the course at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, he was assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion as an 81E (Illustrator) in the Propaganda Development section. He arrived at a time of relative peace while his Battalion was deployed on the Cuban Mariel boat people operation. Ed told me:

It was a great experience working with the different people and specialties from military intelligence analysts, photographers, artists to broadcasters. Field duty was interesting as far as creating artwork on the fly out in the woods, midnight loudspeaker missions and leaflet drops. Great people and had a lot of fun as a PSYOP specialist in the 3 years I spent with the 6th Battalion from 1980 to 1983. I did one more tour in Darmstadt, Germany then left the Army in 1986 to attend the Academy of Art. I served in the Army a total of 10 years.

After a couple of freelance positions I landed a spot as a Graphics Specialist at a major Chicago publishing company, creating ads as well as laying out and producing magazines and newspapers, where I worked for 25 years until leaving the business to spend more time on other endeavors.

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Ed Marek Assigned to the 11th Signal Brigade in 1984,
32nd Army Air Defense Command (AADCOM).

He told me about taking the PSYOP course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School where he had Madison Avenue advertising executives teaching classes and techniques that were very helpful and that he used later as an illustrator. Most of his work involved training exercises, war games, and even some work for the Ft. Bragg Newspaper Paraglide. In 1982, he received a letter of appreciation for the artwork he contributed voluntarily for the Paraglide.

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Yesterday
Ed talks below about leaflets for the Warsaw Pact.
Here is a typical example from my own collection

The PSYOP units in Germany also practiced making mock leaflets against the Communist German and Soviet troops. This 6th PSYOP Battalion Russian-language Cold War training leaflet was made in conjunction with the German 800th PSV (Psychological Defense) Battalion. The front depicts two Russian soldiers with the girlfriends and the text:

Yesterday

On the back of the leaflet the two Russian soldiers have disappeared and only the girls remain. The text is:

Today, tomorrow, and then how long?

He did a lot of work on classified stock leaflets to be packaged and used in time of war, but those leaflets were all taken to storage depots and saved. In the 80s the 6th PSYOP Battalion was supporting the watching of the Warsaw Pact and Eastern Europe so he could not keep even the drafts, drawings, and illustrations and paintings he did. One of his favorites was a red watercolor of a Russian soldier and tanks designed for use on Czechoslovakia and Poland as a leaflet or poster. Since he only did the artwork, he had no idea what the text might be on the product, but it surely would have been divisive propaganda meant to split the Communist-bloc armies.

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The Thousand Yard Stare

There is a very famous image of a soldier in Combat with his eyes hollow and unseeing in what has been called “the thousand yard stare.” Here, Ed Marek does his own version of that picture for a stock, pre-packaged morgue file. Ed was told to create a war weary soldier. Should war come, the next artist would be able to use the image, change the uniform into that of the enemy and make whatever changes were necessary.

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Citizens of Pahran!

I liked this leaflet because of the text on one side:

Citizens of Pahran!

BEWARE!

The American paid killers have arrived

The other side show two American soldiers and an enormous pile of cash, obviously paid to them to kill the local guerrillas.

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Safe Conduct Pass

This is a standard safe conduct pass with an insignia at the center that is the same as worn by the enemy artillery forces. Ed told me that the defecting soldier on the other side of the leaflet is wearing that patch. The leaflet offers hot meals and claims to be from a POW who has defected to the other side and has been treated well. The back depicts the defector with a woman and talks about all the food he has eaten and implies there might be some sex in his future. The woman, Khatahbah Katie, is 6th PSYOP Battalion Intelligence Analyst Specialist Sergeant. Laura Williams. Ed told me that she retired as a First Sergeant.

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Paraglide

Ed showed me several images he drew for the Ft. Bragg newspaper Paraglide. I liked this one, a scene of a soldier about to face a board and in shock when hearing himself called.

Training and Wargame Leaflets

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Dragonfire

This poster was printed very quickly on the spot, in the field, to commemorate the visit of Major General George E. Marine, Deputy Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The exercise was called “Dragonfire” and featured the 1st of the 73rd Field Artillery. It was an ARTEP (Army Training and Evaluation Program). The entire poster project took 2 hours and it was 42 minutes from Marek’s drawing board to print. The poster explains:

This was printed during Major General Marines’ visit to OP 15, 26 May 1982. Demonstrating the swift and professional capabilities of the 6TH PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS BATTALION.

