The Tet leaflets are always among the most colorful leaflets prepared during the
Vietnam War. Here is another using very bright color. The text on the front is:
HAPPY NEW YEAR
The text on the back says in part:
Tet is Coming Back to the People. The people celebrating Tet are not happy because
of the hardships imposed on them by the Viet Cong. We are hoping the New Year will replace
the old year with better things. The people should think of their old regime, and the
parents should persuade their children and their children’s friends to desert the
Viet Cong and return to their old government. They will be welcomed.
Leaflet SP-2254
This is another JUSPAO “Special Project” leaflet with the Tet holiday for
a theme. The front depicts a young boy playing a flute while on the back of a water
buffalo. In the foreground children play games. The text is:
Happy New Year
The back depicts flowering branches and the following text:
On the occasion of the New Year the Government of the Republic of Vietnam wishes
you a quiet, peaceful year so that you can return to your families and to freedom.
We hope that you have a chance to rally so that you can enjoy a warm, happy new
year with your families.
Your relatives are waiting for you to return to celebrate the New Year in the
free territory of the Republic of Vietnam.
Small Poster 2904A
This
image was very popular at Tet and was used often on postcards, leaflets, and
various sized posters. It is 8.25 x 10.5-inches and depicts a Vietnamese
woman and her daughter at Tet watching the local boys light fireworks. It
was developed in January 1969. Its theme is both Chieu Hoi and Tet. The
Joint United States Public Affairs Office had it printed in Manila and its
purpose was to encourage rallying to the Chieu Hoi Program. It bears a Chieu
Hoi symbol at the lower left and a January 1969 calendar at the lower right.
Because it was specific to Tet 1969, it was a onetime order and could not be
reordered. The text is:
HAPPY NEW YEAR – LONGING FOR PEACE
Postcard 2904B
This postcard was produced in January 1969 along with a poster. It targets Viet
Cong relatives and sympathizers. It was printed in Manila by request of the Joint United
States Public Affairs Office. It was a one-time item and unavailable for re-order. The
text is:
HAPPY NEW YEAR – LONGING FOR PEACE
Full sized poster 2904
Poster 2904 is very large at 21 x 33-inches and is identical to the postcard except
that the Chieu Hoi symbol is at the lower left and there is a calendar of January 1969 at
the lower right. The official title of the poster is “Tet Poster Number 1,
1969.”
Poster 2905 is also very large at 21 x 33-inches but the image has been changed to a
woman and daughter in a quiet country scene. The Chieu Hoi symbol at the lower left has
been changed to propaganda slogan Democracy, People's Harmony, People's Progress,
and at the right a calendar of February 1969 has been added. The official title of the
poster is “Tet Poster Number 2, 1969.” See below where I hold one.
Leaflet 4-82-69
The 4th PSYOP Group was the main proponent of leaflets in Vietnam through much of the
war so I want to add some 4th Group leaflets. This one depicts a bouquet of roses on the
front and a single rose on the back. The text on the front is:
Spring comes throughout the country; spring comes to warm up the
Chieu Hoi love
Some of the text on the back is:
Dear Friends,
Again the spring comes with the Tet holiday. The incense burner emitting thick
smoke, cooking, and baking with certainly give you strong motivation to be with your loved
ones…Dear friends, do not hesitate to return to your family to have a happy and merry
Tet holiday.
Leaflet 4-83-69
This leaflet depicts a Vietnamese woman carrying baskets. Her husband is clearly
fighting in the South, She is alone. The text on the front is:
Happy New Year. Don’t miss our lives together
The back has a poem and a short message. The poem is:
This spring is the third sad spring
My heart is uneasy with sweet regrets
Tet still has flowers, incense, lamps and cakes
But missing you, how lonely I feel
During the decade that the United States fought the Vietnam War it was aware of
the importance to the Vietnamese of the Tet New Year holiday. As a result, a great number
of leaflets, posters and radio messages mentioned Tet. Hundreds of leaflets were prepared
that showed the family celebrating Tet, homes decorated for Tet, or wives and children
tearfully wondering where the husband or father was at this festive time. Surrender
leaflets constantly mentioned that the holidays were approaching and the North Vietnamese
soldier or Viet Cong guerrilla should leave the battlefield and return home to celebrate
with his family. It is probably safe to say that with the exception of the Chieu Hoi (Open
Arms) surrender leaflets, Tet was the most popular theme of the American propagandists. We
should mention that in previous wars and even in Vietnam the enemy often used the Christmas holiday as a theme of their propaganda leaflets so
perhaps turnabout is fair play.
Author holds Tet Poster No. 2, 1969
Many of these Tet products were printed as leaflets, postcards and posters. Here the
author holds poster 2905 produced in January 1969. This poster targeted Viet Cong and
their relatives and sympathizers as well as North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. The
poster was produced by the Field Development Division of JUSPAO and printed in Manila.
This was a one-time product and could not be reordered, probably because of the month
calendar at bottom right. The short text is:
Happy New Year – Longing for Peace
Robert W. Chandler mentions the Tet campaigns in War of Ideas: The U.S.
Propaganda Campaign in Vietnam, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1981:
A third special campaign carried out to support the Chieu Hoi program was
waged annually during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. It exploited the soldiers’ strong
yearnings to return home, for Tet is an extremely sacred and sentimental time to renew
memories, take part in family gatherings, and settle spiritual accounts…These Tet
traditions heightened nostalgia, loneliness, and yearnings for loved ones among the enemy
armed forces.
Most themes developed for the Tet campaign were based on already existing
appeals placed into the context of the season. Leaflet and loudspeaker messages included
sketches of a happy family reunion, a pensive Viet Cong away from home, and family
longings for loved ones serving the National Liberation Front.
Some readers might
wonder what the loudspeaker messages were about. Here are a few from the
1967 Tet Campaign:
Tape 76. Attention men of the Front! How many defeats have you suffered
lately? If you stay with the front you will continue to be led to defeat. If
you continue to fight, then it is sure that death waits for you. As the new
spring approaches, choose a new life. Choose Open Arms and stay alive.
Choose Open Arms!
Tape 78. Attention fighters of the Front! The new spring approaches. Will
it be your last? Your revolution has been misled. If you stay with the
Front, you face only defeat and death. A warm welcome awaits you if you
rally to the National Cause. Join the Social Revolution of the GVN through
Open Arms - Open Arms! Open Arms! Open Arms!
Tape 80. Your family and people welcome their misled sons with love. The
nation opens its arms to welcome you with good treatment, food, clothing,
and a new life. On Tet, awake and return to the GVN and to the great family
of the nation to fulfill your duty as a cherished son of the country. We
wish you a Happy Tet!
Tape 82. Attention! You men who have fought so hard for the Front - You
wanted to help the people and the nation but now you can see the mistakes of
your leaders have only done harm - Do not continue to be misled. If you want
to help the people, come back to the National Cause and join the true social
revolution. A warm welcome awaits all who return - Rally now through Open
Arms.
Because there are so many leaflets to choose from I have decided to make
arbitrary categories and show a few leaflets of each type. For instance, we will show how
the Tet theme was used against the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong and to depict
family, wives, children, prisoners-of-war, and festival activities.
Tet Poster
This Tet poster shows two lovely Vietnamese women in the foreground while in the
background children are seen playing and light fireworks. The text on the poster is:
The golden flowers of Tet bloom all over the countryside. If there
were no Communist insurgents, our villages would be peaceful and happy.
A 1969 Tet Booklet as mentioned below – Spring in the Fatherland
This booklet was coded 2593, printed in December 1968 for Tet 1969. Its purpose is to
generate public enthusiasm for return to the family by Viet Cong for TET, love of
fatherland and the just cause. It was handed out and dropped from aircraft. It has
numerous articles on the subject of spring including:
Support with enthusiasm “Spring in the Fatherland.”
Support “Spring in the Fatherland” to bring peace to the country.
"Spring in the Fatherland” is for love and the right cause.
“Spring in the Fatherland” offers an honorable choice to the people on the
other side.
An example of the importance of the annual Tet psychological operation campaign is
clearly stated in the 18 July 1969 JUSPAO report on U.S. preparations. Some of the
comments are:
The Tet Chieu Hoi campaign has become the largest single annual
psychological operation in Vietnam…Preparations for the 1969 campaign began in
September 1968 and culminated in the delivery in early 1969 of 72 media
products…Ranging from leaflets and posters to cartoon booklets and magazines. Later,
fifteen additional items, including eight tapes for radio and loudspeaker broadcast were
added to the JUSPAO load.
At the same time, JUSPAO’s Cultural Drama Team Office recorded two original
popular songs and one classical piece for Tet use. Song sheets were made up for Tet
distribution and the recordings were reproduced as audio tapes…The JUSPAO plant in
Saigon, 7th PSYOP Group in Okinawa, Regional Service Center (RSC) Manila…began to
deliver the growing mass of materials. One shipment alone, arriving by sea from the RSC. Manila
in late December contained 72 tons of printed material.
Swelling the volume of conventional media products were small person-to-person
items, each bearing a message from the Vietnamese government or a PSYOP slogan. Among
these items were plastic shopping bags, miniature plastic bottle of nuoc mam (a pungent
fish sauce seasoning), a cardboard version of the Vietnamese chess game, small bars of
soap, and school kits containing pencils, erasers and rulers for school children.
Boxes of Tet leaflets are packed and ready for transport in the 7th
PSYOP Group printing plant on Okinawa. Note that each box is clearly marked “VN TET
MIX.”
Their document lists all the items that were prepared for Tet 1969. Looking at just
some of the numbers that were airdropped gives an idea of how big this campaign was. The
three major items were 38 leaflets prepared by the 7th Group in Okinawa (3,145,000,000),
two circulars prepared by RSC, Manila (40,500,000) and two newspapers printed by 7th Group
in Okinawa (2,300,000).
Leaflet 2937
This Tet 69
leaflet shows a government agricultural expert out in the field advising
Vietnamese farmers how to grow better crops. The text is:
An agricultural expert is surveying our farmers picking their
vegetables.
The back is
all text:
AGRICULTURE IS BRING PROSPERITY TO THE NATION
Dear
Countrymen,
To secure a
brilliant future for our rural population, the government of Vietnam has
organized and sent teams of agricultural experts to hamlets and villages to
give technical guidance to farmers to increase their agricultural output.
The progress
in agriculture not only brings a prosperous life to the rural population: it
also ensures a better life for the entire population and strengthens the
balance of our agricultural exports as well.
The Government of Vietnam wishes you a Happy New Year.
Leaflet 2938
This is a very
attractive leaflet depicting a happy young child during Tet 1969. The text
on the front is:
A BETTER LIFE WITH THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
The purpose of
the leaflet is to get the Viet Cong thinking about the Tet holidays, their
home and family. Some of the text on the back is:
Dear
Countrymen,
Our children
have been enduring countless suffering caused by the inhumane and unjust war
of the Communist aggressors. However, with determine leadership and the
dedication of the government, our Army and our citizens are attempting to
make South Vietnam a prosperous and good place to insure our children’s
future happiness.
