Private Ian Botham,1st Psyops Unit, prints the unit's first poster to be distributed in a area north of Nui Dat. The poster urged people to stay indoors at night, and to warn children about the dangers of handling old ammunition they may find. Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.
All nine RAR battalions served in the taskforce at one time or another, before it was withdrawn in 1971. At the height of Australian involvement it numbered some 8,500 troops. A third RAAF squadron (of
Canberra
jet bombers) was also committed in 1967 and destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy joined US patrols off the North Vietnamese coast. The year 1968 began with a major offensive by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, launched during the Vietnamese lunar new year holiday period, known as “Tet.” For Australian troops, the effects of the offensive were felt around their base at Nui Dat, where a Viet Cong attack on targets around Baria, the provincial capital, was repulsed with few casualties.
By late 1970
Australia
had begun to wind down its military effort in
Vietnam
. The 8th Battalion departed in November but, to make up for the decrease in troop numbers, the Team's strength was increased and its efforts, like those of the taskforce, became concentrated in Phuoc Tuy province. The withdrawal of troops and all air units continued throughout 1971. The last battalion left Nui Dat on 7 November, while a handful of advisers belonging to the Team remained in
Vietnam
the following year. In December 1972 they became the last Australian troops to come home, with their unit having seen continuous service in
South Vietnam
for ten and a half years.
Australia
's participation in the war was formally declared at an end on 11 January 1973.
From the time of the arrival of the first members of the Team in 1962 some 50,000 Australians, including ground troops and air force and navy personnel, served in Vietnam; 520 died as a result of the war and almost 2,400 were wounded. Wikipedia puts the number of Australian troops who served in Vietnam at 60,220.
New Zealand
The Common Struggle
U.S.I.A. � JUSPAO
A New Zealand Contingent in the 1965 Vietnam National Day Parade
Leaflet 2731
We discuss leaflet 2731 in two other places in this article. At the right side of this leaflet a doctor treats a Vietnamese patient. We assume the doctor is a Kiwi because the text to the right of the photo in a leaflet that mentions medical aid from Great Britain, Korea and Japan is:
New Zealand, one of 31 countries that have provided assistance for the Republic of Vietnam.
According to the New Zealand Government's Vietnam page:
New Zealand combat troops entered what would become their country's longest and most controversial war in July 1965.
New Zealand sent two infantry companies (V and W Companies, RNZIR), an SAS detachment (4 Troop, NZSAS), and a tri-service medical team (1st New Zealand Services Medical Team). About 60 personnel were made available for service in 1st Australian Logistic Support Group, including two nurses who served in 1st Australian Field Hospital. The peak strength of V Force was 543 men and women. From 1966 New Zealand units were integrated within the 1st Australian Task Force, the gunners joining an Australian field regiment, the infantrymen forming part of an Anzac battalion and the SAS serving in an Australian SAS squadron. Most were based at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy province. A small number of RNZAF personnel also served as helicopter pilots or forward air controllers.
By the time New Zealand withdrew its combat troops in 1971, around 3500 had served there; 187 were wounded and 37 died. Two civilians serving with the surgical or Red Cross teams also lost their lives.
A second reference states that a total of 3,890 New Zealand military personnel (volunteers) had served in Vietnam between June 1964 and December 1972.
Former Sergeant William James Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that 59,000 Australian served in Vietnam with 554 killed and 2,400 wounded. In regard to New Zealand he says that 4,000 served with 37 killed and 187 wounded.
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
New Zealand forces in Vietnam (in 1969) are composed of two combat companies, one artillery battery, and a medical logistics group.
Korea
The Common Struggle
U.S.I.A. � JUSPAO
Leaflets 2843 to 2845 are a series labeled �The Vietnamese-Korean Friendship.� Each leaflet depicts the Koreans helping the Vietnamese in either farming or construction.
Leaflet 2843
Leaflet 2843 depicts Korean troops helping the Vietnamese with their rice harvest and a hospital built by the Republic of Korea. The text says in part:
These Korean soldiers are helping our peasants reap their paddy crop during harvest time. This beautiful gesture indicates the strengthening solidarity between the Korean and Vietnamese people.
The Lai Thieu hospital
The Lai Thieu hospital in Binh Duong Province was constructed by the Korean Army.
Leaflet 2844
Leaflet 2844 depicts the Korean troops working in the fields with the Vietnamese and giving a haircut to a Vietnamese child. The text on the front is:
When not engaged in operations to destroy the Communists to ensure the safety and welfare of the Vietnamese people, Korean soldiers help peasants reap paddy rice, so that a timely harvest of the crop can be made.
This Korean soldier is giving a haircut to a Vietnamese child. This is only a very small act, but it embodies the feeling of a kind heart.
The text on the back is
Korean soldiers not only come to help the Republic of Vietnam defeat the Communists, but also are eager to improve the life of our people, especially the children.
This Korean soldier is giving a haircut to a Vietnamese child. This is only a very small act, but it embodies the feeling of a kind heart.
Leaflet 2845
The leaflet was developed in October 1969. The text on the front is:
The last two waves of Communist attacks on the capital city of Saigon and other cities and town in South Vietnam resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians who became homeless and have crowded into temporary refugee camps for shelter. For the sake of humanity, Korean soldiers expedite construction of houses to promote more comfortable shelters to our people.
The text on the back is:
School children who walk on the A-Ri-Rang bridge to school every day can never forget the service of the Korean soldiers. Besides fighting the enemy to insure the safety of these children, Korean soldiers develop communication means, making it convenient for the children to go to school.
Leaflet SP-1715
This JUSPAO folded leaflet depicts Korean soldiers on the front defending Vietnamese villagers at the left and medically caring for them at the right. On the inside there is a cartoon and text showing a Korean soldier in a jeep hitting a Vietnamese civilian riding a bike. The leaflet explains in pictures that the Vietnamese victim can request payment for the accident and the last picture depicts a shiny new bicycle. The text on the front is:
We Korean soldiers respect and protect the lives, assets, and cultural Institutions that you have been forever preserving.
Leaflet 3301
This leaflet depicts a hospital and medical personnel donated by
South Korea
. The text on the front is:
RETURN IN FRIENDSHIP
The back is all text and says in part:
FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM AND THE RIGHT CAUSE
The South Korean troops in
Vietnam
do more than just fight against the Communist invaders. They also suffer due to the Northern Communists. Here is a hospital built in Phuoc Tuy by the Korean troops whose purpose it is to give medical treatment to the people of the
Republic
of
Vietnam
, Allied and even wounded Communist soldiers left behind on the battlefield by their comrades. You should not continue the senseless war waged by the Northern Communists. Return to the friendship and just cause of the people of the Government of Vietnam. You can use this leaflet as a safe conduct pass.
When I saw this leaflet I thought of the Australians who were also in Phuoc Tuy. I asked one of their veterans if he recalled this Korean hospital. He did:
In Vung Tau there was an Australian Field Hospital (1 Australian Field Hospital) and a Korean (ROK) hospital. If an enemy soldier was wounded and ‘dusted off’ to an Australian hospital they (South Vietnamese military) tried to as quickly as possible to allow some of the treatment in the Australian hospital, then discharge them to the ROK Hospital. The Vietnamese complaint was that the Australian looked after them too well. The Koreans were tougher. In Vung Tau there were two South Vietnamese prisons where ongoing wounded had very little medical treatment. I went there a few times to interview prisoners and convicted Viet Cong suppliers and others involved in the Viet Cong Infrastructure. Their conditions were quite bad.
I worked a couple of times with the Korean and Thai forces in village ‘cordon and searches.’ The Korean soldiers were very tough with the civil population. It was just a reflection of their own society at home.
South Korean soldiers from the "Tiger" Division in Qui Nhon
Campbell
adds:
The largest contingent was some 49,000 South Koreans as a “pay back” for our help to them during the Korean War a decade earlier...Our Korean allies’ fighting prowess was greatly respected . A local gibe in Saigon where many Korean soldiers could always be found enthusiastically partaking of the Post Exchange “goodies” was, “This war would soon be over if we just temporarily closed the Saigon PX and told the Koreans that it had been transferred to Hanoi. They would be up there in a week trampling any North Vietnamese that got in their way.”
