Posted on Jun 22, 2016
National Liberation Front Anti-American Leaflets Used During the Vietnam War
970
18
11
8
8
0
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
Oh Hell Yeah, 21 years in the Information Warfare Community, I love it.
(2)
(0)
I was Radioman on a Swift, and as such I did a lot of the boardings, searching junks for contraband. The Radiomen and Boat Officers had been given some training in Vietnamese before we went over, with that in mind; but it wasn't much, just a couple of weeks.
Because I wasn't very good, I used to try to practice when I got a chance; I'd read the Chu Hoi (Open Arms) flyers we'd pass out after boardings, for instance. The Chu Hoi flyers were intended to encourage VC to come over to the government side; they were often colored, and could supposedly be waved like a flag of surrender so the VC could safely give up.
One day, reading a new bunch of flyers which were uncharacteristically white, I realized that some enterprising Gov't type had slipped a bunch of campaign leaflets for the current election in with the Chu Hoi stuff - banking on the American troops' being unable to read it, I guess! I passed the info on to our CO and they took the offending flyers off the boats. The flyers came to us from Saigon, and were usually passed out without a thought; I wonder how many unsuspecting Swift boat guys became "staffers" for the Thieu & Ky campaign?
Because I wasn't very good, I used to try to practice when I got a chance; I'd read the Chu Hoi (Open Arms) flyers we'd pass out after boardings, for instance. The Chu Hoi flyers were intended to encourage VC to come over to the government side; they were often colored, and could supposedly be waved like a flag of surrender so the VC could safely give up.
One day, reading a new bunch of flyers which were uncharacteristically white, I realized that some enterprising Gov't type had slipped a bunch of campaign leaflets for the current election in with the Chu Hoi stuff - banking on the American troops' being unable to read it, I guess! I passed the info on to our CO and they took the offending flyers off the boats. The flyers came to us from Saigon, and were usually passed out without a thought; I wonder how many unsuspecting Swift boat guys became "staffers" for the Thieu & Ky campaign?
(1)
(0)
SGT (Join to see)
Did you know Kerry? We were TDY with swift boats on an attack on a village. We provided suppressive fire on the assault. Those swift boats were pretty fast. The crew was called river rats back then. No offense intended.
(1)
(0)
PO3 Reid S.
No, never met or heard of Kerry until later on, when he hit the news big during the Congressional hearings. I was in Qui Nhon; I think he served farther south. I did meet a guy at one of our reunions who was in Kerry's crew, though. The Qui Nhon boats did mostly coastal work. I always thought the guys doing the river & canal work were the real heroes! The few times our boat did run up the rivers gave me the willies - while keeping an eye on one bank, the back of your head would itch like crazy 'cause you couldn't see what was happening on the other bank. Those Swifts were so noisy with their big 12V71 Diesels that you were not going to be sneaking up on ANYONE, so if they were there, they were ready for ya! But I liked those boats, and have always been glad I served there.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next