Actively
cooperate with the government to build your children’s happiness. The
Government of Vietnam wishes you a happy New Year.
A better life
under the Republican Regime.
According to the Joint United States Public Affairs Office booklet PSYOP
Policy Guidance Number 75, JUSPAO would produce and distribute special TET greetings
and messages from the province chiefs, district chiefs and prominent organizations and
citizens. It would also produce special Tet letters, messages and appeals to North
Vietnamese Army troops and Viet Cong guerillas and their families from Hoi Chanhs (enemy
troops who had already defected under the Chieu Hoi program). JUSPAO would also
produce a series of radio tapes utilizing the Tet theme.
Colonel Benjamin F. Findley, Jr. USAFR mentions the Tet campaign in “US
& Vietcong Psychological Operations in Vietnam,” published in Psychological
Operations Principles and Case Studies , Frank L. Goldstein, Air University Press,
1996.
Four special PSYOP techniques were employed in Vietnam: the distribution of
safe conduct passes, money for weapons, a focus on returning home to celebrate during the
Tet New Year, and Armed Propaganda Teams composed of Hoi Chanh.
General Giap's Tet Greeting
Before I start depicting and translating the American Tet leaflets I want to add one
from the Communist Vietnamese. This is the earliest Tet propaganda leaflet I have seen,
from 1958, while the Communists were still involved with the French and long before the
United States got heavily involved in Vietnam. Notice the Tet tree at the left.
This is General Giap's Tet greeting to soldiers' families for Tet 1958. The text is:
Year of the Dog
From the Supreme Commander
Tet wishes to the families of soldiers of the revolution and the families of our
martyred and wounded soldiers.
I wish all of our families a healthy, happy, and better new year during which we
will actively carry out all the policies of our Party and our Government, contribute to
the building of a strong, solid North Vietnam, and struggle to unify our nation.
General Vo Nguyen Giap
[Note] Tet fell on 18 February in 1958.
One year later Giap sent out a second greeting leaflet, this with the addition of a
rifle at the lower left. The text is:
Year of the Pig
Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Ministry of Defense
Tet greetings to the families of soldiers of the revolution, the families of our
martyred and wounded soldiers, and the families of our National Defense workers.
I wish all of our families a healthy, happy, exciting, and better new year during
which we will actively carry out the State Plan for economic and educational development
and help to build up our army and strengthen our national defense in order to move North
Vietnam forward to socialism and provide a solid foundation for the struggle to unify our
nation.
Minister of Defense
General Vo Nguyen Giap
Tet Greetings
Eight years later another Tet card was prepared by Viet Cong women. Communist
symbols and Tet flowers and depicted at the left and the message:
Tet Greetings
Warmest greetings to all female workers, itinerate sellers of goods in the markets,
small businesswomen, high school and college students, capitalists, and ethnic Chinese
women. We wish you all good health, a common spirit of firm solidarity in the struggle
against the Americans to save our nation, and even greater victories in the New Year
The New Year of the Horse, 1966
Liberation Women's Alliance
Saigon-Gia Dinh-Cho Lon Region
ALLIED TET LEAFLETS
The Family
One series of five JUSPAO leaflets (2913 to 2917) pictures various scenes of
the Tet New Year's celebration. The leaflets are known in black and white on paper and in
full color on cardboard. The five black and white versions are all identical on the front,
but with a different message on the back.
Leaflet 2913 (front)
Leaflet 2913 shows a smiling wife holding a young girl while children light
fireworks in the background. The text is:
Happy New Year, hoping for peace.
Leaflet 2913 (back)
The back shows a single child lighting a firecracker in a country scene. the
text is:
Only through the Chieu Hoi policy will you bring unity to your family.
Leaflet 2914 is identical except for the text on the back which is:
Return to the Republic on the occasion of the new Tet and you will be able
to enjoy a free and happy Tet holiday.
The back of leaflet 2915 is:
The advent of Tet is the best opportunity for all soldiers and cadre to
reunite with their families.
The back of leaflet 2916 is:
Only be returning on the occasion of the new Tet can you have true happiness
in the new year.
The final leaflet of the set is 2917 and has this message on the back:
Tet is the best occasion to return and bring an end to the war.
Leaflet 2942
This leaflet uses the same image on the front as the back of 2913.
It is orange-red and at one time I thought it must be a fake because I had
not run across such a colored leaflet. Looking through old files, I found I
had one, from the 7th PSYOP Group. Another oddity is that the vignette is
celebrating Tet. This would normally go in a Tet article, but the
information sheet says that it is for Chieu Hoi. It was printed in November
1968 to be used in the Tet 1969 campaign and titled “Testimonial #4.” We
know from the title that some Hoi Chanh who has come over from the Communist
side is going to talk about the Viet Cong. The Hoi Chanh's picture is at the
bottom along with his rank and unit. The text on the front is:
ONLY THOUGH RETURNING
DURING TET
CAN YOU REALLY BE
HAPPY IN THE NEW YEAR.
The long text on the back is:
TO FRIENDS ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE FRONTLINE #4
Dear Friends,
The “Rooster” spring is coming round in this war-torn land of
Vietnam. All the so-called “ideals and theism” cannot smooth over the
agonies felt in the heart of the people who live in this devastated land.
You cannot continue to fight in this immoral war. Follow my example and
90,000 other comrades and find an honorable escape. The Tet spring campaign
welcomes you to rejoin your families, relatives, and the people of the free
south. During this Tet season I wish you happiness and good health. I hope
to see you soon.
Vu Vhu Y
Battalion Commander,
9th Farm Battalion 1
Since 2942 was just one of a dozen used in the Tet 1969 campaign, I
will add a few more leaflets from that same campaign.
Leaflet 2906
Almost all the Tet 1969 leaflets were printed two ways. One is
larger with color; they are to be handed out. The one-on-one interaction is
considered the best way to convince people to leave the Viet Cong. The B&W
version is the standard 6 x 3-inches in size and was mass produced by the
7th PSYOP Group for aerial dissemination. This leaflet is the handout
version. It measures 10 x 7-inches. It could be folded if necessary. The
front depicts the boy lighting a fire cracked at the left, and at the right
a Tet scene of bamboo and flowers. The back is all text, so this is a very
long message. Notice there is a little "zing" about what happened to the
Viet Cong in Tet 1968:
My beloved son,
A little more than a week ago, many things happened in our village.
That boy Hai, Uncle Tu's son, was killed by Government soldiers when he and
his two friends came into our village and enticed young people to join the
Liberation Army. Mr. Sau the barber at Xom Chua hamlet was murdered by
Liberation men, because they suspected him of spying for the Government. But
the most tragic happening of all was the misfortune that befell Mr. Tu's
family. After attending an anniversary feast in memory of his paternal
grandfather, Mr. Tu, and his family rode home on an ill-fated small bus,
which was blown up by mine during their return trip. Mr. Tu, his wife, and
their daughter Hoa were killed instantly; while their son Do was seriously
wounded and was dying. So, Hoa now has left you for good. That poor little
girl Just a few days before that fatal accident she came over to help me
attend to your father who was sick. She gave medicine to him and cooked our
meals. She also talked with me about the marriage between you and her. But
now she is dead. That's the end of everything! Everything is ruined, like
the day. You abandoned our home!
Dear son, recently I have been overcome by worry and sorrow because
of Hoa's death and the daily disasters caused by bombs and shells. Every
time I think of you, I cannot help shedding tears. I have heard that during
these days the Liberation Army suffered quite heavy casualties. The other
day I went to attend talks given by some Viet Cong returnees at our village
temple. That boy, Chin Them of our village was there too. They talked about
the difficult life in the Liberation ranks. People there were constantly
indoctrinated in endless study sessions so that they would not have time to
think of their families, wives, children, friends, and their individual
freedom and interests. Friends were instructed to check on one another's
actions. North Vietnamese cadre and soldiers have taken over the leadership
and now directly command their Southern companions. The morale of Liberation
troops has weakened because of continuing setbacks and defeats. They had a
slim chance of survival in the face of the modem war material used by the
Government forces, and they dreaded most the giant B-52 bombers which
dropped thousands of tons of bombs.
Those things were enough to scare me. They talked about many other
things, but I cannot remember them. They were pale and sickly looking, as
they said they lacked proper medical care. There were lightly wounded people
but due to lack of proper medical services and care, became disabled for
life or died. One thing they told the audience I always will remember with
apprehension was about the attack on Saigon and many other cities during the
Mau Tlian Tet holidays. They were repulsed, of course, and several thousands
of Liberation troops were killed in battles. With the approach of the Tet
holidays of this year, I am worried. Because if they order you to repeat the
last Tet offensive, you'll have very little chance of survival.
My dear son, when you were still at home, on the approach of the
Tet holidays, our family would be busy with a lot of work, shopping, making
new clothes, tidying up the house, cleaning the ancestral altars to prepare
for the Tet celebrations, while the little children played with
firecrackers... During the days of Tet, the whole family would reunite and
have good meals together, with nice food, wine, and all kinds of sweets. But
on the last Tet holiday, our family was as sad as if there were a death in
the family. Your grandmother wept when your young brothers and sisters asked
her when you were coming home. Your father and I also could not hold back
tears while looking at the little children. But Mr. Bay's family enjoyed a
very happy Tet because his son Tu, who joined the movement 4 months before
you, had rallied to the Government. He said that when he rallied nobody beat
or intended to kill him, as he was told while he was in the Liberation
ranks.
My dear son, I believe that you are clever enough to think over
what you are doing now. In our village, many people praised you as a smart
boy and your piety to your parents... I hope you will come home soon and
rejoin the family during the coming Tet holidays, so that your grandmother
will weep no more, your father and I will not anxiously wait for you, your
younger brother and sisters will not keep asking about you, and so that the
soul of your sweetheart will smile on the other world. The family is
expecting you, son!
This is a short series of leaflets bearing letters from loved ones to Guerrillas.
Leaflets 2906 and 2907 are Tet letters to a beloved son in the Viet Cong. Leaflet 2908 is
a Tet letter from a wife to her husband in the Viet Cong. The letters are very gossipy and
tell the guerrilla of all the current events in his village. The leaflets are very large
at 10 x 7-inches, and depict bamboo, a flowering branch or an incense urn on the front;
and a young boy lighting Tet firecrackers on the back. In each case the text tells of one
or more local murders by Viet Cong agents and requests that the son return home to his
family. The third leaflet mentions a battle and describes some of the dead Viet Cong. The
leaflets are very wordy. Some selected text from each leaflet is:
2906 - After attending an anniversary feast in memory of his paternal
grandfather, Mr. Tu and his family road home on an ill-fated small bus, which was blown up
by a mine during their return trip.
2907 - Everyone believed that Vinh was dead and gone. Now Vinh is living in Saigon
(after returning to the National Government). Then all of a sudden, this fellow brought
back his wife and children to wish a happy new year to retired village chairman Ong
Ca…The District Viet Cong command murdered your wife under the accusation that she
communicated with the enemy.
