Captured Viet Cong Propaganda

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum’s "Ten Thousand-Day War at Sea" exhibit is home to various propaganda artifacts, such as the one that hangs above the sampan in the Riverine area, which reads: “(1) To the military brothers, don’t listen to the American soldiers. (2) Punji sticks are for the Americans, don’t go in. (3) The military who kills the Americans is patriotic.” This sign was captured by members of the Mobile Riverine Force (Task Force 117). (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Matthew Headrick
HRNM Educator

In a journal article published in 1973, Lt. Colonel Philip M. Flammer, a professor of military history at Air University and former professor at the USAF Academy, defined the word “propaganda” by quoting the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, who said that propaganda “has nothing to do with truth…. What matters is that it achieves its purposes.” Flammer believed that, during the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese embraced some of the same methodologies put forth previously by the Nazis, formatting it to fit the Communist doctrine. However, the mission was not just to proselytize. Propaganda was a way of spreading fear while giving direct orders, such as to protect against an “other.” The fact is, propaganda was used on both sides with the same goals: to promote an ideal and to protect that ideal through the use of violence.   

Vietnamese propaganda came in many different forms. Propaganda was not just comprised of singular messages about the U.S. “invading army.” Nor could it only be found in pamphlets full of anti-American literature. The Viet Cong often used symbols as propaganda. For example, the lotus flower represented a sort of logic or philosophy about the human condition. Then there was the visually striking Communist iconography: a giant billboard of Ho Chi Minh’s face. Artwork portrayed soldiers fighting on the front lines, emerging victoriously against the opponent.

(Courtesy Dogma Collection via CNN)

For the most part, the state controlled all aspects of the media. This is evident in images such as the one below which reads, “We stand ready to fight by our Vietnamese friends!” It infers that Communists around the world are joined together in fighting the enemy. Not only did these messages incentivize war against the U.S., but they were also meant to direct people's attention towards a particular ideology, a selling point on Communism.

(Pritzker Military Museum & Library)

The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) has in its possession numerous propaganda pieces. These artifacts help museum professionals convey a more extensive narrative about the role propaganda played in the Vietnam War. For example, housed at NHHC’s artifact storage facility are the leaflets and banner taken from this Viet Cong propaganda float. The float was captured by PBRs of River Section 523 in the Co Chien River on September 1, 1967. The South Vietnamese had their way of getting messages downriver as well, such as utilizing banana stalks. The U.S. would sometimes resort to floating toy sailboats with messages. 

(Naval History and Heritage Command)

Located in the museum’s Intelligence part of the Vietnam gallery is another piece of North Vietnamese propaganda in the form of a banner which translates to: “We are ready to defeat any night ambush from the RVN stubborn servants.”

(Naval History and Heritage Command)

Also on display at the museum is a two-sided propaganda sign on a piece of wood. On the front, it translates as, “Long live the South Vietnam people’s liberation front, the only and true representative of the people of the south.” On the back side, it reads, “In light of the victory spirit, all young men and women, hold and aim guns straight to the enemies, American puppets, to exterminate them.” 

Front of sign (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Reverse side (Naval History and Heritage Command)

During the Vietnam War, both the U.S. and Viet Cong commonly used radio, posters, signs, symbols, and literature to share their respective messages about the enemy. Today, propaganda is used to influence how we reflect and remember the past, particularly during times of war. Now more than ever, historians are paying close attention to the power of propaganda. Through the study of these types of artifacts, we are better equipped to put conflicts, such as the Vietnam War, into context. Understanding the use of propaganda allows us to gain perspective on more than just the “what,” but the “why” as well. 

VJ Day Artifact Series (Part 4): Journal from a USS Bennington (CV 20) Sailor

 To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we asked our colleagues at our sister museums for some interesting artifacts that highlight unique aspects of the Navy during the war. To close out this series, we have an artifact from our sister museum, the National Museum of the American Sailor in Great Lakes, Illinois. 

USS Bennington (CV 20), with camouflage paint, preparing to go to war. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Jennifer Steinhardt and Samantha Belles
Archivist and Collection Manager at National Museum of the American Sailor

It is difficult to select only one item from an artifact collection that captures so many important historical stories about the Navy’s enlisted Sailor. One such item from the National Museum of the American Sailor’s collection is Fireman 1/c (EM) Nicholas Saroukos’ journal. Born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1920, Saroukos enlisted into the United States Navy in 1942. As the Navy forbade American service members to keep personal journals during World War II, Saroukos’ account as an electrician aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington (CV 20) from January-April 1945 provides a rare contemporaneous firsthand account of what it was like to be a Navy Sailor during World War II.

A page from Saroukos' journal. Of note is the reference to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, as well as to kamikaze attacks (off of Okinawa). (National Museum of the American Sailor)

A sailor keeps an eye on a control board below deck aboard USS Bennington in 1945. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

In his journal, Saroukos first recounts the USS Bennington (CV 20) tying up to the USS Utah (BB 31) “Had my first glimpse of the historic port of Pearl Harbor. We tied up to the______ of the U.S.S. Utah which is lying on the bottom of the harbor.” Throughout his journal, he continues to detail his life aboard the ship. One notable part of the journal is when Saroukos discusses the disadvantages of having a below deck battle-station. He states, “that nothing can be done when a plane is diving at us but lie on the deck face down…”

The wreck of USS Utah (BB 31) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1944 during salvage operations. The battleship was one of those sunk during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

This personal and important story is one of many in our collection. By keeping a journal, Nicholas Saroukos provides a glimpse into the daily life of enlisted sailors, something the National Museum of the American Sailor strives to preserve and make available to everyone each and every day.

VJ Day Artifact Series (Part 3): USS Missouri (BB 63) Telephone

 To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we asked our colleagues at our sister museums for some interesting artifacts that highlight unique aspects of the Navy during the war. This week we have an artifact on display at our sister museum, the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C. 

Japanese Surrender Ceremony aboard USS Missouri, September 2, 1945. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

By Wesley Schwenk
Collections Manager, National Museum of the United States Navy

After being commissioned in 1944, USS Missouri (BB 63) joined the fleet outfitted with all of the regulation bells and whistles, including the telephone pictured here. The entirety of Missouri's service saw the use of this telephone. This Type D telephone, produced by the Automatic Electric Company, was built in its Chicago, Illinois plant. Not just the Type D, but many other phones made by this company were staples of United States Navy shipboard communication equipment. The phone gave the user the capability to speak with or take calls from various parts of the ship allowing for speedy responses and efficient decision making.

Type D telephone from USS Missouri (on loan to NMUSN from Curator Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command)

Crewmen use a telephone in the radio room aboard sister ship USS New Jersey (BB 62) in 1944. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

This object is an interesting one in and of itself because of the missions and objectives that were communicated through it. That includes the vessel being attached to Task Force 58 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, launching air strikes against enemy targets, and firing 16-inch gun bombardment support prior and during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa landings. This telephone also assisted in communications for the striking of the Japanese mainland in 1945 and cemented Missouri's place among the Pacific fleet. 

USS Missouri's mighty 16-inch guns roar in 1944. Six projectiles can be seen in flight to the right. (Naval History and Heritage Command)

Finally, this object remained on board and in use for the formal Japanese surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945. This artifact allowed USS Missouri (BB 63) to succeed during World War II and eventually proved to be one small but important part of her 48 years of naval service.

The Japanese delegation arrive for the surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945. (Naval History and Heritage Command)