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
Korea ranks second among the Allies in troops fighting in Vietnam. In 1965, elite divisions such as Blue Dragon, Tiger, White Horse, etc., were sent to Vietnam. Korean forces, reaching 50,000 men were responsible for an area covering 68,000 square kilometers in the 2nd Corps Tactical Zone. In the 3rd Corps Tactical Zone, the Korean Combat Engineer Support Group opened roads and built bridges Each Korean unit sponsors a hamlet and visits daily to fix roads, bridges and houses for the people.
The 7-Flag Safe Conduct Pass used as a Sign
We know very little about this sign except that the picture was taken in Vietnam. It does depict the standard 7-flag safe conduct pass. In addition, it has some Korean Text and depicts the symbol of the Korean 9th (White Horse) Infantry Division. The Republic of Korea sent military forces to Vietnam to help the Republic of Vietnam fight Communism. The Korean text appears to be a Chieu Hoi message:
Do you miss your family and freedom?
White Horse
The Vietnamese text has been changed on the safe conduct pass and now also seems to bear a Chieu Hoi message:
THE WHITE HORSE DIVISION
will respect the rights of all returnees.
Travel pass
This travel pass is valid at all Republic of Vietnam organizations.
The Asian Institute for Policy Studies sees in a bit different in the 2013 article: A Perspective on Korea’s Participation in the Vietnam War:
ROK forces made up the second largest foreign military contingent after the United States, lost more than 5,000 lives, and played a significant role in averting communist dominance of the central coastal area…ROK participation in Vietnam was made possible because the United States was willing to underwrite the entire Korean military and civilian operations in the country…Korea is believed to have earned US $5 billion during eight years of deployment from various sources, including increased American military assistance to modernize ROK armed forces, special allowances paid to ROK soldiers in Vietnam, multi-million-dollar civilian contracts, and expanded trade with Vietnam.
Leaflet .214
This strange code with a decimal point in front of the number is unknown to me. The U.S. did code such leaflets in the Lao language for Laos, but I have not seen any leaflets with such a code for Vietnam. Since this leaflet mentions the Korean Army, it may be that the code was for leaflets requested from the U.S. PSYOP printers by the Korean Army. It is a mystery. The front of this leaflet depicts a Korean soldier giving a young Vietnamese child a haircut. The text is:
Vietnamese-Korean Friendship
The Korean Army did not come to the Republic of Vietnam just to kill communists; it also is concerned about the lives of our people, and especially of our children.
The action of the Korean soldier who is giving a child a haircut is only a little thing, but it displays a heart of pure gold.
The back depicts Korean soldiers helping the Vietnamese farmers pick rice. The text is:
Vietnamese-Korean Friendship
When they stop to rest while conducting operations aimed at killing communists in order to protect the peace and tranquility of the people of the Republic of Vietnam, Korean soldiers without hesitation willingly go to work helping the people to harvest their crops quickly, before the harvest season ends.
Korean soldiers view working in the country of their Vietnam friends as being just like working in their own native land.
The Koreans had their own PSYOP and Civil Affairs troops in Vietnam. In addition to the headquarters, and the printing and operations sections which are co-located with the U.S. Army’s 8th PSYOP Battalion in Nha Trang, there are three field detachments. One is with the White Horse Division in Ninh Hoa, another with the Tiger Division in Oui Nhon, and the last is with the Blue Dragon Marine Brigade in Hoi An. Each detachment is made up of two loudspeaker teams, two audiovisual teams and one civil affairs team. The Company reported nearly 5,000 hours of loudspeaker broadcasts in 1967 and brought in 814 ralliers.
We should also mention that in the 1960s the United States was involved in a secret operation called JILLI (Truth) to leaflet North Korea. As part of this operation the 7th PSYOP Group sometimes dropped leaflets on North Korea that told them of how South Korea was helping the Republic of Vietnam defend itself against the North Vietnamese, Russia, and China.
Jilli tells the North Koreans that South Korea is fighting Communism in Vietnam.
The next nine leaflets are part of a campaign to tell North Korea how their brothers in the South are helping South Vietnam fight the Communist invasion from the North. I just selected these nine from about a dozen leaflets in all. The South Koreans in Vietnam leaflets seem to start at about 203 and end in the 250s.
Leaflet 203
On one side of this leaflet, we see Vietnamese women placing flower lei necklaces around the necks of Korean soldiers and welcoming those arriving on trucks. The other side is all text. The message on the front is:
The free nations of the world have come forward to assist the people of
South Vietnam in their pursuit of crushing aggression and achieving peace.
With the absolute support of the entire Korean people, the Korean military has deployed its forces to South Vietnam to defend freedom and peace and to realize justice. In the face of the powerful combat capabilities of the Korean military, which are supporting the peace efforts of the people of South Vietnam, any form of aggression is being unequivocally crushed. In the Vietnam War, the Korean military is enhancing its reputation as the guardian of freedom in Asia through its dedicated combat power and sincere service to the people, aimed at crushing aggression and promoting peace.
With the absolute support of the Korean people, Korea deploys to South Vietnam.
The text on the other side is:
The responsibility for the outbreak of the Vietnam War lies entirely with the northern invaders of South Vietnam.
At the formal request of the government of South Vietnam, the Republic of Korea has dispatched a portion of its armed forces, including construction and medical support units, to South Vietnam through a democratic process of parliamentary approval. The decision made by the National Assembly, the representative body of the Korean people, is aimed at safeguarding the freedom and peace of South Vietnam and ensuring the collective security of Asia.
Many free nations from Asia, Europe, and the Americas are courageously assisting the people of South Vietnam in their fight against communist aggression. The free nations of the world are sparing no effort in providing military support as well as construction, medical, technological, and economic assistance. Korea is standing shoulder to shoulder with various free nations of the world in the effort to swiftly end the war and restore peace to Vietnam. The free world nations participating in the Vietnam War are vigorously continuing peace efforts. The Korean military will honorably withdraw from Vietnam when peace is restored, and the people of Vietnam can build their future without interference from communist forces in North Vietnam.
Leaflet 204
This leaflet has images on both sides. On both sides we see a military MEDCAP with soldiers treating the Vietnamese sick and injured. A total of for pictures in all. The text on the front and back is:
The Korean military demonstrates the world-class level of
Korean medicine through medical activities for the people of South Vietnam.
Many South Vietnamese people greatly benefit from medical assistance provided by the Korean military. The medical activities of the Korean military, along with all other relief efforts for the South Vietnamese people, strongly support the significance of Korea's participation in the Vietnam War.
The South Vietnamese people receiving treatment from the Korean military.
The text on the back is:
The fraternal bond between the Southern Vietnamese people and the
South Korean military is strengthening.
Wherever the Korean military goes, the Vietnamese people always follow. The Korean military compassionately tends to the Southern Vietnamese people who suffer from malignant tropical diseases and are scarred by the communist invasion. Since their participation in the Vietnam War, the Korean military has been treating an average of 2,000 Vietnamese people each day. Through these actions, the Korean military receives infinite gratitude and deep respect from them.
The medical activities of the Korean military.
Even on the roads, the Korean military provides medical assistance to Vietnamese people.
Leaflet 206
This small 6 x 2.5-inches leaflet was disseminated on 19 April 1967. The front Shows Vietnamese school children in a Classroom built by the Korean soldiers. The images on the back are Korean troops giving food saved from their rations to the Vietnamese, and an old man who was given a bottle of Korean Ginseng whisky by the Koreans. The text on the front is:
THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA FORCES HELP THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH
VIETNAM AS THEY WOULD THEIR OWN KIN.
The Republic of Korea, who are even assisting the daily life of the people, are participating in an honorable war that aims at restoring and strengthening the peace in South Vietnam.
The people of South Vietnam deeply appreciate the care and kindness that the Republic of Korea forces are showing them.
This classroom for Vietnamese children was built by the Republic of Korea Army Engineer Corps.