2908 - I ran to the fighting area at the other end of the village. How
horrible! Human skulls, bowels, arms…scattered here and there, some flesh plastered
on trees. There were dead by the trenches and foxholes. The air was permeated with a
stinking smell and burning odor…I covered my face with my trembling hands and ran
home.
Australian Tet Propaganda Leaflet 073-71
Australian Leaflet 073-71 was produced on 19 January 1971 and depicts happy
Vietnamese people gathering for the celebration of the Tet New Year’s ceremony. We
see only women and children. The men are gone. The back depicts Chieu Hoi symbols and the
text:
There are two groups of people who will not be spending TET in a peaceful
manner: you – and the people hunting you….
TET is the time of family togetherness- the time when the year that is gone
is remembered, and planning for the family’s future is done for the year to come.
How many TETs have you spent in the jungle?
Chieu Hoi for Tet!
Chieu Hoi!
The Australians planned to print another Tet leaflet. It would have been coded
059-70 and printed on 25 November 1970. For some reason, the leaflet was scrapped. The
image would have depicted Viet Cong destruction during the Tet holiday and the text would
have been:
Peace and Prosperity does not come from violent revolution. It comes from hard
work and involvement by the people with their country’s plans and achievements;
bridges, roads, market places, and housing. Once before the people of the free South
witnessed wanton destruction and inexcusable murder by the communists in their attempt to
destroy the homes and lands of the people. But the people drove them away and have now
rebuilt the damage and we are achieving new goals in progress.
1. Peace and prosperity does not come from violent revolution
2. It comes only from hard work and involvement by the people with their
country’s plans
3. More than once before, the People of Free South Vietnam witnessed violent
destruction and inexcusable murder by the communists in their attempt to invade South
Vietnam. But our military and people broke their attempt and have now rebuilt the damage
and are achieving new goals in progress.
Letters to a Viet Cong Fighter
Leaflet 2911
Leaflets 2910, 2911 and 2912 are similar to the previous three we discussed,
but instead of being written to a beloved son they are written to a friend, a lover and a
son. These leaflets are the standard American 6 x 3-inches in size and have either a
flowering branch, bursting firecrackers or bamboo on the front and a boy lighting
firecrackers on the back. Some selected text from each leaflet is:
2910 – Do we fight against the Americans or do we just fight among
ourselves killing our own innocent people, burning schools, hospitals, destroying bridges,
exploding mines, and attacking with rockets?
2911 – The voices of the leaves moving with the winds is somewhat like
the noise of your footsteps when you sneaked in to see me during your last trip
home…the more the winter wind blows, the colder my flesh becomes, but what I fear
most is the coldness in the bottom of my heart because of my great longing and love for
you.
2912 – I am growing old, your father is near death, your brothers and
sisters are still so young. We all must rely on you for our family affairs, but now you
are away. Our family has been deserted…if something happens to me who will take care
of the graves of your ancestors? Who will care for your garden and your home?
Leaflet 2930
Another series of four Tet leaflets printed in November 1968 starts with number 2928.
Each of these leaflets depicts the new life that is open for those returning to the
government and a drawing of the Tet tree. Leaflet 2928 depicts a driver in an automobile
and is entitled “You should return to work at a new trade.” Leaflet 2929 depicts
carpenters and is entitled “You should return to be retrained in a job for your
promising life.” Leaflet 2931 depicts women sewing and is entitled “You should
return to the South where it is warm and sunny and the wind is gentle.” Leaflet 2930
above depicts a family with a bicycle. Some of the text is:
The Warm South is welcoming your Return
South Vietnam with its warm climate has welcomed many Hoi Chanh families in
brotherly love. This Tet will certainly be different from the last Tet when the Hoi Chanh
was suffering in the infested jungles. The Hoi Chanh is knowable to welcome the new spring
with hope for a bright future, in the National Right cause.
Letters from Government or Military Officials
Leaflet 1717
There are numerous leaflets from military and government leaders to the Viet Cong. I
rather like the friendly persuasion of this Tet 1967 leaflet, sent from Lieutenant Colonel
Tran Vai Hai, the Provincial Chief of Ben Hoa, and Chairman of the local Chieu Hoi
Committee. It is a long letter on both sides of the leaflet but says in part:
Dear Friends,
Whenever spring comes around, my first thought is directed toward you, my dear
friends. On the threshold of the Lunar New Year I try my best to rid myself of the
thoughts and atrocities, to forget for a while all the misfortunes and the dire misery and
affliction that all our compatriots have been suffering , so as to send to you all my
sincere wishes for a happy New Year.
As a military man, simple in mind and pragmatic in my way of life, I can affirm that
the present war stemmed from the ambitions of the Communist leaders in North Vietnam, and
this war will end only when they end their plot to invade South Vietnam…
Perhaps a decade after I wrote this story I received an E-mail from Philip Tran. He
told me:
Your image of Leaflet 1717 is of my father after he left his command of the Airborne
Division. Would you happen to have any more flyers with his picture? It is a real treat
for me and my mother. I'm trying to create a fuller image of him to tell his
grand-children of his legacy.
I thought he might have been killed after the Communist takeover, but I was overjoyed
to hear of his escape:
My father was born in Long An South Vietnam - French Indochina in 1929. He earned
his DEPSI (French High School Diploma) in 1946. After that he enrolled in the French
Colonial Military as an infantry soldier. He earned his officers commission through the
French. In 1955 with the transition from the State of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam
he reapplied to Da Lat (South Vietnam’s West Point) so he would feel that he properly
earned his commission.He was in the paratrooper division being Lieutenant General Do Cao
Tri's Executive Officer in the 8th Division. He earned 4 jump wings from the French, South
Vietnam, US Army, and Thailand. He was assigned to be the Province Chief of Bien Hoa from
1965 to 1968.His U.S. Advisor was Colonel (then Major) Daniel Lord Baldwin III. With
Vietnamization in 1972, he was given command of the Strategics Technical Directorate (Nha
Ky Thuat) from Colonel David R Presson. This was the Vietnamese counterpart to MACVSOG.
He left Bien Hoa April 28, 1975 at Tan Son Nhut before the VC bombed the airport. He
traveled through Cambodia to Thailand where he left on a Chinook to Guam. He was supposed
to land in Ontario, California, but Governor Brown didn’t want the refugees.He was
re-directred to Ft Chaffee, Arkansas, for 3 months. A family sponsored him and he moved to
Garden City, Kansas, where he worked until wintertime. He moved to California in 1976 and
worked as a forklift operator until retirement. He raised a family of 6 children (born
after the war) and peacefully passed away in July 2014.
Leaflet 2919
Here is another letter from an official
to his local people. I have many of these but because of the long text, I
rarely add them. This one is rather handsome so I will add it, but it is the
last one I will show. This letter in support of the 1969 Tet Program was
written by Tran Van Huong who at various times was the Mayor of Saigon, the
Vice President under Thieu, Minister of Chieu Hoi, and the Prime Minister of
Vietnam. This leaflet was hand distributed by Armed Propaganda Teams,
Revolutionary Development Cadre, the Vietnamese Information Service, POLWAR,
military and para-military forces. The 7th PSYOP Group also printed a
version for aerial distribution. The text of the first three paragraphs is:
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM PRIME MINISTER'S SPRING LETTER TO SOLDIERS AND CADRES ON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FRONTLINE.
Dear Friends,
Spring is again coming to our war-torn Vietnam! Despite the
extensive destruction and desolation caused by warfare, the coming of the
Springtide has stirred in us a hope for the return of peace to our country.
The Tet holidays are a sacred occasion in our people's customs and
traditions. It is on this occasion we find our feelings coming closer than
ever, being the offspring of the same race, and inheriting the same blood.
In these transition hours of a new year while the air is filled with the
smoke of joss-stick and incense, I am thinking of you with a sincere heart,
sharing your deep feelings about the occasion. I believe that every time
when the Spring comes, you, as well as I, all wish for an early
end to this war so that everybody may enjoy peace and happiness.
Dear friends, the Communists have enchanted you with their doctrine
of "Socialist Paradise," prodding you to participate in the "Liberation"
drive; but in fact, they are sending you to fight a hopeless war for the
sole purpose of experimenting their doctrine. However, they will never
succeed in achieving their goal because the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
are becoming increasingly more powerful with the help of many countries in
the Free World...
Welcome to Ben Hoa
I scanned a high resolution picture of my leaflet featuring his father and mailed it to
son Philip. In return he sent me this 1967 leaflet that was prepared as a Welcome Guide to
Ben Hoa signed by his father welcoming U.S. troops to his province in Viet Nam.
Testimonials
There are a series of leaflets that are called Tet testimonials. Each of them has the
same image on the back of a child lighting fireworks, but on the front there is a letter
to the Viet Cong from a former guerrilla who has gone Hoi Chanh. My records show that
leaflet 2939 is from Phan Van Xuong (Deputy Commander, Quyet Thang Regiment); leaflet 2940
is from Phan Viet Dung (Commander, Regiment Q165); leaflet 2941 is from Vu Nhu Y, leaflet
2943 is from Nguyen Van Minh; and leaflet 2945 is from Le Van Lap (Company Political
Officer). I am missing some sheets so I assume that all seven leaflets from 2939 to 2945
are “testimonials.”
Leaflet 2939 (front)
Leaflet 2939 (back)
This leaflet depicts Phan Van Xuong, Deputy Commander of the Quyet Thang
Regiment. The text is:
Dear Friends;
The coming of the Ky Dau Tet holidays in war-torn Vietnam has made me think of you,
my former comrades and brothers in arms who are still suffering countless hardships and
humiliation.
I was an officer in the Communist Army for 23 years. Being patriotic and eager to
fight the French colonialists, I regrouped to the North in response to the call of the
Party. Later, I returned to "liberate" the south. But in fact, I only spread
more death and destruction to the people. The Communists deceived and manipulated
us like
a machine. For this, I and 150 other soldiers from the Quyet Thang Regiment decided to
rally to the National Cause.
On the coming of the Tet I sincerely wish you who still remain on the other side,
good health, and the courage to respond to the call of compassion and return to the free
South during the days of this Tet holiday.
I hope to meet you soon.
By pure coincidence I read a Vietnamese translation of this leaflet decades later.
Vietnamese is such a beautiful language. Notice the difference in vision and contrast
between the American and the Vietnamese translation:
The Earth Rooster Tet has come to the dolorous South Vietnam. It makes me think of
you, my former brother-in-arms and comrades still on the other side of the front line,
suffering from copious disgrace and torment.
As an officer with 23 years of service in the Communist Army, full of patriotism
against French colonialism, a regroupee from the South to the North, I answered the call
of the Party to return to "liberate" the South. In reality, I only brought more
destruction and misery to my people, with foreigners being the only beneficiaries. The
Communists lied to us and exploited us like machines. Therefore I, together with 150
fellows from the Quyet Thang regiment decided to return.