 

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Tick

Many leaflets try to frighten the enemy with tales of the dangers to be found in the field. I have leaflets that show poisonous snakes, spiders and even ticks. Marek was particularly fond of this leaflet. He called it the 1/73 ARTEP "Award Winner". He told me that the officers and analysts hated the tick leaflet but as a former 11B infantryman, he knew that the ticks were a discomfort and a worry to the foot soldier. He thought it would be effective and found that it was. If I can add a personal note, Rocky Mountain Spotted disease is very dangerous. At one time in my career I was involved in projects of this sort and one of my comrades broke a Petri dish containing that disease and cut his hand. He died soon afterwards. It was a reminder to be very careful when working with little bugs that can kill you.

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The Third Terd

I do not know how to describe this leaflet. In general, at war games everyone is very gentlemanly. In fact, in WWII, Sefton Delmer the head of the British black propaganda unit caught a lot of flak from politicians because of his leaflet profanity and pornography. He basically replied, “All things are fair in love and war; it is what the Germans like to read.”

Apparently, some PSYOP agents infiltrated the Military Police Company’s field mess and gained some inside information on the unit's members. Ed told me:

Two of our analysts infiltrated their basecamp at chow time and as I remember were able to hang around there for a briefing or two and gossip with some of their soldiers. They were both good looking, and Sergeant Laura Williams found that being an attractive female had its advantages. They heard stories about all the enemy soldiers and learned their nicknames. Nothing about that leaflet was politically correct. Messing with their heads was the deal.

Tony Sims

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Tony Sims deployed for Training at Fort A. P. Hill, Virginia in 1987

Tony M. Sims started drawing when he was about 7 years old. He took every art class in middle and high school. He knew he wanted to be an artist, but was not sure on how to go about it. The military seemed to be the answer. Tony served in the U.S. Army from February 1986 to November 1998. He started his military life with basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1986. He took his advanced training at Lowry Air Force Base. He was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the Military Occupational Specialty of 81E, with the duties of illustrating drafts and laying out illustrations for posters, graphs, charts, tests, and training aids. He served as an illustrator and propaganda specialist from 1986 to 1990 in the 6th PSYOP Battalion; Company A. He did many things in his years as an artist, such as designing the logo for the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, NC. He worked on and supervised over a dozen leaflet missions. From 1991 to 1995 he was assigned to the Print Dissemination Battalion which later became the 3rd PSYOP Battalion. He now lives a quiet life working for the Union Pacific Railroad out of South Morrill, Nebraska. He has lived in Torrington, Wyoming, for the past 20 years, with his wife Carla.

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A Tony Sim’s drawing of a radioman with a PRC-77

Tony told me in 2018 that he had been part of the team that printed the 4th PSYOP Group booklet on Operation Desert Storm depicted above. He also helped to print a folded cardboard piece that honored the 4th PSYOP Group and featured photographs and histories of the various units that took part in the Persian Gulf War.

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Folded card front

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Folded card back

Note the comment at the left:

During operation Provide Comfort the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne) aided millions of Kurdish refugees near the Turkish-Iraq border. Soldiers were deployed from Ft. Bragg and Saudi Arabia, where during the war they lent loudspeaker support to units of the Coalition Force. Near the border they assisted the refugees with loudspeaker announcements and leaflet drops encouraging the Kurds to seek refuge in established camps.

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The Special Operations Booklet for Congress

Tony also was part of the team that printed a booklet for Congress that told the story of Special Operations and Psychological Operations. The booklet is 38-pages long and mentions all the units of Special Forces, the equipment they use, the organizations and a number of the operations they took part in. Since we write about PSYOP I have included the two pages that mention psychological operations.

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The Airborne and Special Forces Museum Logo

In 1992, Tony Sims designed the logo for the Airborne and Special Forces Museum in Fayetteville N.C. The design shows several important historical symbols, the old patch worn by the first Special Service Force in WWII, a Special Forces dagger Which was apparently modeled after the Fairbairn-Sykes British Commando knife, and a master parachutist badge. Tony was recognized with a certificate in 2018 for his achievement which said:

Certificate of Appreciation

For his artistic and creative efforts in the development of the Museum’s logo.

The logo you created embellishes the spirit of the Airborne and Special Operations Soldiers the museum strives to honor.

Ethiopia

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U.S. Officer mentors Ethiopian military officers

In June 2009, Michelle Butzgy wrote an article in Paraglide entitled “Fort Bragg Soldiers work at winning hearts and minds around the world.” She said about the 6th Battalion:

Specialist Esther Cutler, 6th PSYOP Battalion worked in Ethiopia, part of African Command. She said:

There's tension in those tribes. The battalion designed a tri-arm logo for unity and promoted a basketball team to spread the word. During their games, they stop and talk to the audience about unity. They (travel) around the regions of Ethiopia so they're going to take that message with them. The battalion is also sponsoring a soccer league with the same unity message. They also put together a unity concert with world musicians Pras Michael, Aster Awoke and Gosaye. It was huge.