The text on the back is:
THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH VIETNAM MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONS AND COOPERATE WITH THE
REPUBLIC OF KOREA FORCES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO RESTORE PEACE IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
The Republic of Korea forces enthusiastically support the South Vietnamese people who are struggling to bring the war to an early end and to- restore peace. The people of South Vietnam oppose the communist policy of aggression which disrupts their life with deceptive maneuvers and denies them peace under the cloak of the "South Vietnamese National Liberation Front." They maintain a firm relationship with the allied forces of the free world including the Republic of Korea forces and give them their all-out support.
An old South Vietnamese man marvels at the ginseng-whisky presented by the Republic of Korea forces.
Republic of Korea troops prepare to distribute food saved from their own rations to the South Vietnamese,
Jilli Leaflet 207
This leaflet depicts some soldiers with Vietnamese civilians. The Jilli leaflet explains that the South Koreans are helping the Vietnamese in their fight for freedom. The text on this leaflet is written in the more classic northern style. The text is:
The Korean Army puts the most effort for the protection and support of the Vietnamese.
Countries of the free world including South Korea are engaged in the Vietnam War for the freedom of Vietnamese and the collective protection of Asia. The Korean Army looks after the Vietnamese children as they safely study. Sometimes school supplies are provided to them.
South Vietnamese women who are fighting against the communist aggression exchange a friendly �Hello� with a Korean soldier.
The back shows more scenes of the Korean soldiers doing civic action projects and the title:
Polite and humane civic activities of the Republic of Korea soldiers gained a deep respect from the Vietnamese people.
A party sponsored by the Korean army for elderly Vietnamese citizens.
Medical services, construction projects and other support from the Korean army for the South Vietnamese further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. As seen here, South Vietnamese elders enjoy themselves at the senior�s party hosted by the Korean army.
Note: North Korea usually claimed that the South Koreans were nothing but puppets helping the "American Imperialists" invading and oppressing the South Vietnamese people. This leaflet might have been a rebuttal, showing the northerners that the South Koreas were doing valuable work helping workers and farmers.
I don�t illustrate leaflets 227 and 228 but my files say that they were tested by a panel of experts and scored about the same as leaflet 230 depicted further down in this article.
Leaflet 208
This small 6 x 2.5-inches leaflet was dropped on 14 March 1968. The front depicts a group of Vietnamese elders at a party and the back shows a group of orphans being hosted by the Vietnamese Marines. The text on the front is:
"We are very happy and grateful, " said the Vietnamese elders at a party sponsored by the ROK troops, "That the Republic of Korea troops support us and fight for us."
The text on the back is:
Even among the children of South Vietnam can be seen the fact that the people of South Vietnam are following the ROK troops as if they were their own kin or their fellow-countrymen.
This is because orphans are happy to see these ROK marine visitors.
Leaflet 230
This 6 x 2.5-inch leaflet dated 25 August 1967 mentions The Korean Marines helping the South Vietnamese fight the atrocities of the North Vietnamese aggressors. The front of the leaflet depicts some boys running on a bridge the Republic of Korea troops built. The back shows The Vietnamese people welcoming the Koreas and the Koreas doing construction work for the South Vietnamese. The text on the front is:
Republic of Korea troops helping South Vietnam.
Republic of Korea troops are exerting efforts for peace in South Vietnam.
The purpose of the Republic of Korea troops coming to South Vietnam is to resist the North the North Vietnamese aggressors, who keep committing atrocities, and to help the South Vietnamese people, who eagerly desire peace, accomplish their economic reconstruction plan.
The ROK troops are welcomed and praised by the South Vietnamese people for joining them in various construction and welfare projects.
South Vietnamese boys running on the Arirang bridge, which was constructed by the Republic of Korea Army Bidulgi ("Dove") unit.
The text on the back is:
Republic of Korea troops are supporting the Vietnamese people in all kinds of construction work.
Vietnamese people heartily welcoming ROK troops.
Republic of Korea troops engaged in a road construction project. The road will run from Diahn to Lai Tiu, seven kilometers.
Leaflet 250
This is one of the larger leaflets measuring 8.5 x 2.75-inches. The front shows a Korean solider teaching the Korean language to Vietnamese and a town hall built by the Korean troops for the local people. The back depicts various activities of the Korean soldiers. The text on the front is:
POWERFUL REPUBLIC OF KOREA FORCES REPEL NORTH VIETNAMESE AGGRESSORS AND WORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH VIETNAM.
A Republic of Korea soldier teaching the Korean language to some South Vietnamese children in a South Vietnamese village. A campaign of promoting better understanding of the Republic of Korea is widely carried out among the South Vietnamese people.
The Republic of Korea troops have constructed many public halls for old Vietnamese people. This picture was taken at the completion ceremony of a public hall, which was constructed by the Republic of Korea troops.
The text on the back is:
ACTIVITIES OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA TROOPS IN SOUTH VIETNAM.
Republic of Korea troops are constructing a bridge at Lai Thieu. The South Vietnamese people highly praise the Republic of Korea troops and trust them.
Soldiers of a Republic of Korea Marine artillery unit distributing rice among rural development workers in Dong Thai, a South Vietnamese village. Republic of Korea troops even help the Vietnamese harvest crops.
Communist troops continue to defect to Republic of Korea troops. Defectors disclose that they were ordered by Ho Chi Minh to infiltrate into South Vietnam. They pledged to endeavor for the reconstruction of South Vietnam.
Jilli Leaflet 257
The front of this leaflet depicts Korean soldiers helping a Vietnamese civilian with a medical problem, helping in the field, and giving a child a haircut. The Koreans are depicted as friendly and helpful. The text is:
Through the Korean military's civil-military cooperation project, the friendship between South Korea and Vietnam is further strengthened.
In addition to their ongoing efforts to repel communist aggressors and restore freedom and peace to Vietnam, the Korean military also takes care of the daily difficulties faced by the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese people are deeply impressed by the sincere and warm civil-military cooperation efforts of the Korean military. They have formed strong bonds with the Korean military, opposing communist aggression and steadfastly struggling against it.
The Korean military provides mobile medical clinics for check-ups to the people of Vietnam, taking care of the hygiene of both Vietnamese and Korean people. Korea is also giving haircuts to the young children in the south (of Vietnam).
The back of the leaflet is black and white. It has three photographs of Korean troops working with and even building for the Vietnamese. The text is:
The Korean military is lending a helping hand to the busy workers of Vietnam.
The Korean military is contributing to the development of South Vietnam through various construction projects.
Korea, along with several free world nations that participated in the Vietnam War, is working to revive South Vietnam and make efforts to ensure that the Vietnamese people who are struggling against communist aggression policies can live happily in freedom and peace. The Korean military is providing enthusiastic civil-military activities such as medical services, construction support, and relief efforts for the people of South Vietnam, thereby providing strength and courage to the efforts of the Vietnamese people to achieve peace.
The Korean military engineering unit at the left constructed a hospital for the people of South Vietnam.
In the center the Korean military unit built houses for the people of South Vietnam who had lost their homes and were wandering due to the destructive Communist invaders.
The Korean military's construction projects for the revival of South Vietnam are ongoing.
Jilli Leaflet 295
Another leaflet showing the South Koreans helping the South Vietnamese during the war. The front of the leaflet depicts a crowd of Vietnamese cheering the arrival of the Korean troops. The back features the Koreans helping the Vietnamese with the harvest and treating a young Vietnamese boy.
The text on the front of the leaflet is:
THE VIETNAMESE WELCOME NEW TROOPS ENTHUSIASTICALLY
South Vietnamese people of the Di-an area welcoming the
Korean troops who have come to repel the Communist aggressors.
The text on the back of the leaflet is:
Republic of Korea troops helping with the South Vietnam harvest.
Republic of Korea medics treating a South Vietnamese boy.
THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA TROOPS� CIVIC ACTION
Through their various types of civic actions, the Korean troops give courage and hope to the South Vietnamese people who are suffering from Communist aggression. Denouncing the Communist aggressors� despoilation and destruction, the Vietnamese people fully cooperate with the Korean troops in fighting against the Communist aggressors and striving for the restoration of peace in Vietnam.
The so-called National Liberation Front troops used to steal food from the Vietnamese farmers, but now they can harvest without the threat of looting under the protection of Korean troops.