Spring has come. I sincerely wish you, my friends still on the other side of the
front line, health and courage to heed the call of love to return to the free South, in
these spring days of this "Homeland Spring" operation.
I am looking forward to meeting you promptly,
The 1968 booklet Communicating with Vietnamese Through Leaflets, Field
Development Division, Office of Plans and Policy, JUSPAO, says about testimonials:
The Hoi Chanh should write his own leaflet…The Hoi Chanh should sign his
testimonial. A food, clear photo of the author should be included…Do not write the
testimonial for the Hoi Chanh. A version written by a U.S. PSYOP officer or a Chieu Hoi
cadre man probably will be recognized as bogus. It is permissible to suggest themes to the
returnees, but the language must be his own. The best approach is for the Hoi Chanh to
address his letter specifically to his former unit and address some of his former comrades
by name.
Leaflet 2943 (front)
Leaflet 2943 is listed as testimonial number 5 and was developed in November 1968 at
the bidding of the Chieu Hoi Ministry. It was meant to be hand-disseminated, and the 7th
PSYOP Group was tasked with making additional leaflets to be airdropped. Some of the text
from Nguyen Van Minh is:
Another Tet is coming. We will be one year older and probably all of us expect a
peaceful Tet for our people. Let’s review what we have done in the past
year…During the last Tet holiday; the general offensive spoiled the people’s
celebration of the sacred occasion. Do you believe that the Communists are fighting for
the people’s interests or are they just killing the people? On the coming of Tet, the
Chieu Hoi Ministry has initiated a nation-wide Tet campaign to stretch out their welcoming
arms to you.
Leaflet 10-095-69
This leaflet was prepared by the 10th PSYOP Battalion on 1 February 1969 and
targets the population of Long Toan District. 5000 copies of the District Chief’s
letter were prepared in both Cambodian and Vietnamese. Some of the text is:
My Dear Friends,
Spring is coming and all civilians and soldiers are endeavoring to pacify
and build up the villages and hamlets. They hope peace is restored soon so the people can
enjoy a happy New Year, which is the custom of our people. Where will you be during the
coming Tet, in the ranks of the Viet Cong? Don’t you think that your family is
waiting for you to return for Tet?
Leaflet 4621
This leaflet was developed on 20 January 1973 to inform the North Vietnamese troops
of the imminent ceasefire. I chose it because of the intricate Tet design. It is in the
“letters” section because the back of the leaflet is a song sheet with the title
LETTER TO THE FRONT.
The TET Celebration
Leaflet SP-2244
Leaflet SP-2244 emphasizes that a former Viet Cong who comes back to the
Government of Vietnam can enjoy the Tet holiday with his family and friends. According to
PSYOP records 20,000,000 of these leaflets were prepared in December 1967 and sent to Da
Nang, Nha Trang, Plei Ku, Bien Hoa and Can Tho. The text on the front is:
Your family will be very sad if you are not home for the Tet Season. We urge
you to return and enjoy Tet and a Happy New Year with your family. The newly elected
Government will welcome you through its Chieu Hoi Program.
Text on the back of the leaflet is:
The former Viet Cong shown above are enjoying a Tet meal at a Chieu Hoi Center.
As Tet is coming everybody wants to eat good food, to be reunited with the family,
friends, and live a happy life in a secure area of the Government of Vietnam. Your family
needs you and sincerely hopes that you will return to your parents and wife and children.
Tet will lack its meaning and your family will be sad if you are not at home. The Chieu
Hoi Program of the Government offers you a way back to the Great Nation's Family and to
full citizenship.
Leaflet 2267
15 million copies of leaflet SP2267 (Soldiers of the NVA) were printed in November 1967
for the Tet 1968 campaign. The text is:
TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS
Tet of the year of the Monkey is coming. This year your family has missed one son,
one husband and one father, because you are living in silence in the deep mountains and
jungles in the South. You are forced to plunge into a desperate war which has lasted for a
long time. Who takes care of your old mother, your innocent wife, your little children, if
unfortunately, you are killed by an unpredictable bullet?
On the occasion of the coming spring, the people of the Free South are reunified
with their families. You have to live alone, far from your family and your native village
in the North. When can you enjoy a really peaceful Tet? If you still think of your family
on this occasion of Tet, return here. Firstly, you can enjoy, together with the South
Vietnamese people, Tet with the affection of the people, and secondly, you have a chance
to see your family again when the war comes to the end.
You ought to live to serve the Fatherland, the People and family. The people in the
Free South hope that you will make a wise decision and return as soon as possible.
There are numerous other Tet leaflets that we do not depict. For instance, PSYOP
records indicate that 20 million copies of SP-2255 (Your family is waiting), 20 million
copies of SP2265 (Letter from family), 14 million copies of SP-2266 (Good Treatment) and
2273 (To The Soldiers In the Ranks of the NVN People's Army) were all prepared for the
1968 Tet campaign.
Other records from JUSPAO state that just about all the leaflets from 2244 to 2273
were prepared for Tet 1968; some with additional Chieu Hoi themes. JUSPAO Guidance for
Conduct of the 1968 Tet/Chieu Hoi campaign adds:
The 1967 Tet/Chieu Hoi Campaign was such a marked success that a comparable
campaign will be conducted during 1968 in conjunction with the Vietnamese Tet Season. The
more than 100% increase in ralliers during the 1967 Campaign period compared with previous
monthly averages is evidence of the effectiveness of last year's program. In 1968, the Tet
season extends from 30 January through 2 February but the Campaign will run from 1 January
through 21 March. The Tet holiday period is the most important Vietnamese holiday, and by
custom is more sacred and sentimental that the marriage day.
Media used will be: leaflets, both air-dropped and hand distributed by civilians,
military, RF /PF, police, RD Teams, and Armed Propaganda Teams; Saigon and affiliated
radio stations; VOA and VOF; all TV media; stationary and mobile loudspeakers, (ground,
water and air borne); provincial newspapers; district and other news bulletins; other
suitable printed media; face--to-face contacts; hoi chanh letters; drama teams; films; and
where feasible, public meetings and gatherings. The GPWD plan calls for the printing of
40,000,000 leaflets.
War History Online Mentions Tet 1967 in “Open Arms, Closed Minds and Eyes:
Chieu Hoi, PSYOP, and the Intelligence Failures in the 1968 TET Offensive:”
Everyone involved in the effort prepared for an ambitious campaign in 1967 in which
the number of Hoi Chanhs would top the 1966 figure. Privately, US officials in Saigon and
Washington hoped for a 1967 Chieu Hoi figure nearly five times higher than that. They
predicted their efforts might siphon 95,000 soldiers from the ranks of the Viet Cong.
JUSPAO again threw itself into the effort, doubling the time it spent on the campaign from
two weeks to a month. 300 million leaflets, two thousand different taped appeals and a
variety of radio and television broadcasts were prepared. By the end of February, 1967,
officials estimated they had brought in over 2,900 Hoi Chanh. JUSPAO extended the campaign
into March; dropping 87 million leaflets and an additional 27 million safe conduct passes.
That netted an additional 5,567 ralliers. JUSPAO’s own calculations pegged the first
quarter total at just over 9,700.
Leaflet 2971
This leaflet depicts happy Vietnamese celebrating Tet in a prisoner-of-war
camp. The text on the front and
back is:
SPRING COMES TO A PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP
Although being far from their family when Tet comes, prisoners-of-war are
free to welcome the new spring. The traditional customs of the people once more is
performed. Though there is no wine, firecrackers or rice cakes, prisoners-of-war are
joyful as they greet a new spring by their smiles and believe in the day of reunion with
their families.
Tet within Prisoner of war camps is a temporarily peaceful Tet. The
Government of Vietnam understands the home sickness of POWs so it has
provided a lot of food for the prisoners of war to enjoy during Tet. Though
it is not the peaceful atmosphere of the family during Tet, it is being free
to welcome Tet even in a prisoner-of-war camp.
Leaflet 68A
and 68B
This image was used more than once. I have seen it several times.
One of the leaflets was printed for dropping over North Vietnam as leaflet
68. Leaflet 68 consists of a group of seven leaflets coded 68A through 68G.
Each of the leaflets is pictorial with a photograph of happy North
Vietnamese troops about to be sent home at their request on 3 February 1967.
The back of each leaflet has a list of 28 prisoners-of-war being sent home.
The message on the front is similar in each leaflet, all starting with the
prisoners being held in Pleiku, and end with a brief explanation of the
scene depicted: A - POWs decorate their barracks for Tet; B - An art
performance for Tet; C - Indulging in their painting hobby, D - POW football
team is congratulated by the camp commander, E - POWs show off their
physical fitness; F - Entertaining the prisoners on Tet, G - and a Cultural
show on Tet.
The text on leaflet 68A is Prisoners-of-war Camp in Pleiku,
Republic of Vietnam, February 1967, North Vietnamese prisoners-of-war
decorate their barracks for Tet.
The text on leaflet 68B is Prisoners-of-war Camp in Pleiku,
Republic of Vietnam, February 1967, North Vietnamese prisoners-of-war give
an art performance on Tet.
The back of the leaflets describes 28 prisoners who have been released, their
names and locations of their homes.
The original U.S. Photograph used on leaflet 2971
The official caption of this photograph is "North Vietnamese
prisoners-of-war decorate the hut where they live to celebrate Tet 1966."
Leaflet 4454
This leaflet depicts a lonely Viet Cong in the bush thinking of his
family at home. The text is:
An image of a North Vietnamese soldier grieving in spring while separated
from his family during Tet.
The back is all text, and I will translate just a few of the seven
long sentences (edited for brevity):
How many springs have elapsed since you were taken away from your
families and unable to enjoy Tet with your loved ones?
Have you received Tet greetings from your wife, sons, or other
relatives on this traditional holiday?
Will a time come when you are able to rejoin your families and
enjoy Tet with your relatives?
Indeed, it may, but will you survive until then? Or will your
bodies already be buried in the somewhere in the wilderness?
There is one alternative left to you. Break with the Communists and
go over to the people of Free Vietnam.
Leaflet 4462
This leaflet was printed in December 1971. It was called "New Year
Greetings," and the theme was "South Vietnamese people enjoy Tet." It was
dropped along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Rice River. Its purpose was to
induce nostalgia and undermine morale. As in many cases, MACV J3 sent out
eight glossy prints so that each company or battalion could print their own
version. The front depicts a peach blossom branch and the text:
New Year Greetings
The back depicts happy Vietnamese people purchasing Tet flowers in
the marketplace. The text is:
Compatriots enjoying shopping for Tet
There are a large group of leaflets between 4587 and 4599 that are
sentimental in nature, each showing a drawing of a happy Vietnam scene with
children, water buffalo, homes, or holiday tables. They each have some added
color, usually blue, green or red. Many of them have text in the form of a
short poem. The theme is generally "Home before the Tet Holidays." We will
depict a few here.