LIBYA

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Libya Independence Protests in Benghazi

A civil war erupted in Libya on 15 February 2011. The situation began as a series of peaceful protests. On the evening of 15 February, between 500 and 600 demonstrators protested in front of the police headquarters in Benghazi after the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil. The protest was broken up violently by police, resulting in 38 injured, among them ten security personnel. Protest rallies were held in Al Bayda, Az Zintan, Benghazi, and Darnah. Libyan security responded with lethal force. A “Day of Rage” was planned for 17 February inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Within a week, this uprising had spread across the country and Gaddafi was struggling to retain control. Gaddafi responded with military force and other such measures as censorship and blocking of communications.

The rebels established a coalition named the Transitional National Council based in Benghazi. The International Criminal Court warned Gaddafi that he and members of his government may have committed crimes against humanity and the United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution freezing the assets of Gaddafi and ten members of his inner circle, and restricting their travel. The United Nations intervened, the initial coalition expanded to 17 states. The effort was initially largely led by France and the United Kingdom, with command shared with the United States. NATO took control of the arms embargo on 23 March, named Operation Unified Protector. On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone, while command of targeting ground units remains with coalition forces.

Captain Geoffrey Childs wrote an article entitled “Military Information Support to Contingency Operations in Libya for Special Warfare, January-March 2013. He summed up the PSYOP well and I thought we would use his numbers as a guide in this article. Some of his comments are:

More than 50 messages were disseminated throughout the first 12 days of Operation Odyssey Dawn and an additional 200 were disseminated during the seven months of the Operation Unified Protector…Commando Solo flew its first sortie, broadcasting 11 MISO messages in three languages, the same day the JTF dropped its first bomb. These messages were developed, approved, translated, recorded, uploaded and disseminated within a 17-hour time period…Of the more than 9 million leaflets disseminated, only a few achieved their desired effect, but most were credited to have bolstered the spirit of the TNC forces and civilians in fear of the regime alike.

Childs mentions the activities of the 6th PSYOP Battalion and says in part:

PSYOP approval authority was limited in scope to support exclusively the non-combatant evacuation mission, which therefore remained the singular focus of the 6th PSYOP Battalion. When UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorizing the use of force to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under the threat of attack was ratified on

March 17, 2011, the company, at Fort Bragg, began developing a PSYOP series based on the secretary of defense’s preapproved psychological operations programs in anticipation of coalition lethal actions against the Gadhafi regime.

It is impossible to empirically prove that the PSYOP campaign directly caused the eventual collapse of the Gadhafi regime. While NATO’s approach to PSYOP was, at times, at odds with the American process, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest 6th PSYOP Battalion-enabled NATO messages contributed to the overall success of contingency operations in Libya.

Leaflet Operations in Libya

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Colonel Gaddafi…

I am going to show three Leaflets Captain Childs used to illustrate his article although I have all the leaflets used in the campaign. Readers who want to learn more about the PSYOP of the Libyan campaign will find my article here.

This leaflet depicted Gaddafi at the right and Libyan citizens near a bomb blast at the left. The text is:

Colonel Gaddafi’s orders to attack civilians are illegal and as a result he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

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Non-Libyan Fighters…

One of the more interesting leaflets depicts a Libyan banknote on fire. It was believed that Gaddafi was paying foreign mercenaries to fight for his regime. Text on the front of the note is:

Non-Libyan fighters, this is the only money you will receive for continuing to endanger Libyan citizens.

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Stop Tearing Libya Apart

This leaflet depicts a Libyan soldier on the front, split down the middle to show a government soldier on one side and a rebel on the other. Behind the soldier is a tank, behind the rebel an armed truck (sometimes called a “technical”) and armed fighters. NATO symbols appear at the lower left and right. The text on the front is:

Stop Tearing Libya Apart

One Libya, one people

The 6th Battalion in Europe Today

The military magazine Special Warfare mentioned the 6th Battalion in its January-June 2016 issue. It said in part:

The 6th PSYOP Battalion, part of 4th Military PSYOP Group, is the primary force provider of PSYOP Soldiers to support special operations, conventional, and partner forces throughout the European Command Area of Responsibility. 6th PSYOP Battalion Soldiers serve as influence advisors to supported commanders by assessing, shaping, disrupting, and ultimately influencing behaviors of foreign related to situations and issues through precision messaging. PSYOP Soldiers are also working on planning, coordinating, and executing training engagements with partner and allied nations focused on improving the existing capabilities of these countries and their emerging information operations programs.