The ends the section on Jilli leaflets telling North Korea about South Korea�s actions to help the Republic of Vietnam survive against aggression.
Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that 320,000 South Koreans served in Vietnam with 5,000 killed and 11,000 wounded.
Another more optimistic report on the Korean activity mentions only the Combat troops. It says that in the late stages of the Vietnam War there were more Koreans than Americans in Vietnam. The Koreans had offered their military help in 1954 and 1961. It was refused. As the war carried on and more troops were needed a deal was made where the United States would keep the same number of troops in Vietnam as before, and the American government would pay all expenses of the Koreans in Vietnam and modernize their Army. It also promised to finance Korean industry and help their economy. The Koreans agreed and approved the deal on 21 May 1964.
The �Capitol� or �Tiger Division was the first combat unit to land in Vietnam in September 1965 and assigned to replace an area formerly guarded by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division. The Korean 2nd Marine Division (Blue Dragons) arrived in Vietnam about the same time. The next major unit to arrive in Vietnam was the 23,865-man 9th (White Horse) Division in September 1966. In 1967 they added an additional Marine Battalion. In total, there were 47,862 Korean combat troops in Vietnam between 1964 and 1969. The Korean troops were all volunteers, and they had more volunteers than were needed so they were able to select the people with the best skills. The officers and enlisted personnel sent to Vietnam by the Republic of Korea were elite and the best they had.
The Koreans were very aggressive on search and destroy missions. At home, their duties were mostly defensive; in Vietnam they showed that they were excellent on the offense too. There were merciless when fighting the Communists. Upon the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1973, the Koreans left Vietnam.
In-country Cartoon
The Koreans were known as ferocious fighters and feared by the Viet Cong. This cartoon by Fehrenbacher depicts a captive VC held by the Koreans so happy to be released to the Americans that he is singing his entire military history. Fehrenbacher is the premier cartoonist of the Vietnam War, always right on point.
Thailand
Leaflet 246-215-68
75,000 copies of this 4 x 5-inch leaflet were prepared in 1968 by the 246th PSYOP Company. They were distributed by aircraft and by hand. The leaflet depicts a Thai soldier and a Vietnamese civilian. The text is in part:
Your neighboring country is coming to work with you. We, the Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment, representing the people of
Thailand
, which is your close neighbor and a member of the Free World, is now here to give you a hand and collaborate with you.
You need not worry; you can count on us. We are ready to devote every bit of effort, even our lives to cooperate with you in order that the Vietnamese people, who love freedom, will live in happiness. This is the reason we volunteered to come here.
The 246th PSYOP Company prepared another leaflet coded 246-259-68. It depicted the insignia of the Thailand Queen’s Cobra Regiment and the flags of Thailand and Vietnam. The text was:
The Royal Thai Army volunteer regiment, the Queen’s Cobras, has brought with them the sincere best wishes from the people of Thailand to the people of Vietnam. May you people of Vietnam forever have a very happy life.
A Third 246th PSYOP Company leaflet coded 246-289-68 depicted Thais and Vietnamese hand in hand and had the text:
We must cooperate with each other to protect you from the enemy and make your country prosperous – The Queen’s Cobra.
Leaflet SP-1555
This leaflet features the flags of Thailand and Vietnam on the front. I have a second larger leaflet with the same front but a different longer message on the back. The text on the back of this leaflet is:
To all our friends at Thanh Dong, Thanh Trung, Cu Chi II, Chu Chi III, Thanh Dien village.
Our Filipino Civic Affairs Group will commence activities in Thanh Dien. We'll help you build a new village at the request of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam. The village will be handed over to the homeless population in Tay Ninh. We shall begin with research and road planning. Construction of such a secure village for you will require much effort on our part. In order to complete the task, we warmly call on all Vietnamese friends to cooperate and support us in building this new village for you.
Brigadier General G.V Tobias
Filipino Army, Commander,
Filipino Civic Affairs Group
Leaflet 2733
This leaflet depicts generators being unloaded from a ship. The text is:
HERE, THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN FREE MEN
People all over the world have been aware of the destruction inflicted on the South Vietnamese people by the so-call Communist general offensive on cities and towns.
To help heal the destruction caused by the Communists; the people of Thailand donated three generators for use in the rehabilitation of the stricken people of South Vietnam.
Thailand, one of 31 countries that have provided assistance for the Republic of Vietnam
Leaflet 2781
Leaflet 2781 reassures the people of
Vietnam
that they are not fighting alone. It depicts members of
Thailand
’s Black Panther Division deploying to
Vietnam
. The text on the front is:
You Have no Hope if You Expect to Win
The text on the back is in part:
…The first elements of the “Black Panther” Division of
Thailand
have arrived in
Vietnam
. By the end of this year their strength will reach 12,000 men. You have no hope if you expect to win in
South Vietnam
…
Thai Soldier showing his patch
The Organizational Chart for the Royal Thai Army Black Panther Division, operating from Bearcat base in Bien Hoa Province, Vietnam, dated 9 May 1968, shows that the Division normally consisted of 10,730 men but was reinforced about 5% for the Vietnam mission and actually consisted at that time of 11,266 men. Bearcat was originally a French airfield, later used by the Japanese during World War II.
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
The Royal Thai government sent an elite regiment of “The Queen’s Cobras” to Vietnam. By late 1968, this regiment was replaced by the Black Panthers Regiment operating in Long Thanh, 60 miles from Saigon. The Royal Thai government also sent special Naval and Air Force units raising the total strength to 12,000 men.
The Thai Black Panther Division lands in Vietnam from the USS Okinagon
The use of psychological operations in battles fought by the Thai is mentioned in the Department of the Army booklet: Allied Participation in Vietnam.
In conjunction with the tactical operations, the U.S.-Thai team conducted psychological operations. All returnees under the Chieu Hoi (open arms) amnesty program were fully interviewed and in 60 percent of the cases tapes of these interviews were made. These tapes were normally played back to the Viet Cong within four hours. The themes were basically a plea to the Viet Cong to return to the fold of the government while it was still possible, to eliminate their leaders and rally, to receive medical care, and to bring their weapons. When Viet Cong rallied without their weapons, a weapons leaflet was dropped and the next returnees brought in weapons. Once all means of drawing the enemy out had been used and continued efforts were unsuccessful, a C-47 aircraft with miniguns was employed to saturate totally the sealed square kilometer area.
Spain
Leaflet 2724
This leaflet depicts Spanish doctors treating Vietnamese patients. The text is:
Spain, which is thousands of miles away from Vietnam, also provides assistance to
South Vietnam
in genuine friendship.
The photos show medical team members sent by the Spanish government examining Vietnamese patients in
South Vietnam
.
It is believed that there were 12 or 13 Spanish medical volunteers sent to Vietnam. They arrived in Saigon 8 September 1966. They were issued American uniforms and papers to use at the PX, commissary, etc. Their hospital had 150 beds. They treated land mine and gunshot victims, tuberculosis, dysentery, hepatitis and malaria patients. During the Tet uprising of 1968, eight Vietnam workers were killed and two Spaniards were wounded in grenade attacks. The Government of Vietnam decorated them on three occasions. The medical unit quietly returned to Spain in 1971. They received no official recognition in their own country.
The Spanish Medical Mission Building - Go-Cong
Nguyentich Nghia photo collection on Flickr
Paloma Marin quotes General Antonio Velazquez Rivera, then a 25-year-old lieutenant with the Army Medical Corps in an article titled: Spain's Secret Support for US in Vietnam:
The hospital they worked in was in poor shape. It was an old colonial building, falling apart, and the hygiene was terrible. There were 150 beds, and at times, up to 400 injured and wounded. We had no medical supplies; we had to scrounge them from either the Americans or the guerrillas.
The hospital did not attend solely to military personnel, or civilians caught up in the fighting; the team also performed simple operations on children with cleft palates, or pregnant women with typhoid fever.
The local people were very supportive of us, and recognized our help by dedicating a bridge to us.
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
To share a part of the heavy load created by the war in the Republic of Vietnam, Spain sent a medical team to the province of Go Cong in September 1966.