Leaflet 4587
This leaflet depicts a young boy on a buffalo near his village on
one side and a Tet celebration scene on the other. Some of the text is:
Within 60 days of the cease-fire agreement signing, all American
forces will be withdrawn from Vietnam. The soldiers of North Vietnam can
return home long before the Tet Year of the Buffalo. This will be the
happiest Tet in memory.
Firecrackers explode
one after the other,
on the alter, the
feast tray has already been set up.
My mother is already
lighting up the spiral incense,
and arranging a peach
of a five-fruit tray.
My big brother cuts
the cooked port pie.
Leaflet 4589
This leaflet depicts a buffalo on one side and a Tet holiday table
on the other. One side has the same statement about American troops leaving
after a peace agreement is signed, the other has a short poem:
My village lies
beside the riverbank,
the red earth path
borders the blue water.
At the entrance to
hamlets of thatched houses,
the bamboo has swayed
rhythmically for years.
Leaflet 4595
This leaflet was prepared on 10 November 1972 and is entitled: Plan for Tet Quy Suu
(Year of the Buffalo). It depicts children lighting Tet fireworks on the front and a boy
leading a buffalo on the back. It mentions the coming ceasefire and how the North
Vietnamese troops will soon be returning home. It says in part:
The leadership of North Vietnam and the United States has agreed to the terms of a
cease fire as proposed by President Nixon on 8 May…The North Vietnamese soldiers in
Laos and Cambodia should be home soon, long before Tet Quy Suu. Ask the Communist
Party cadre when your loved ones will be returning home – begin planning for the
happiest Tet in memory.
Leaflet 4604
Leaflet 4604 was developed on 10 November 1972 and
designed to portray the traditional Tet sentiment on the first morning of the holiday
including burning incense and a tray of fruit. Some of the text is:
THE FIRST MORNING OF TET
Firecrackers explode one after another, on the altar the feast tray has already been
set up. My mother is lighting the spiral incense, and arranging a peach on a five-fruit
tray. My big brother cuts the cooked pork pie. Long before spring and well in time for
Tet, you should be with your loved ones. Within 60 days of the signing of the peace
agreement all American and Korean forces will be withdrawn from Vietnam. The soldiers of
the north can return home.
Leaflet 4605
This leaflet depicts a banyan tree and a
temple on the front. A buffalo is depicted at the bottom of the leaflet because the coming
year is the year of the Buffalo. Some of the text is:
My Village
In my village there is rice and mulberry…there is a banyan tree and a temple
roof, There are flocks of pretty, graceful country girls. In autumn, there are village
festivals. In the spring, crowds of children play with swings. Long before spring and well
in time for Tet, you should be with your loved ones. Within 60 days of the signing of the
peace agreement all American and Korean forces will be withdrawn from Vietnam.
Leaflet 4606
This leaflet talks about the Northern soldiers being home before Tet. It starts with a
poem and follows up with a text message:
Home before Tet
Do you remember the lines from this poem?
My village lies beside the river bank
At the entrance to hamlets of thatched houses
The bamboo has swayed rhythmically for years.
The people of all Vietnam are touched by these words of home. This peaceful scene is
about to become a reality. Within 60 days of the signing of the cease fire agreement, all
American forces will leave Vietnam. The soldiers of the North will be home long before Tet
of the Year of the Buffalo.
Home
Leaflet T-25
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.
Leaflet T-86
From Ho Chi Minh Trail
Leaflet T-86 was dropped along the Ho Chi Minh trail on North Vietnamese troops
as they marched south. It uses the Tet Lunar New Year as its theme. The leaflet depicts a
flowering branch on the front and the text:
Best wishes for the New Year.
The back of the leaflet depicts a peaceful homestead by a quiet pool. The text
is:
When do you expect to return to your native village?
Leaflet SP-2248
Leaflet SP-2248 depicts a Viet Cong guerrilla who has returned home to his
family and is holding his child. At the bottom of the leaflet various Tet celebrations are
depicted. The leaflet text on the front is:
New Year's Greetings. On Tet Holiday, you will return to your hometown (or
village) to look for your loved ones. They are waiting for you. After reuniting with your
family, you can respond to the Chieu Hoi Policy of the Government of Vietnam because it
brings you many benefits.
Leaflet 63
Many of the leaflets dropped over North Vietnam mention the Tet holidays.
They can be identified by their low numbers, from 1 to 151. This leaflet
bears the photographs of 28 North Vietnamese soldiers who were captured in
North Vietnam and released to return to the North in time to spend the
holidays with their families. Some of the text is:
HOME FOR TET
The Government of the Republic of Vietnam, with its humane policy and based
on a compatriots' empathy, has released a number of North Vietnamese
prisoners of war so they can join their families in the North to celebrate
Tet. Twenty-eight prisoners of war below were members of the invading North
Vietnamese forces and captured during battles in the South. On February 3,
1967 they crossed the bridge on the Ben Hai River to return to the North.
On friend remarked:
We had sort of the same thing going on in Iraq. There were prisoners that
would be released before Ramadan.
Leaflet 89
Leaflet 89 is in the red and gold colors of the flag of the Republic of Vietnam. It is
one of the leaflets dropped on North Vietnam during that campaign. PSYOP records indicate
that 25 million copies of this leaflet were printed in January 1968 and forwarded to
Saigon, Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Can Tho. The leaflet says on the front:
NEW SPRING GREETINGS
The message on the back is:
On this return of spring, the compatriots of South Vietnam sincerely wish their
northern compatriots to see the Communist Party soon abandon its ambitions to dominate the
South, so that they can welcome back to their reunited families their husbands, sons and
brothers now fighting in the South.
15,000,000 copies of Leaflet 89 were ordered in November 1967 and 11 million of these
leaflets were dropped on Cambodia.
Flowers
Chieu Hoi leaflets were particularly powerful during the Tet holidays when
most Vietnamese people wanted to be home to celebrate with the family. The
next two Chieu Hit leaflets are from the same series and depict the Chieu
Hoi symbol on their backs. The first bears a standard Chieu Hoi message
while the second is a letter from a Hoi Chanh. I will only mention the front
here because Tet is a time of color and new birth. The leaflets in this
series all show beautiful flowers, a symbol of spring and new life to the
Vietnamese, and something they might save and carry just for the beauty of
the image.
Leaflet 3488
Please come back here to enjoy a warm and happy Tet with your compatriots.
Learlet 3494
Your southern compatriots are living an abundant and prosperous life.
Come back here to enjoy a peaceful
and happy life.
Tet Song Booklets
The Song of Spring
100,000 of these song booklets coded SP-1640 targeting the Viet Cong were printed on 23
December 1965. As might be expected the main theme is that Tet is coming and
shouldn’t you be home with your loving families. The text of the first stanza is:
SPRING IN VIET NAM
Spring is coming.
Nature everywhere becomes fresh and flourishing.
Spring is coming in on beams of hopeful light.
Birds are singing in the sun-lit branches
while people greet the new season in warm friendship.
In the New Year, let us plant progress in our rich soil
so that flowers may blossom throughout the land.
As spring comes to Viet Nam, this message comes to you,
oh, my lover,
to return home quickly, to enjoy our festival of Tet.
The Waiting Spring
This song sheet coded 2951 and 2591A was developed in November 1968 in two formats. One
version has the image on the front and the song on the back. The second is folded into two
pages and the song appears much larger in the entire unfolded center. The song asks the
Viet Cong to return to the “Right Cause” during Tet. It was broadcast over the
radio and loudspeakers. The image on the front depicts a child running to welcome her
father home, back from the Viet Cong to take his rightful place in society. The song is in
the form of a tango and some of the lyrics are:
Spring is coming with all it beautiful color and hues.
But the shadow of the man who departed years ago is nowhere in sight.
He abandoned his village for the cause of struggle, and has strayed into a gloomy
world.
He lives in agonies and sorrows.
O men who came to liberate last spring, you have sown hatred and illness among the
people.
The marks of destruction from the last spring are still there, how can you not awake?
Come back here for the spring will bring you love.
O misled ones, come back to reconstruct the South.
The Spring Letter
The 8-page song booklet depicts a Vietnamese woman mailing her husband a letter
during the 1969 Tet holiday. The booklet was printed November 1968 and coded 2952. It
targeted friends and relatives of the Viet Cong as well as the guerrillas themselves,
using radio and loud speaker broadcasts. It was designed to be handed out by Armed
Propaganda teams, and other U.S. and Vietnamese organizations. A mass printing of this
booklet for airdrop was to be prepared by the 7th PSYOP Group. The letter is depicted
inside and says in part:
Do you remember the day we met? Our country was peaceful without the ravage of
warfare. We married and hoped to enjoy our eternal dreams. You abandoned our native
village and broke our conjugal bond. O my man, where are you now? You have been deprived
of family warmth and the happiness of spring for so long. Come back here to rebuild our
love of the former wonderful days. The country is awaiting you.
The remaining pages contain sentimental songs regarding the Tet holiday.
Other song booklets include SP-2256, SP- 2379, and SP-2380. I add the first stanza
of the Tet song from leaflet SP-2256:
I clearly remember I bade you farewell at the gate of the bamboo hedge…
Tears flowed out of my eyelids…
I recall the day when spring came round with cool breezes that soothe our hearts!
We united in the same home: wife, husband, father, and children were then waiting for
the arrival the spring princess amidst the delightful atmosphere and finest blossoms of
myriad hues that showed up…
Song Sheet - SP-1665
100,000 copies
of this song sheet were printed on 9 January 1967. The booklet contained
modern music, traditional music, some poems, and some speech. One of the
songs was:
SPRING IN THE LAND OF VIET NAM
By Thai Toan
Everywhere
there is a celebration for Spring has arrived.
Mountains and
rivers are brightened with a thousand lights.
Birds are
chirping happily on tree branches, greeting the Spring.
People
exchange greetings and celebrate the Spring without sparing efforts in
reconstructing the Republic.
Thousands of
flowers pleasantly welcome the omnipresent Spring.
Those who are
away, come back here to build a new life and bring peace to the villages.
Tet Song Leaflets
VNT-5 - Tet Song
Number 1
The Vietnamese loved music so we depict two song leaflets, fairly
similar in looks. Both have black text on a leaflet with a different color
on the front and back. Both are 5 x 3 inches in size. The lyrics of the
first song are:
Female Voice
Oh, since the day you
left,
Leaving behind your
wife, your mother and young children.
Oh, what dream are
you making?
Dreaming of the
success of the victorious Communists?
Male Voice
Oh, my darling, don't
complain.
I was then
intoxicated by patriotism.
Oh, I'll leave the
Communist rebels,
And return to your
side.
VNT-6 - Tet Song
Number 2
Female Voice
I drain my tears
crying for you.
Oh, when can we be
together again?
When will you awake
to the vicious schemes and return to me?
Oh, the Chieu Hoi
bell is ringing.
Why not leave the
cruel Communists?
Male Voice
Oh, my darling I am
coming home.
Open the door quickly
my love.
Oh, now we are in
happy reunion
My future is bright
after rallying to the just cause.
We may now renew our
oath.