The 6th PSYOP Battalion is composed of a diverse group of regionally aligned Non-commissioned officers and officers who have a career focus on the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, information, physical environment, history, and current events of a specific region of Europe. Many 6th PSYOP Battalion soldiers are native speakers and possess fluency one or more European languages, which makes them critical assets in the countries they are assigned to serve.

In regard to Special Forces the Magazine adds:

Acting in support of Special Operations Command Forward-Eastern Europe, Special Operations Command Europe, and a host of inter-agency and military formations, the U.S. Army Psychological Operations Regiment, specifically the 6th PSYOP Battalion, form the main effort in influence and information activities designed to prevent or end conflict and to counteract threats facing the U.S. and our allies in the European Command area of operations. PSYOP Soldiers are involved in every aspect of regional Special Operations Forces initiatives.

Training and Public Relations

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On 31 July 2014, Psychological Operations held an Open House at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, to show what they do and exhibit some of their products. Sergeant Matt Conley, a PSYOP Specialist assigned to A Company of the 6st PSYOP Battalion explains his job to an interested soldier. Conley said:

I just want other soldiers to know what we do, and how many benefits you can gain from joining this career field. From extraordinary experiences to amazing education benefits, the PSYOP career has a lot to offer.

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A 6th PSYOP Battalion Soldier works with his team to make his way across a wire obstacle and complete a leader reaction course at Camp Dawson, West Virginia. During the unit’s mission readiness exercise, the 6th PSYOP Battalion validated their skills to join teams that will augment Special Operations Command Europe in the coming months. Among their skills tested are language proficiency and cultural understanding. (Photo by Captain Stephen Von Jett)

In Memorial

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Specialist 4 Darel L. Sills, of Salem, Oregon, assigned to the 246th PSYOP Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne) was killed on 13 October, 1966 when the military vehicle in which he was riding hit an explosive mine. Sills’ skill badges and decorations included the Aircraft Crewman Badge, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Military Merit Medal, and Gallantry Cross with Palm.

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Staff Sergeant Rodger E. Terwilliger, of Littleton, Colorado, assigned to the 246th PSYOP Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne) was killed on 15 October 1966 when the vehicle he was riding in struck a mine in Vietnam.

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First Lieutenant John S. Martin, of Oklawaha, Florida, assigned to the 244th PSYOP Company, 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne) was killed on 10 August 1967 when the C-130B Hercules aircraft he was flying in crashed into Dong Nhut Mountain, Vietnam

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Specialist 4 Arnold D. Syrovatka, of Ethan, South Dakota, assigned to the 244th PSYOP Company, 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), died on  October 15, 1967 from injuries from a gunshot wound in Vietnam.

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First Lieutenant John Edward Miller, of Arlington, Virginia, assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne) died of wounds following an attack on Forward Operating Base Four on 24 August 1968 in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam.

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Specialist 5 John E. Lynch, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne). On 15 June 1969 Lynch was conducting a leaflet drop/loudspeaker mission aboard a UH-1 ‘Huey’ Iroquois belonging to B Company, 229th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in III CTZ near Long Khanh, Vietnam. Around 1430 hours, the helicopter hit high voltage wires, crashed, and burned. Lynch was killed, along with Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) Kish L. Green (pilot), SP4 Larry D. Lemaster (gunner), and RVN interpreter My Vu Tan. Amazingly, WO1 William K. Geloneck (pilot) and SP4 Larry M. Pollitt (crew chief) survived with serious burns. Lynch was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. His decorations include the Aircraft Crewman Badge, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. 

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Specialist 4 Marc P. Decoteau, of Waterville Valley, New Hamshire, assigned to the 6th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne) died at Forward Operating Base Nunez, Afghanistan, was killed on 29 January 2010 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, when he was shot by an Afghan interpreter while supporting combat operations during Operation Enduring Freedom.

6th PSYOP Battalion Awards and Decorations

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The Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1966-1967 and again for VIETNAM 1967-1968

Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990-1991

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The Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class for VIETNAM 1967-1970

The 6th PSYOP Bn received campaign participation credit for:

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Vietnam: Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase II; Counteroffensive, Phase III; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase IV; Counteroffensive, Phase V; Counteroffensive, Phase VI; Tet 69/Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970; Sanctuary Counteroffensive;Counteroffensive, Phase VII.

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Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait.

This ends our very short look at the history of the United States Army’s 6th PSYOP Battalion, a unit that has deployed to numerous nations to support legal governments and fight anti-government guerrillas and armed enemies of the United States for over 50 years. Readers who wish to comment or send further information are encouraged to write the author at Sgmbert@hotmail.com.