In 2012, a Spanish documentary entitled Espa�oles en la guerra de Vietnam commented:
The first group of medical soldiers, including four doctors, seven nurses and one officer in charge of military supplies, arrived in Vietnam in 1966 and worked at Truong Cong Dinh hospital in the Go Gong district, about 45 kilometers from the capital, Saigon. From 1966 to 1971 three other groups, totaling nearly 100 Spaniards, worked at the hospital.
…The hospital they worked in was in poor shape. It was an old colonial building, falling apart, and the hygiene was terrible. There were 150 beds, and at times, up to 400 injured and wounded. We had no medical supplies; we had to scrounge them from either the Americans or the guerrillas…
This leaflet was later reprinted as 2724T and dropped over North Vietnamese troops coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Leaflet 2727
Leaflet 2727 also depicts Spanish doctors treating patients with the text:
The European people understand the suffering of the people of South Vietnam. The Government of Spain, by love of humanity, has helped the victims of this war created by the Communists by sending medical teams.
Leaflet 2727 Back
The back of leaflet 2727 also shows Spanish doctors treating patients, lists the names of all the Nations helping South Vietnam, and the text:
Thirty-one Nations of the world have supported the fighting of the people of the Free South by every means.
The patch worn by the Spanish contingent
In 2013, a Spaniard wrote to me to tell me about parachutist and Master Sergeant Ramon Guti�rrez de Teran who was a surgical assistant in the Spanish Army. De Teran was interviewed and told about his experience as a Spanish medic in Vietnam in an article entitled “Spanish Medical Aide in the Vietnam War” in the October 2009 Spanish-language magazine Military. He said in part:
The U.S. invited Spain to send military aid to Vietnam in early 1966. President Johnson wanted combat troops but Franco thought that the Vietnamese would be victorious and agreed only to send a Military Health team to South Vietnam. On 26 April 1966, a letter was sent requesting doctors and volunteers to deploy to Vietnam. The mission, limited to twelve people, began immediately and was done very quietly and in almost complete secrecy.
In late August 1966, four military doctors agreed to deploy for one year along with seven medical staff and a Quartermaster-officer who served as liaison with the U.S. Army. They arrived in Saigon on 8 September 1966. The U.S. Army medical system in Vietnam was perfectly organized; an impressive network of ambulances and evacuation helicopters. We heard that from 1966 to 1973 about 372,947 wounded were evacuated by helicopter, with a total of 406,022 patients receiving medical assistance.
The Spanish team worked in a civilian-military hospital known as Truong Cong-Dinn in Go Kong province in the Mekong Delta. About 200 beds were crammed with patients and their families who spent the night lying at the foot of each bed. The real need was for surgeons, and although the Spanish team was mostly made up of other medical specialties they soon adapted to the needs of the hospital: Operating, women’s needs, postoperative care, laboratory, radiology, pediatrics and general practice.
The civilians and military patients were women, children, and the elderly, many of them affected with tropical diseases such as dysentery, amebiasis, typhoid, tuberculosis and leprosy, among others. We saw about 23,000 patients in the first six months. We also did outpatient work in the district villages and isolated houses in the Delta. On these outings we took care of the disabled, pregnant, and newly born. The Spanish medics were very dear to those people, and that affection is one on my fondest memories of that part of the mission. We sometimes found out later that the drugs we gave these people ended up with the Viet Cong but we could not control that.
We enjoyed full freedom to treat patients. I suspect at night many of them were Viet Cong, but we made no distinction among the ill or injured.
In September 1968, I ended the mission, and we all returned to Spain. I decided to return to Vietnam and found myself in the middle of the Viet Cong uprising known as Tet 1968. We worked day and night with almost no supplies. The medical residence was mortared one night. During the attack an American sergeant was injured and a Spanish doctor went to his aid through enemy fire. He returned to the hospital and never said a word to anyone, but later he was awarded a U.S. medal for his bravery.
I stayed until 1971, the maximum time a Spanish soldier was allowed to stay. Our people were always extraordinary; they always delivered no matter the conditions. Many times we had to walk to a patient to donate blood for surgical operations. I was very proud to receive the Vietnam paratrooper badge, several foreign decorations, and a cross of Military Merit. We did the job under terrible conditions and we did it well. More than one hundred Spanish soldiers including physicians, medical specialists, and other staff participated in this operation. Twelve troops were sent every six months for five years. On our return, we were not received as heroes, but urged to silence.
Today, Ramon Guti�rrez de Teran is a Captain in the Spanish Army.
The
Philippines
The Common Struggle
U.S.I.A. � JUSPAO
Leaflet 2724
The back side of leaflet 2724 depicts Philippine politicians and medical personal. The text is:
HERE THE SUPPORT OF THE WORLD FOR THE
REPUBLIC
OF
VIETNAM
Here is a moving sight – a Philippine Congressman is visiting an elderly patient on sick bed.
The Government and peoples of the
Philippines
deeply sympathize with the tragic war in the
Republic
of
Vietnam
, and have sent many medical teams to alleviate the agonies and sufferings of the South Vietnamese people.
This leaflet was later reprinted as 2724T and dropped over North Vietnamese troops coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Note: the middle photograph of the operating room was also used on a large JUSPAO poster. The poster was uncoded but was obviously a part of a series because it was numbered 4.
Poster 1317
This 17 x 22-inch poster is entitled MEDICAL AID FOR THE VIETNAMESE. I have placed it here in the Philippine section, but the five photographs depict medical aid being given by Vietnamese, Australian, Iranian, American and Philippine doctors. The text for the Philippine doctor at the lower right is:
A Philippine doctor checks an elderly man who has never had modern medicine or treatment before.
Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that 14,450 Filipinos in Vietnam primarily for support.Another report says that during the period from 1966 to 1968 there were 2,068 Filipino officers and enlisted personnel who served in Vietnam. This force was known as the PHILCAG-V (Philippine Civic Action Group -Vietnam) based in Tay Ninh under the US 196th Light Infantry Brigade. The prime mission of the PHILCAG is to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people through Civic Action. Despite their humanitarian mission they would take casualties throughout their stay through sniper attacks, land mines, and booby traps. The Philippine involvement in Vietnam War ended on December 12, 1969.
A PHILCAG team in Long Hoa Hamlet, Gia Dinh, in January 1969.
Photo: Specialist 4 Brian Wickham, CMAC-IO
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
In August 1964, the Philippines sent a medical team, followed by a Civic Action Group to the Republic of Vietnam. The Filipino units also have engineer teams to help the people develop and repair roads, bridges and schools in the hamlets.
Some of the Filipino Soldiers KIA in Vietnam, they were part of the Philippine Civic Action Group Vietnam. The Philippines deployed a regiment size force with headquarters in Tay Ninh Province, with MAPEM Teams present in Long Binh, Cam Rahn Bay, Qui Nhon, Da Nang and Medical Teams in Tay Ninh, Bin Duong, Din Tuong and a Rural Health Team in Hau Nghia. Staff Sergeant Las Marias was the First Filipino Killed in Action, when a Viet Cong threw a grenade on the jeep he was driving while in town.
Photo: Courtesy of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum
The PSYOP/POLWAR Newsletter of December 1967 adds:
The Philippine Contingent Vietnam replaced the Philippine Civic Action group in December 1969. During three years in Vietnam the Civic Action Group�s medical teams had seen over one million patients, and its engineers had built over 130 miles of roads, 116 buildings, including schoolhouses and pagodas, and cleared almost 380 acres of forest for farming land.
TO THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
The Philippine deployment contained some PSYOP members and there is a mention of a leaflet that they produced. The Department of the Army booklet Allied Participation in Vietnam Mentions says that the Philippine Civic Action Group produced and distributed more than 83,000 leaflets in the Vietnam language containing the text of Republic Act 4664 (aid-to-Vietnam bill) and explaining the Philippine presence in Vietnam and the humanitarian missions to be accomplished. The text is very long so I will just select some paragraphs to quote:
The Filipino people, in response to the request of the Vietnamese people for civic action assistance as expressed by the Government of Vietnam, have sent the 1st Philippine Civic Action Group, to extend that assistance in all sincerity though humble it may be. We, the members of 1st Philippine Civic Action Group therefore, are pledged to carry out the mandate of our people to the best of our ability and to the fullest extent of our capacity. We ask the Vietnamese people to understand that we are here to help build and not to destroy, to bring the Vietnamese people happiness and not sorrow, to develop good will and not hatred. We further ask the Vietnamese people cooperation in whatever manner they think best so that we can accomplish our civic action projects with the least obstacle and interference by some individuals or groups of individuals who are against the idea of the Vietnamese people being able to enjoy happiness and a better way of life.