A Tet Diary
400,000 copies of this Tet Diary, coded 3033, were prepared by JUSPAO, printed in
Manila, and aimed at the Viet Cong and their families for the 1967 Tet campaign. It was
designed as a Tet keepsake, a year-long diary with appropriate Chieu Hoi messages.
It contains a Pocket calendar with blank pages for a personal diary comments, slogans
emphasizing Chieu Hoi (and the amnesty program) and “Love and the Right Cause - Avoid
hatred.” Other articles explain the Government's Chieu Hoi policy and list the
benefits that await the returnee, including medical aid, education and job training. It is
pointed out that the returnee is entitled to full rights as a citizen of the Republic of
Vietnam.
The final article recounts the progress made by the Chieu Hoi program during the past
year, including the total number of returnees received, quantity of arms delivered by the
returnees, arms and supply caches uncovered with the help of returnees, and mention all
the high-ranking officers and cadre who have joined the ranks of returnees.
Reward leaflets
Leaflet SP-2247
Leaflet # SP-2247 was developed in October 1967. The designation of the leaflet
is “Your Family Needs You”. The translation for the leaflet is:
Happy New Year, Your family needs you. Your government needs your
cooperation. Tet is the time for you to start a new life. Return to your family through
the Chieu Hoi Program of the Government of Vietnam. Rewards will be promptly paid for
weapons you return.
The back side of the leaflet gives rates of rewards for weapons brought back by
returnees.
Tet Poetry
Leaflet 4124
The Vietnamese loved poetry and there are a great number of leaflets that bear
poems, usually mentioning home, loneliness and the family. The leaflet depicts flowering
branches and birds on the front. The back bear a Tet Poem meant to encourage the Viet Cong
in the field to return home. Some of the text on the back is:
Do you remember that today is Tet, The only happy day of the
year?
But you are away.
Your wife is yearning for a sight of you, and your children are burning to see you.
Our cozy home feels cold and lifeless as ashes in a burnt-out oven.
Leaflet 8(1)2-38-68
This leaflet
features a soldier of the front that at first glace looks like an American,
but a closer look reveals a Vietnamese name tag. He signs the front "Taun."
The text on the back is:
THE
SPRING LETTER OF COLONEL CHIEF OF BINH THUAN PROVINCE
To: The Population of the Province
Dear People:
The old year
has passed and again the new year rapidly comes.
I friendly
send to all provincial people my best wishes of health and a happy new
year.
If we review
the past year, we must say that we gained many good results during the Year
of the Goat [1967],
although we have passed through a rough and dangerous way, with the best
results in the last elections.
Our country
seemed to be in “thunder and storms” and people have tried to pass those
difficulties to develop their fatherland and keep the things like their
founder’s liberty and happiness.
Regarding our
local province, we see that by the collaboration of the army, people, and
authority, we can pacify our area and develop our countryside. Especially
Highway Number 1, which was opened recently for the movement of the people.
Now, before
the new year comes, I hope that we all become a solid family to pass through
all the difficulties and take pains to work for the glorious future of all
the brothers and sisters of the same family.
The New Year
of the Monkey
[1968] arrives with new plans: Establishing democracy, bringing peace,
and reforming society. If we can complete our projects, we will surely bring
peace to our country, and we can keep the unity, the long life, and the
glorious victory of our nation. In that confidence I believe the
Year of the Monkey will be a perfect winning year.
In addition,
while in front of the perfumed altar, I bow myself before those who have
sacrificed themselves for our Vietnamese nation. I am grateful to those who
were wounded for our freedom.
I
also send my best wishes to all military branches such as soldiers of main
force, the local army, police, RD, armed youth, and widows and orphans.
Once again, I
with people the best of good times and good luck in the coming spring.
Leaflet 8(1)2-51-68
This leaflet was prepared by the 8th PSYOP Battalion in Nha Trang in 1968. 300,000
leaflets were requested by the PSYOP Adviser in Phu Yen to cause nostalgia, home-sickness
and a drop in morale among the NVA and VC. The front of the leaflet looks like a standard
Tet greeting card and depicts a young woman near a flowering tree. The text on the front
is:
Best wishes for a Happy New Year
There is a long poem on the back and I will just quote a few lines:
COME BACK
You have followed the Viet Cong since that year
Hamlets and villages were forgotten under evening sunshine
You have been gone about 10 years
Previously, my tears soaked through a dream pillow…
I feel I am alone and my soul is cold
Return to enjoy life…
Come back for a charming and deep love
As anyone else, we need a son to carry in our hands
Operation Searchlight
Leaflet 7-697-70
One of the more interesting PSYOP campaigns supported by the 7th PSYOP
Battalion was Operation Searchlight. It was launched in Military Region I and was designed
to influence enemy soldiers to defect during the Tet truce period of 1970 - 1971. Giant
searchlights were aimed at the sky and the enemy urged to follow the beam to the
searchlight where they could safely surrender. It was not a success and there is no record
of defectors at any of the 22 searchlight sites. The above leaflet was prepared by the 7th
PSYOP Battalion for Operation Searchlight. It depicts a pair of searchlights aimed skyward
and the Chieu Hoi Symbol. The text is:
During the cease fire period of Tan Hoi New Year, all United States, Vietnam,
and other Allied bases will turn on their searchlight at night. The searchlight will help
you to find freedom. Move toward the direction of light, hide your weapon and wait until
the daylight to rally. When getting close to the Government of Vietnam or Allied units,
shout aloud “CHIEU HOI.” You will be welcomes and receive good treatment. Guide
the Government of Vietnam or Allied forces to recover your weapon for a reward.
MOVE TO THE SEARCHLIGHT
DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET KILLED IN THE DARK
The 7th PSYOP Battalion took part in this Tet-related program again in
1971, this time the name being changed to “Light of Freedom.” From 13 to 17
January leaflets, posters, handbills and tapes were distributed to military organizations
and province headquarters. From 19 to 29 January, all U.S. and Vietnamese media supported
the campaign. From 26 to 29 January, selected searchlights were turned on so that the VC
could rally to Allied forces. The 7th Battalion distributed 6,000,000 leaflets. 150,000
handbills, 17,000 posters and broadcast for 28 hours.
Before we end this look at the Tet propaganda campaign we should point out that it
was not universally admired. For example, Robert J. Kodosky believes that much of what the
United States did in Vietnam was incorrect and guided by a lack of understanding of the
Vietnamese culture. In regard to the Tet PSYOP campaign he says in Psychological
Operations American Style – the Joint United States Public Affairs Office, Vietnam
and Beyond: Lexington Books, Lanham, MD, 2007:
PSYOP intelligence in Vietnam not only suffered from understaffing, it generated
a product skewered toward the national level. All the analysts it possessed worked in Saigon.
None operated at the Corps, Division, or Sector level. The situation resulted in
generalized products of marginal utility…
For example, one Provincial PSYOP Officer reported that a “nationally
generated TET campaign did not really have much pertinence in Dar Lac Province. During
the campaign, over four million leaflets rained from the sky over Dar Lac Province. The
official pointed out that although” Tet is a celebration of ethnic Vietnamese who are
concentrated in the lowland coastal areas of Vietnam, and only the towns of the highland
areas” the leaflet, he continued, proved “valueless” when used against the
non-ethnic tribes of Dar Lac. “They do not celebrate TET.”
To give an example of the amount of Tet propaganda that was manufactured we just
need to look at the 1970 Monthly PSYOP Report. Remember, this is just one unit in one of 4
combat zones:
The Combined Psychological Operations Center in Zone IV concluded its Tet propaganda
production and dissemination. The Center developed 8 leaflets, 2 tapes, 2 posters, 1 Tet
stationery pattern, 2 Tet greeting cards and 3 Province Chief Tet letters. In addition, 22
plates (bearing 19 Tet messages and one greeting card and 2 Tet magazines) were produced
for printing at local levels. The Media Dissemination Section distributed over 10 million
Tet leaflets which were dropped from U.S. and Vietnamese aircraft.
Tet 1968
After the Premeditated Tet Attack
Republic of Vietnam soldiers search for Viet Cong snipers hiding in buildings after
the attack during the Tet truce period was put down. As all Vietnam celebrated Tet 1968
(The Year of the Monkey), the Viet Cong attacked hamlets, villages and cities throughout
the country killing thousands of civilians and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The
banner overhead proclaims the Happy New Year.
I suspect it is impossible for any military veteran to mention Tet without
immediately thinking of the infamous Communist attack during the Tet ceasefire of 1968.
This sneak attack by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army was a great victory for the Republic
of Vietnam and there are reports of as many as 34,000 Viet Cong being killed during the
fighting. The number of Communist troops killed is still in doubt. In the movie The
Siege at Firebase Gloria,” the narrator says at the end:
In the four months of the Tet offensive, the Viet Cong lost 55,000 men.
After that the Viet Cong ceased to exist as an independent fighting force and Hanoi took
control of the war.
Leaflet 2626
After the disastrous Viet Cong losses during Tet 1968, the Allies prepared a
number of leaflets that mentioned the deaths, wounded and those who surrendered. This
leaflet depicts former Viet Cong Political Officer Tran Van Dao and says in part:
In their attack during Tet, the Viet Cong were heavily defeated, but the
leaders considered it their biggest victory. The reality, militarily they could not occupy
and control any objective of any significant region. Politically, because of their
miscalculations, people did not answer their call to rise and did not support or rise up
as they were expected to. On the contrary, people clearly saw their cruel and wicked
scheme and only hated them more. They also miscalculated the power of the Army of Vietnam
and the Allied forces, considering them to be physically and morally weak. But, through
the repeated waves of counter-attacks they have been defeated everywhere and suffered
heavy casualties, losing many human lives and much ammunition. Their soldiers are now
demoralized and terrified and all their hiding places are leveled. They suffer privations
and their lives are threatened by constant bombings.
More than 80,000 communist troops struck more than 100 towns and cities in
South Vietnam, including 36 of 44 provincial capitals during the 1968 Tet truce. According
to the Tactical Department, General Staff, North Vietnamese Army, document No. 1103, dated
February 14, 1969 these were the combined losses of the Tet offensive in the whole South
of Vietnam:
Killed in action: 44,824; Wounded: 61,267; Missing in action: 4,511; Captured: 912;
Lost their contact with the units: 1,265; Deserted: 10,099; and Surrendered: 416.
Leaflet 2426
This March 1968 leaflet was prepared to show how the Government of Vietnam was working
to help those citizens whose lives had been severely affected by the Viet Cong attacks
during Tet 1968. The front shows large caches of rice that had been moved to Saigon to
feed the local populace. The writers of the leaflet also threw in compliments for the
Rural Development (RD) cadre and a request for mutual love and unity. The RD, formed in
1965 and organized into paramilitary groups, was charged with motivating and organizing
the local population to assume their own self-defense and to raise the living standards of
the villages. The RD teams grew to a peak of 47,000 men during the war and were used to
strengthen the government and assist in self-help projects. The text on the front is:
The Civic Action RD Teams distribute rice to the victims of the Viet Cong offensive
during Tet.