Within the pages of this leaflet is the Vietnamese translation of the law passed by the representatives of our people, The Congress of the Philippines, and approved by the Chief Executive, President Ferdinand E. Marcos. This law reflects the sentiments of the people of the Philippines and provides the basis for our being here with you today. As our late President Magsaysay, the father of civic action in the Philippines said “What sir, would you want me to do for you?” Like our late President Magsaysay, we ask the Vietnamese the same question. Please do not hesitate to tell us where we can be most useful to you, and where you think we are not doing well as you expected. Undoubtedly, you and we can attain greater achievements if we do them together.
Iran
Leaflet 2732
This leaflet depicts Iranian Medical aid given to the Vietnamese people. Some of the text is:
Iran
is a country in the Middle East which is also actively helping the victims of Communism in
South Vietnam
. An Iranian surgical team is working in a hospital in the
Republic
of
Vietnam
.
Iran
, one of the 31 countries which have provided assistance for the
Republic
of
Vietnam
.
West Germany
Leaflet 138
This leaflet was dropped over North Vietnam to show the people that many nations were helping the Republic of Vietnam. The front depicts a West German nurse treating youngsters and a German Doctor meeting a local village chief. The text is:
A German nurse treats injured youngsters at Hoi An.
A German doctor talks to the village chief of An Hoa.
27 men and women from West Germany continue their humanitarian work among the Vietnamese people despite Communist threats to their lives. Tens of thousands of South Vietnamese villagers near An Hoa, Danang and Hoi An have profited from the German Medical Team’s presence.
Leaflet 2733
The front of leaflet 2732 depicts a technical school donated to the Republic of Vietnam by West Germany. The text is:
Technical assistance of West German for the Republic of Vietnam is a very precious thing because the South Vietnamese people have to rebuild the destruction caused by the Communists.
Here, the German-Vietnam technical school donated by the people of West Germany. South Vietnamese youth who graduate from this school will be the nation-builders of the future…
Leaflet 2726
A second leaflet depicts buses donated by
West Germany
to
Vietnam
. The text is:
To provide facilities in emergency treatment of patients in
South Vietnam
, the people of
West Germany
donated a number of specially equipped ambulances to the
Republic
of
Vietnam
which symbolizes the strengthened friendship between the peoples of
Vietnam
and
Germany
.
Nationalist
China
Leaflet 2726
This leaflet depicts plows and machinery donated by Nationalist China. The text is:
To assist in the improvement and development of agriculture in
South Vietnam
, the people of Nationalist
China
donated a number of improved plows to raise higher the national economy of the people of
South Vietnam
.
The 1969 Vietnamese propaganda publication: The Free World in Vietnam adds:
A combatant of peace and freedom must be armed with strong thought. In early 1960, the Republic of Vietnam requested a Political Warfare delegation from the Republic of China to assist Vietnam. In 1964, the Republic of China sent a POLWAR group to Vietnam. The mission of the group is to assist the Vietnamese armed forces to develop and improve their political warfare organizations in political indoctrination, psychological warfare, social welfare, etc.
Japan
Leaflet 139
Leaflet 139 was dropped over
North Vietnam
during the period when the
United States
bombed the North. It depicts Japanese doctors and nurses caring for Vietnamese citizens that have been injured by Viet Cong attacks. Some of the text on the leaflet is:
43 NATIONS ARE GIVING AID TO
SOUTH VIETNAM
The Communist regime in
Hanoi
attempts to hide its aggression against
South Vietnam
by talking loudly of a war of “Liberation” against Americans. Actually, the
United States
is only one of 43 nations giving various forms of aid to the people of
South Vietnam
in their struggle against Communist aggression.
A Japanese surgical team helps to ease the suffering of civilians wounded by the Communists in their attacks.
Montagnard victims of the Communists receive gifts from a British organization.
Leaflet 2731
Leaflet 2731 mentions the Japanese very briefly. The text is:
Japan, one of 31 countries that have provided assistance for the Republic of Vietnam. The Japanese surgery team.
The whole world deeply sympathizes with the raging hostilities against the people of South Vietnam caused by the Communists. To alleviate in some part the agony and suffering of innocent civilians caused by Viet Cong attacks on cities and towns, friendly countries have sent medical teams to provide assistance.
We should note that this leaflet also mentions medical aid from the Republic of Korea, Great Britain, and New Zealand.
Canada
Although
Canada
did not officially sent troops to
Vietnam
, many of its citizens came south to the
United States
to join in the fight against international communism. There are no official records of their number, but we have unofficial estimates. Roderick Engert, chief of the reference branch of the
Center
of
Military History
of the Pentagon, said the number might be 2,500 to 3,000. Christopher S. Wren said in a 24 January 1985 New York Times article that he doubted that more than 5,000 Canadians had served in
Vietnam
. Marci McDonald said in a 29 April 1985 article for Maclean’s, “The war also lured an estimated 5,000 Canadians to enlist in its jungle hells.” Fred Gaffen, Chief Historian at the Canadian War Museum said in an August 1991 Vietnam Magazine, “I estimate that of the many thousands who served in the U. S. Vietnam-era military, some 12,000 Canadians actually served in
Vietnam
itself.” Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that 12,000 Canadians served in Vietnam with 103 killed and 7 missing in action. In a later comment he changes the numbers and says 30,000 loyal Americans came down to the U.S. to enlist in the U.S. military and had to lie about their citizenship to be accepted. They received no benefits from the Canadian government upon their return.
John R. Campbell’s numbers are much greater. He says:
Another ironic statistic also touching on motivation is that while about 30,000 young Americans sought refuge in Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War, 40,000 Canadians came south to join the U.S. forces and were statistically absorbed as “Americans.” Of these, 30,000 actually served in
Vietnam
.
The North Wall Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Chris Corday of CBC News added on 11 November 2015 in an article entitled “Lost to History: The Canadians who fought in Vietnam”:
The Canadian Vietnam Veterans Association estimates that about 20,000 Canadians enlisted, although other historians think that number may have been as high as 40,000. The association believes 12,000 Canadians actually served in combat roles in Vietnam. By the end of the conflict, it’s believed at least 134 Canadians had died or been declared missing in action. “The North Wall” Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial now lists the names of 138 Canadians who died in the war, but the number still grows today. It includes 134 Canadians who were killed in action for the U.S. military, and four other Canadians who died in Vietnam while serving with the International Control Commission, the three-country body charged with supervising the 1954 partition into South Vietnam and North Vietnam.
The
United States
The Pocket Guide to Vietnam
In theory, every American soldier was issued a copy of Department of the Army pamphlet 360-411, The Pocket Guide to Vietnam upon being deployed to that country. Of course, the distribution was very spotty and many troops never saw the guidebook. The booklet was to help him understand the nation, the people and their customs. It was printed by the United States Department of Defense. A second instructional pamphlet entitled Handbook for US Forces in Vietnam was published by the Department of Defense as Department of the Army Pamphlet 360-521. Again, dissemination seems spotty.
Leaflet 246-375-67
This early American leaflet for Vietnam depicts an American soldier delivering a box of food or some other needed items from the Unites States Aid Organization.
USAID Insignia
Throughout the war, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which stayed in Vietnam until the fall of Saigon, designed and implemented a wide array of American development and assistance programs in South Vietnam, of which CORDS was perhaps the best known. During fiscal year 1966, A.I.D.'s commercial import program provided almost $400 million of foreign exchange to be used for importing such items as food, fertilizer, iron and steel products, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial raw materials. The text on the front is:
BUILD FREEDOM AND PEACE TOGETHER.
The text on the back is:
Compatriots in the Binh Duong Province.
In order to bring you freedom, allied forces will conduct operations in this area. Allied forces will be present here as your friend, wishing nothing more than to help you. It is the Viet Cong that is causing you countless suffering and mourning. You can help bring peace and happiness to yourself, your family, and your country by cooperating with the ARVN and Allies. Never fear, nobody will get hurt! To avoid unfortunate accidents, you should follow these instructions: Do not run away when you see soldiers or airplanes; do not leave your domicile after dark. If you do so, you might be mistaken for Viet Cong and be shot. The Government of the Republic of Vietnam will bring you peace and prosperity, but you should lend the Allied a hand in any way possible. The sooner the Viet Cong will be defeated, the sooner you will have a better life.
LET'S BUILD FREEDOM AND PEACE TOGETHER!
Leaflet 1528
The leader of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson, swears everlasting support for the people of South Vietnam. 10 million leaflets were disseminated in South Vietnam, another 3 million in North Vietnam. Unfortunately for the Vietnamese, his successor, President Richard Nixon, did not feel the same support. The text on the back of the Johnson leaflet is:
Speaking to U.S. troops at Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam, on 26 October 1966, President Johnson affirmed:
I GIVE YOU MY PLEDGE. I SHALL NEVER LET YOU DOWN, NOR YOUR FIGHTING COMRADES, NOR THE 15 MILLION PEOPLE OF SOUTH VIETNAM, NOT THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF ASIANS WHO ARE COUNTING ON US TO SHOW NOW IN VIETNAM THAT AGGRESSION DOES NOT PAY.
Leaflet P-08
There are thousands of leaflets that show
U.S.
power, troops, tanks and bombers. In this article we are not going to spend a lot of time on the military aid to
Vietnam
. Instead, we will talk about the general aid, the services to the people and how it was explained. A good example is leaflet P-08 which depicts an American helping on a Vietnamese construction site and explains in depth to the Vietnamese people why the Americans are there and what they are doing. The text on the front is:
IS THIS IMPERIALISM?
The Back is all text:
The
United States
is the richest and most powerful country in the world. What does it need from
Vietnam
? NOTHING. In fact, it is now giving Free
Vietnam
40,000,000,000 piasters in food and economic assistance a year. Is this a new form of “imperialism” as propagandized and distorted by the
North Vietnam
Communists?
Why is the
United States
helping Free
Vietnam
economically and militarily? It is helping Free
Vietnam
resist
Hanoi
’s Lao Dong imperialist aggression. It is doing this because history shows that such aggression can cause a large war which would threaten all mankind. The Communist imperialists in
Hanoi
and Peking would not stop after taking free
Vietnam
and
Laos
; they would try to conquer all of
Asia
. That would bring a large war and tragedy to the whole world. This is why the Americans are in
Vietnam
…
Leaflet 2791
JUSPAO leaflet 2791 told the Vietnamese that American doctors and nurses cared about their health. One side depicted a female American doctor and Vietnamese nurses and the other a Vietnamese doctor and American nurse. The leaflet points out that the Americans have such humanity that they will care for both the friendly and enemy Vietnamese. To be free is to be humane. Some of the text is:
THE LOVE OF HUMANITY BY FREE MEN
Free men have always loved humanity regardless of friend or foe.
The Army woman doctor Nicora and the two Vietnamese nurses are dressing the wound of a North Vietnamese Army soldier who has been left behind by his comrades.
A Vietnamese doctor and an American nurse are caring for an old woman who was the victim of the Communist aggressors’ attack.
Leaflet 2792
This leaflet depicts a Vietnamese and an American radio operator working side by side. The text is:
Communication is one of the decisive factors for success or failure in the field of battle.
These Vietnamese and American radio operators intensely listen to the developments in a close air support mission and are ready to transmit or receive orders from higher headquarters.
Poster 2198
This 17 x 22-inch poster was developed in October 1967 to explain the American presence. It says in part:
WHAT DO THE AMERICANS WANT HERE?
DO THE AMERICANS WANT OUR RICE AND LAND?
America
is rich and powerful, and every year grows more food than her people can eat. She has surplus rice and other grain which she gives to other countries around the world, including
Vietnam
. She has no need for our land or food.
DO THE AMERICANS WANT OUR MARKETS FOR THEIR GOODS?
The billions of dollars that America has spent to support our fight against Communism and to provide things that the people of Vietnam need – schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and the like – could not be repaid from Vietnam’s economy for many decades…
DO THE AMERICANS WANT MILITARY BASES IN
VIETNAM
?
America
has many times solemnly reiterated its pledge to remove its troops from the bases they occupy in
Vietnam
as soon as our peace and freedom are assured. America has plenty of bases throughout the Pacific, from Hawaii to the Philippines, to assure its own security.
America
does not want or need bases on
Vietnam
’s land.
THEN WHAT DO THEY WANT HERE?
America’s help to Vietnam, like that of 30 other free nations comes at the request of the Vietnamese government.They have asked for help to defend their country against Communist aggression….
Leaflet 2738 mentions American military aid:
The United States Secretary of Defense stated “We intend to give preference to the ARVN forces, all ARVN forces, even at the expense of our own forces. We will issue every ARVN an M-16 rifle just as soon as we can.”
Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that 2,700,000 Americans served in Vietnam with 58,425 killed and 304,000 wounded.
Great Britain
Leaflet 2731
I did find two Allied propaganda leaflets that mention Great Britain. The first is coded 2731. There is a photo of a British charity worker at the right and the short text:
Gifts from the British OXFAM charitable organization are given to highlanders who are the victims of the communists. Britain, one of the 31 countries which have provided assistance to the Republic of Vietnam.
At the left we see a doctor from the Republic of Korea and the text:
The Republic of Korea, one of 31 countries which have provided assistance to the Republic of Vietnam. Communist propaganda claims that South Korean soldiers are very vicious and brutal. No words are needed to describe the actions of the Korean doctor shown in this photo.
Authors Note: The name “Oxfam” comes from the “Oxford Committee for Famine Relief,” founded in Britain in 1942.
Leaflet 139 (see above under “Japan”) says about the same thing, though it mentions the name of the highland tribe but leaves out the name of the British organization.
Montagnard victims of the Communists receive gifts from a British organization.
Great Britain had some early post-war experience in
Vietnam
that might have made a convincing argument to stay out of that nation’s internal affairs. In 1945, Lord Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander Southeast Asia, was ordered to form an Allied Control Commission to go to Vietnam to ensure civil order in the area surrounding Saigon, to enforce the Japanese surrender, and render humanitarian assistance to Allied prisoners of war and internees. By September, anarchy, rioting and murder were widespread,
Saigon
’s administrative services had collapsed and a loosely-controlled Communist-led revolutionary group had seized power.
In late September, parties of armed Viet Minh (later called “Viet Cong”) clashed with British and Indian patrols. By October 1945, the roads into
Saigon
were blocked by the Viet Minh who were attempting to strangle the city. On 13 October, the Communists attacked Tan Son Nhut airbase. By mid-October, British and Indian troops had killed about 307 of the Viet Minh. On 25 October, a Russian advisor was captured with the Communist troops. Near the end of October, a British taskforce killed about 190 Viet Minh in operations east of
Saigon
. In January 1946, the British happily handed over military control of
Vietnam
to the French.
Britain
’s half-year Vietnam War casualty list was 40 British and Indian soldiers killed. It is believed that they killed about 600 communist troops.
Great Britain
is not considered a member of the Allies of the
Republic
of
Vietnam
because they did not send fighting forces and quite often criticized the conduct of the war in the world press. However, they did very quietly take part in some early training of Vietnamese forces. Carolyn Page mentions this in U.S. Official Propaganda during the Vietnam War, 1965-1973, Leicester University Press, London, 1996:
President Kennedy and President Diem both used British advice and expertise in the form of the British Advisory
Mission
in
Saigon
. This mission existed from 1962 to 1965, advising the South Vietnamese Government on pacification…When the mission was disbanded in 1965
Britain
continued to help train the South Vietnamese police through the British Embassy in
Saigon
. So from 1961 to 1965 there was a tangible British commitment to
South Vietnam
and this continued in a small way even after the war escalated in 1965.