The back is all text and says in part:
Dear Compatriots,
Facing the suffering and devastation caused by the Viet Cong in the Capital, RD
Cadres are determined to destroy the inhumane Communists, and secure peace and a normal
life for the people in the Capital…
RD Cadres are the children, brothers or sisters of the people. The purpose of their
presence is to serve the people. We can only destroy the Communists and relieve the
suffering of the people by consolidating the mutual love and understanding the unity
between the people, the soldiers and the cadres.
The minds of the people are still haunted with death, devastation and killing scenes
that recently occurred in the Capital. When will we be able to destroy the Communists if
we don’t have the mutual love and unity of spirit that will help unite all classes of
people…
The Viet Cong struck during the most sacred Vietnamese holiday while many South
Vietnamese troops were on leave. Initially the attacks took the South Vietnamese and
Americans by surprise, but they were beaten back by the ARVN and the Americans, inflicting
massive casualties on the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong expected the Vietnamese people to rise
up and support them and this did not happen. In fact, for all intents and purposes the
Viet Cong were destroyed in 1968.
Some North Vietnamese have blamed their Chinese advisors for the defeat, claiming that
Mao believed that Vietnam was ready to enter the third stage of warfare and encouraged the
Viet Cong to take the field like a conventional army. Mao’s three stages are:
The first stage is mobilizing and organizing the peasantry.
The second stage is setting up rural base areas and increasing coordination among the
guerrilla organizations.
The third stage is when the guerillas come out of the jungle and transition to
conventional warfare.
The Chinese allegedly recommended that instead of clandestinely taking part in small
terrorist attacks, the Viet Cong take the field in large units to fight the Government and
American forces, believing that the Vietnamese people would rise up and join them. They
were wrong. I have heard some North Vietnamese say that after Tet the Chinese advisors
lost “face” and credibility.
Leaflet 6-183-68
After the Tet battle the 6th PSYOP Battalion quickly prepared this hand-drawn leaflet
showing two beaten North Vietnamese soldiers returning to their jungle lairs. This is a
tactical leaflet aimed specifically to the 327 Company of the North Vietnamese Army.
100,000 copies were requested by the U.S. 9th Army Division, printed and distributed in
March 1968. Text on the front is:
Your situation is hopeless
Some of the text on the back is:
Soldiers of the 327th North Vietnamese Army Company;
The general offensive is a complete failure. It is not your fault. It is the fault
of your leaders and the People’s Revolutionary Committee.
You were told that you would be welcomed as heroes, but the people of South Vietnam
have rejected you completely.
There was no general uprising. Instead of liberating the people, your leaders forced
you to steal from them. Now you are alone in the Can Giouc District, your wives and
families far away…
Leaflet 10-153-68
The 10th PSYOP Battalion prepared a leaflet showing a distraught Vietnamese boy
squatting near the bodies of his dead or injured family in Hamlet 7, An-Truong Village.
This was a different use of the Tet theme, almost ironic and sarcastic in nature. Some of
the text is:
The Viet Cong offer the people’s dead bodies as Tet donations to
the Communist Party.
There were 11 children, 16 men and women killed tragically, and 35 others wounded in
their beds. These people have been making their living by peddling in the market…The
VC were very angry and didn’t hesitate to detonate a mine killing dozens of innocent
families. Their bodies were used as Tet donations to the Communist party….
The Remains of Civilian Dead at Hue
This official propaganda photograph was released by the Republic of Vietnam Armed
Forces Political Warfare Directorate and depicts the Americans and Vietnamese searching
for remains of the dead at Da Mai Brook, Hue.
The city of Hue was attacked by ten NVA battalions and six Viet Cong battalions
and almost completely overrun. Thousands of civilians believed to be potentially hostile
to Communist control, including government officials, religious figures, and expatriate
residents, were executed in what became known as the Massacre at Hue. Lasting 26 days, Hue
was one of the longest and bloodiest single battles of the Vietnam War. The extent of the
massacre of civilians by the Communists was only realized over the following months and
years, with the last mass graves being found in 1970. Approximately 2,800 bodies were
found, and another 2,000 persons were missing
The Bodies of Vietnamese Civilians Murdered by the Viet Cong in Hue
The battle of Hue was the first time Americans could sit at home and watch an ongoing
battle on the evening news. It was televised every evening for almost a month. Although
the battle for Hue was a tactical victory for the US, the North Vietnamese clearly
achieved strategic success showing the American people the high costs of urban warfare.
Had the American leaders been able to expose the Communist brutality by publicizing the
civilian executions in Hue civilian support for the war may have been bolstered. As it
was, the Communist murders were done in secret while Americans were killed on nightly
television.
Leaflet 2263
From the day I left you mother
To follow my companions on the trip to
Central Vietnam through Laos,
I have endured the hardships…
A JUSPAO document dated 18 September 1969 is entitled “Poem by North Vietnam
Deserter.” The document states that the poem was written for Tet by a Hoi Chanh
who did not ask for money. The poem, written by Hoai Thanh was entitled “Take a
husband my love.” The letter says in part: “I suggest that this be considered
for use on radio, television, magazines, newspapers and leaflets. This, after all, is a
nation of poets. The single most effective leaflet dropped in the past was the
soldier’s poem to his mother. This appears to be more of the same.” A few lines
from the six-stanza Tet poem:
Listen to me, my love.
Take a husband, my love, for my life is fast-ebbing.
I must lie to myself when giving you this advice.
But my darling, I must think of your future…
I am committed and eternal bitterness is my lonely fate
Oh, listen to my aching heart and seek your ideas in love…
I have a lot of data on most of these leaflets but generally do not want to bore the
reader. In the case of the above leaflet I can add that the leaflet was called “NVA
Poem” and 14,000,000 copies were ordered the 6th PSYOP Battalion to be printed by the
7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa. The leaflets were to be delivered to Da Nang (6,000,000), Nha
Trang, (4,000,000), Pleiku (2,000,000), and Bien Hoa (2,000,000).
The Americans saw this Viet Cong defeat as a propaganda weapon and set out to exploit
it in every way possible. The Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office prepared a PSYOP Policy
57 – Chieu Hoi Campaign to Capitalize on Failure of Communist General Offensive.
The policy set out themes to be used in Allied propaganda and listed five leaflets already
in the inventory that could be used as part of the campaign. Examples are SP 893 (Safe Conduct
Pass), SP 2263 (North Vietnamese Army Poem) and SP 2336 (Message to a North Vietnamese
Army soldier). Some of the text in the original 8 February 1968 policy is:
There is every indication from captured documents and prisoner interrogations that
the North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong leadership actually intended to seize the cities and
counted on a popular uprising against the Government of Vietnam in support of their Tet
offensive. There were no plans for withdrawal, relief or reinforcements and the
overwhelming defeat of this maximum North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong effort to install
themselves in the major cities will have been a severe psychological blow to the surviving
enemy infiltrators…
IN ACCORDANCE WITH U.S. MISSION DIRECTIVES, THIS IS MISSION PSYCHOLOGICAL POLICY AND
GUIDANCE AND IS TO BE IMPLEMENTED AS PERTINENT BY ALL U.S. ELEMENTS IN VIETNAM.
Until further notice, all Government of Vietnam /U.S. Chieu Hoi materials, such as
leaflets, newssheets, loudspeaker/radio messages should be based on the failure of the
current Communist offensive…
Up-to-date products now being developed by Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office for
national use will make the following points:
The North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong leadership misled and betrayed their
soldiers…The winter-spring offensive is a total failure. The call for a general
uprising has been emphatically rejected by the population of South Vietnam…
Losses inflicted on the North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong forces have been
unprecedented…in the first week of the blunted communist offensive, the communists
lost more than 22,000 men killed, including their most experienced cadre, and more than
6,000 weapons. (Enemy casualty figures should be kept up to date as far as possible in
PSYOP media products).
Prior to the attack, North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong troops were promised relief and
reinforcements within 48 hours, but no relief was forthcoming and the men were abandoned
to their fate.
…The employment of revolutionary new weapons in support of the enemy offensive
was promised to the soldiers by the cadre, but no such weapons came to their
aid…
Leaflet 2336
I thought I
would show one of the JUSPAO leaflets that was allowed to be used after the
Tet offensive. Leaflet 2336 was developed in December 1967. The theme of the
leaflet is, "Prisoners live peacefully." The front of the leaflet depicts
prisoners decorating for the Tet holiday. The same image is seen on Leaflet
2971 in this article. At the right of that scene, we see other prisoners
playing in an open field. The text is:
North
Vietnamese prisoners are playing peacefully, waiting for their return home.
In their leisure time they play cards. These two NVA prisoners at a camp in
Pleiku are preparing for a holiday. It is better to be free than a prisoner.
Better to be a prisoner than dead.
The back is
all text:
IT IS BETTER TO BE FREE THAN A PRISONER.
BETTER TO BE A PRISONER THAN DEAD.
Perhaps you
will be unhappy to be a prisoner of war, but you should understand the
truth:
You will
receive good treatment. The camp is under a self-governing system. You and
your comrades will be elected as the managers of the camp.
You will have
good food. According to International law, prisoners of war are entitled to
the same rations as a soldier of the Republic of Vietnam. The cooking is
done b you and your comrades.
You will enjoy
sports and education. In your free time you can take part in various sports
or professional education courses held at the camp.
BUT THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU ARE SURE THAT WHEN THE WAR IS OVER YOU CAN
RETURN TO YOUR HOMELAND.
You might
wonder why I show two of these leaflets. The top one is genuine. You can see
the images are much clearer. The bottom is a reproduction made for a movie
about the Vietnam War. I am unable to find out which movie, but I believe it
was a recent one. It is possible some of these will be offered for sale,
Buyer beware!
A supplement to PSYOP Policy 57 was issued on 23 February 1968. This supplement listed
an additional 35 leaflets that were cleared for use in the campaign. Examples are SP 2141
(Woman Mourning the Dead), SP 2169 (Diary of a Returnee) and SP 2208 (How to
Defect).
Before we end this short report we should mention that the U.S. Navy also did
psychological operations in Vietnam during Tet 1968. The U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam
After-action Monthly Reports tells us much more about what the Navy did:
The United States Navy also performed PSYOP missions using their PBRs. During the
month of January 1968 The U.S. Navy made 94 hours of aerial broadcasts, 384 hours of
surface broadcasts and distributed 293,334 leaflets. Their psychological operations
personnel distributed food to refugees and other needy people, broadcast information in
response to psychological operations guidance, issued elementary sanitation instructions,
passed on information as to how members of the Viet Cong could defect and attempted to
help the people solve minor problems.