The British Advisory Mission to South Vietnam (BRIAM) was established in September 1961 at the request of South Vietnamese President Diem. Robert Thompson who had gained tremendous experience in 12-year-long anti-guerrilla warfare in Malaya led the group in Vietnam. Thompson soon became one of South Vietnamese President Diem’s leading foreign advisors.
Kazlausky says in Vietnam Unclassified that British Special Air Service units served from 1965 to 1967 attached to the Australians at Nui Dat near Saigon. The British Government denies this.
Conclusion
There are dozens, if not hundreds more leaflets that show the various nations that supported the
Republic
of
Vietnam
in its fight against Communism. This article will never be complete. From time to time I will add new items that add to this PSYOP theme of the brotherhood of free nations aligned against
North Vietnam
and its Communist supporters.
People’s Republic of China aid to North Vietnam
Since we have mentioned the many nations that helped the Republic of Vietnam, perhaps we should mention the aid given by the People’s Republic of China to North Vietnam. The Chinese have gone on record in an article entitled “China's Involvement in the Vietnam War, 1964-69” by Chen Jian in the June 1995 issue of The China Quarterly.
China's support of Vietnam took three main forms: Engineer troops to construct and maintain defense works, air fields, roads and especially railways in North Vietnam; Chinese anti-aircraft troops to protect important strategic areas and targets in North Vietnam; and the supply of large amounts of military equipment and military and civil aid.
To build the roads and maintain the railways, about June 1965 seven divisions of Chinese engineers began quietly entering North Vietnam. Units came and went and about 160,000 engineers in all were probably working on roads, railways and airbases at one time or another.
Two Chinese anti-aircraft divisions and one regiment were sent to protect Hanoi and some major roads in 1965. On 9 August 1965 Chinese guns brought down their first U.S. F-4 fighter. From 1965 to 1969, 16 Chinese anti-aircraft Divisions totaling 150,000 troops got to practice their skills in North Vietnam. They claimed to have shot down 1,707 U.S. aircraft.
Chinese aid to North Vietnam was so great that we cannot list it all; looking at just 1964 and 1965 we see the supply of guns increased from 80,500 to 220,767; bullets increased from 25.2 million to 114 million; and artillery pieces increased from 1,205 to 4,439.
Since the Chinese were doing construction and maintenance and protecting the skies, the North Vietnamese could use their army to attack the south rather than protect their own country. It allowed them to be very aggressive.
The Democratic People�s Republic of Korea�s Aid to North Vietnam
North Korean personnel in North Vietnamese uniform with Ho Chi Minh.
(Chosun media)
Jiyul Kim, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), was an intelligence officer and a Northeast Asia Foreign Area Officer with specialization in Japan and the Koreas. He said about North Korean aid to North Vietnam (edited for brevity):
One morning in early April 2000, an innocuous article appeared in Japan's Asahi Shinbun newspaper. The Asahi article described a recently opened public exhibition in the halls of the North Korean Ministry of People�s Armed Forces building that displayed documents and material relating to North Korea�s military assistance to North Vietnam during the war. The BBC, almost at the same time as the Asahi piece, on 31 March 2000, reported that a Vietnamese official had also confirmed that "North Korean forces fought on the side of North Vietnam" and that a North Korean delegation had recently visited "a grave containing the bodies of fourteen North Korean pilots killed (in the war)" in Bac Giang Province northeast of Hanoi.
North Korean MIG 21
The decision to support North Vietnam was made in 1965 and implemented in 1966. On 3 May 2012, North Korea�s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during an inspection tour of North Korean air and air defense units, commenting on a photograph of North Korean pilots who flew in the Vietnam War. Fighter pilots were just the most dramatic element of North Korea�s military aid to North Vietnam. Also dispatched were observers and PSYOP teams who operated in South Vietnam with the National Liberation Front to observe South Korean troops, who started deploying in late 1964 and whose numbers reached 50,000 by 1968, and to mount psychological and propaganda operations against them.
- North Korean personnel would be referred to as "specialists."
- They would wear North Vietnamese uniforms and operate with North Vietnamese fighter regiments.
- They would come under North Vietnamese command and control.
- Once all three companies were operational, they would be assigned a dedicated airfield and area of operations.
- Late October � November 1966: Dispatch first contingent to man a MiG-17 company.
- Late 1966-early 1967: Dispatch second contingent to man a MiG-17 company.
- 1967: Dispatch third contingent to man a MiG-21 company.
Aside from personnel, North Korea provided substantial materiel aid starting in 1965, possibly earlier, as well as accepting thousands of Vietnamese students for attendance at North Korean university for free. North Korean support peaked in 1967 and then began to decline in the spring of 1968 due to North Vietnamese acceptance of a peace talk proposal by President Johnson. North Korea, along with Cuba, was opposed to a peaceful settlement for reasons that will be discussed later. The Paris Accord was met with "frosty silence" by North Korea.
As to the actual size of the North Korean Group Z, there are conflicting accounts. Retired Major General Phan Khac Hy, who had worked with the North Koreans, estimated Group Z had about 200 including 87 pilots. An official Vietnamese published source stated, "a total of 384 North Korean Air Force troops (including 96 pilots) arrived in Vietnam�By January 1968 the total number of North Korean military personnel in North Vietnam had been reduced to 185 personnel, 46 of them pilots. By the end of December 1968, after five personnel rotations, there were a total of 159 North Korean Air Force personnel, 31 of them pilots."
The Soviet Union�s Aid to North Vietnam
The Russians also gave massive amounts of aid but so far they have not talked about their support of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. I have not studied the Russian military aid in any depth but years ago when I talked to my friend, North Korean defector Lieutenant No who flew his MiG 15 to South Korea, he told me about the Russian pilots during the Vietnam War:
Stage One (November 1950 to March 1951)
The first group of Russian MiG-15s (old model) entered the war from Dandong AB. They were inexperienced in flying jet planes and at high altitude. They failed to secure the supply lines. They could not stop the B-29s from bombing the supply trucks and the military targets in daylight.
Stage Two (April 1951 to February 1952)
The 324th IAD, one of the most elite Soviet Fighter Aviation Divisions (Istrevitenye Avia Divizya) was commanded by the Soviets top ace, Ivan Kozhedub. That unit was stationed at Moscow Defense District to defend against B-29 raids against the Soviet Capital. They were deployed to Manchuria in late 1950 to train the first group of North Koreans to fly the MiG-15s. My group was the first and initially trained by them. Due to the Gen. Ridgway's 8th Army counterattack to push the Chinese Army toward the 38th Parallel for the second time, the Communists needed better air cover for their supplies. Under Kozhedub, they had two squadrons. One was headed by Evgeny Pepelyalev (Top MiG ace) and the other commander was S. Vishnyakov. Most of them were WWII veterans and flew from Dandong Air Base, with old-model MiG-15s. Another Soviet IAD, the 303rd, commanded by Kumanichkin was deployed at Dadunggo Air Base, about 30 miles west of Dandong. In June 1951, they received the new MiG-15bis, which had about 500 lbs. more thrust, and some other new features. My North Korean MiG squadron joined our first trainers, the 324 IAD, at Dandong in late 1951. My first instructor, Alex Nikichenko, was killed in action by then. Some of my personal beliefs about the Soviet pilots and those days of air warfare:
Stage Three (March 1952 to the end of the war, 27 July 1953)
Stage 3 was a disaster for the MiG's. It was the beginning of the end for the Soviets. Young, inexperienced MiG pilots replaced Kozhedub's pilots. The Manchurian Sanctuary was no longer observed after the second week of April 1952. How do I know? I was stationed at Dandong AB and witnessed F-86s shooting down 4 MiG-15s near the airbase in China for the first time. Americans called it �hot pursuit� but that was not true. The MiGs were now attacked while landing as well as taking off. The daily dogfights now took place in the Manchurian skies at low altitude. Many F-86 pilots became aces in Stage 3, including Joseph McConnell. The MiG pilots also had to face the advanced F-86F after January 1953. The Soviets were busy replenishing the lost MiGs rather than rotating the pilots for combat training. They realized that the air war was lost as soon as the Manchurian Sanctuary was lifted. Their morale was low, and everybody wanted the war to be stopped.
The author invites comments. Readers are encouraged to contact him at sgmbert@hotmail.com.