Leaflets that Didn’t Make the Cut
The 7th PSYOP Group that printed many of these Tet 1971 leaflets was very
careful about evaluating them and determining if the message was what they
wanted to present. Some Tet leaflets were found to be unsatisfactory and
destroyed, I cannot show you images of the leaflets because they do not
exist, but I can mention some of the text. One example is 4448. JUSPAO does
not tell us exactly why they killed it; they just did. I suspect this
leaflet is just too dark:
This is the first day of Tet. They call it Tet. But nothing that looks like
Tet is around now. Why? Because this is a meaningless Tet which has brought
nothing but criticism sessions and deep frustrations. Tet? Oh, the damn
wretched Canh Mui Tet! How damned miserable are the people who welcome it
during infernal fighting. And in the future how many similar Tet holidays
will there be?
I notice that JUSPAO also prepared a leaflet coded 4450 that was
disapproved. The leaflet text said:
From Tet 1968 to today the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops have
sustained one defeat after another in every battlefield. They have no more
power to hit and must run for their lives every time. The Communists are
unable to mount a major attack anywhere in South Vietnam. Your food,
medicine, weapons, supplies and men have decreased considerably.
A reviewing PSYOP officer
apparently had heard otherwise from Intelligence and wrote on the page
beneath the prospective leaflet text:
Since they are planning a major high point
[attack?] in January, this would seem ill-advised.
Leaflet 4586
The title of the leaflet is “Home before Tet” which
is reminiscence of the American wish to be "Home before Christmas."
This leaflet was printed on both 13 and 16-pound paper which would make it
more adaptable for different spreading over the countryside. We do have a
copy of this one so they must have pulled it at the last moment. Some of the text on the front is:
The Happiest Tet in two Decades…
A cease fire is near. Within 60 days after the agreement is signed all North
Vietnamese Army prisoners in South Vietnam will be released. They will be free to return
home. Wives, mothers, fathers, all relatives – 1973 (The Year of the Buffalo) will be
a time of true rejoicing…
Some of the text on the back is:
NVA prisoners in South Vietnam – there are over 9,000 of them – can plan
on being home for Tet…Tet
Quy Suu (Year of the Buffalo) 1973 will be a time for true rejoicing.
What is most interesting about this leaflet is that the United States must have
determined that it would be impossible to move all of the NVA prisoners out of the country
in 60 days. I have a memo that says:
Because this leaflet contains the phrase “60 days after” it was
disapproved for use and never disseminated.
We should point out that the North Vietnamese always celebrated the Tet
Holiday too. Ho Chi Minh would send a greeting down the Trail to his troops
each year.
Ho Chi Minh send his troops Tet greeting for 1969
Vietnam veteran Robert Duran said about this leaflet: "Found in a North
Vietnamese Army troopers’ backpack." The leaflet was badly worn, and the finder covered it with plastic and tape
to protect it. The text is:
Welcome to a Winning New Year
We
obtained great success last year
Certainly, this year will be a greater one
For
Independence and freedom, fight the
Americans out of the country and destroy the satellite army
Move ahead, soldiers and people!
What a wonderful New Year if the North and South can be reunited
Ho
Chi Minh
Spring 1969
Ho Chi Minh sends his Troops a Personal Tet Greeting in 1968
Tet Greeting From Chairman Ho
This New Year will be better than past new years
Victory and good news will sweep the nation
South and North vie with one another in fighting the Americans
Advance - total victory is ours
Spring 1968
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh’s Greeting is answered – Leaflet 2530
The front of the leaflet depicts the Chieu Hoi Symbol. The back is all text and shows
Chairman Ho’s greeting, and then goes on to change all of the positive comments into
negative ones. The front repeats Ho’s Tet message and then answers below with:
This spring is significantly worse than the last few ones.
Sad news of defeat throughout the homeland.
The North and the South both protest
A doomed future is inevitably there for us.
A Vietnamese read this leaflet and was critical. He said:
The “counter” poem was poorly constructed, mainly by paraphrasing the
original one and by replacing positive words with negative ones. This is considered a
pitiful style in writing couplets, where words must be skillfully chosen to counter the
original verse, but never to repeat.
The victory actually cost South Vietnam the war. Because of the loss of all the
Viet Cong troops, North Vietnam began sending regular military units down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in even greater numbers to replace them.
The Government of Vietnam and U.S. forces pulled back to protect the major cities,
allowing the Communists to make gains in the countryside. Worse, Walter Cronkite declared
on 27 February 1968 that the war was stalemated:
To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the
evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of
defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems
the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On the off chance that military and
political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions,
in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear
to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors,
but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the
best they could.
His comments re-enforced a loss of faith in ultimate victory among Americans
and eventually to the U.S. departure from Vietnam 5 years later. The Tet attack created a
crisis for President Lyndon Johnson who was unable to convince the American people that
the Tet Offensive was a major defeat for the communists. “Uncle” Walter Cronkite
was considered the most trusted newscaster in the United States and Johnson felt defeated
when he “lost” the newscaster. He is reported to have said “If I've lost
Cronkite, I've lost middle America.” According to a Harris poll, 60 percent of
Americans regarded the Tet Offensive as a defeat for U.S. objectives in Vietnam.
Colonel Bui Tin, who served on the general staff of North Vietnam's army,
received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. He later became
editor of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of Vietnam. He said in regard to the
Tet offensive:
The purpose of the 1968 Tet Offensive was to relieve the pressure Gen.
Westmoreland was putting on us in late 1966 and 1967 and to weaken American resolve during
a presidential election year. Tet was designed to influence American public opinion. We
would attack poorly defended parts of South Vietnam cities during a holiday and a truce
when few South Vietnamese troops would be on duty. Before the main attack, we would entice
American units to advance close to the borders, away from the cities. By attacking all South
Vietnam's major cities, we would spread out our forces and neutralize the impact of
American firepower. Attacking on a broad front, we would lose some battles but win others.
We used local forces nearby each target to frustrate discovery of our plans. Small teams,
like the one which attacked the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, would be sufficient. It was a
guerrilla strategy of hit-and-run raids.
Our losses were staggering and a complete surprise; Giap later told me that
Tet had been a military defeat, though we had gained the planned political advantages when
Johnson agreed to negotiate and did not run for re-election. The second and third waves in
May and September were, in retrospect, mistakes. Our forces in the South were nearly wiped
out by all the fighting in 1968. It took us until 1971 to re-establish our presence, but
we had to use North Vietnamese troops as local guerrillas.
General No Nguyen Giap, Viet Minh Supreme Commander said in regard to Tet and
the television reporting it received in the United States in a 1989 interview with Morley
Safer, as excerpted in The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations by Howard
Langer, Greenwood Press, 2005:
We paid a high price, but so did you... not only in lives and materiel....
After Tet the Americans had to back down and come to the negotiating table, because the
war was not only moving into the cities, to dozens of cities and towns in South Vietnam,
but also to the living rooms of Americans back home for some time... The most important
result of the Tet offensive was it made you de-escalate the bombing, and it brought you to
the negotiation table. It was, therefore, a victory... The war was fought on many fronts.
At that time the most important one was American public opinion.
Leaflet 4455
By Tet 1972, the United States was packing up and leaving Vietnam. Vietnam. Leaflet
4455 honors the Year of the Rat and says simply on the back with Tet branches above and
below:
Happy New Year
I have about a dozen leaflets for this Tet holiday in my files. There are several
poems, several leaflets with large-text that could be read at a distance and I even have
the original glossy prints that were sent out to be copied and made into paper leaflets.
There were 10 large-text leaflet glossy prints forwarded to MACV J3 (Operations), while
the regular leaflet texts and poems consisted of 8 glossy prints. All seem to have come
from Southeast Asian Studies and Analysis Ltd., so one wonders if civilians were being
used in the production of propaganda at this time.
Leaflet 4460
Let me give an example. Tet leaflet 4460 targeted the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Rice
River area and is in the form of a poem to North Vietnamese soldiers far from home. It
depicts an NVA soldier thinking of his girl at home. Some of the text is:
Oh you, soldier of the NVA!
How very young you still are;
How many springs since you left?
Hear! Spring is here again this year.
Do you still remember the country girl of that evening?
With tears glistening in her eyes she bade you farewell,
With hopes of seeing you again when spring comes.
But alas!
The Glossy Photo of 4460 used to print the leaflet
In fairness, I should point out that some historians believe that the reporting by the
print and television press really made no difference in the outcome of the war. Some
studies seem to indicate that very few people were swayed by the news reports and
editorials in newspapers. The American armed forces never lost a major battle in the
field, but we must be careful not to use the old “we were stabbed in the back”
excuse for the eventual loss of Vietnam two years after the departure of the American
military. I believe that the left-wing American press did influence the public, but the
reader must do his own research.
Studies conducted in the U.S showed that in mid-February 1968 the majority of Americans
remained positive of ultimate victory. One-quarter of the American people wanted the war
escalated and 28 percent opted for an all-out effort to win the war quickly. By June 1968
the picture had changed. The press ignored the defeat of the Communist forces and gave the
impression that they had won. As a result, one-half of the public had lost confidence,
with 42 percent wanting the U.S. to pull out of Vietnam. By June of 1970, a Gallup Poll
discovered that the proportion of people thinking that the US had made a mistake in
sending troops to fight in Vietnam had risen from 25 percent to 56 percent. Three years
later the U.S. departed Vietnam, and five years later it fell to the North Vietnamese.
Leaflet 4682
This is one of the last Tet leaflets coming from the 7th PSYOP Group and
sent to JUSPAO for use in Vietnam. It was developed on 20 January 1973. The
peace treaty had been signed so besides using Tet as a theme it also tells
the North Vietnamese troops that they will be going home. Of course, the
North Vietnamese troops had no intention of going home and in the
not-too-distant future would invade and conquer South Vietnam. The front has
a short poem and a Tet message:
THE FIRST MORNING OF TET
Fireworks explode one after the other,
on the alter the feast tray has already been set up,
my mother is lighting up the spiral incense,
and arranging a peach on the fire fruit tray.
My brother cuts the cooked pork pie.
You should be with your loved ones in time to enjoy spring. The ceasefire
agreement has been signed and all American and Korean forces will be
withdrawn from Vietnam. The soldiers of North Vietnam can return home.
The text on the back is:
SOLDIERS OF THE NORTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
The ceasefire agreement has been signed and all American and Korean forces
will be withdrawn from Vietnam. The soldiers of North Vietnam can return
home to enjoy springtime. This will be the happiest spring in memory.
An Interesting Viet Cong Tet Leaflet
This leaflet
was disseminated by the Viet Cong in 1967 and demanded that the Americans
and South Vietnamese respect the Tet truce. I add it only because of the irony that one year later the Viet Cong
ignored their own 1968 Tet Truce and attacked all the major cities in South
Vietnam. The idea was good, and they even got into the American embassy, but
the South Vietnamese people did not rise up in support of the Viet Cong and
the result was that the Viet Cong for a brief time was wiped out and no
longer a military force. This led directly to greater numbers of North
Vietnamese troops being sent south to take up the slack.
This has been a brief look at the Allied propaganda that used the Tet New Year
holiday as a theme. Readers who care to comment are encouraged to write the author at sgmbert@hotmail.com
.
