Vietnam Postal History During The Vietnam War

I am starting a thread for anyone who would like to show your covers from Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s time period of the War in Vietnam.

Out of my postal history collection, I have scanned a registered cover from Saigon mailed January 25, 1968 from the Embassy of the Republic of China in Saigon to Hartnell College in Salinas, California, USA. This looks like a young woman was applying to college in the United States. The receiving cancel on the back is January 29, 1968, Salinas, California, which means it was January 30, 1968 in Vietnam. One of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive, was launched by North Vietnam on January 30, 1968. I am still looking for a cover from Vietnam that is postmarked on this date, but so far, this is the closest I have found.

Linus

I'll be very interested to see how this thread progresses. I find it's one of the more fascinating periods of postal history.

Thanks for sharing Linus

Just be be a little more clear. In Viet Nam the Yank invasion and assault is known as the "American War."

Famous last words. On 21 November 1967, Westmoreland said that the North Viet-namese/Viet-Cong were "unable to mount a major offensive" ...

In every war, each side has their own name for a war, usually one that includes a judgment element from the perspective of the particular side. Your use of the term "Yank invasion and assault" is a very politically biased one that I agree is used by the communist party in South Vietnam - the Ð#7843;ng C#7897;ng S#7843;n Vi#7879;t Nam. I think it is more honest to use more neutral terms whenever possible to promote healthy discussions.

Bobby De La Rue, thank you for the kind words, sir, I find it fascinating myself.

Here is another cover from my postal history collection postmarked Saigon 31 January 1967 to New York City, New York, USA, attention Charles Vaxer of Esquire Magazine:



Here is the reverse side of this cover:



I did some research on this cover. First I googled the return address: HQ III MAF (CIB). This decodes to Headquarters - Third Marine Amphibious Force - Combat Information Bureau in Danang, Republic of Vietnam. The CIB was set up in an old motel at Museum Pier in Danang to coordinate the activities of the hundreds of media reps who came to cover the Vietnam War. There were TV reporters, such as Dan Rather and Morley Safer, camera crews, photographers, and other civilian media reps who were escorted by CIB marines. Next I googled John Groth from the return address, and it turns out that he was a combat sketch artist. Here is a picture of him...



Next, I found a print of a sketch by John Groth that sold on ebay:



On the back of the print it says: COMBAT ART--MARINES RUN PAST VIETNAMESE WOMAN. Vietnam, Dec67 Artist: John Groth



Zooming in on the signature on this print, you can see that it matches the signature on the back of my Vietnam cover mailed by John Groth.

Linus

A very personal cover, posted by me from the U.S. Navy attack transport U.S.S. Paul Revere the day before my Marine Corps battalion landed in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam, on January 28, 1966:



Bob Ingraham (HM3 Retired)

Bob - It is good to hear from you, and thanks for posting "over here." That cover is one that I do not recall from your collection. Thanks for sharing it. My covers above are all old news to you. I will have to dig out some "new" stuff now that I know you have joined here.

Regards,
Linus

Welcome Bob, thanks for sharing.

Here is another cover from my collection. The year date "1968" is upside down, but the zip code is clearly 96318 mailed from Pleiku, Vietnam. For a good list of APOs and zip codes used during the war, bookmark this link:

http://1stmob.com/APO_Location_1.html

For additional information and the story of the Roadrunners...
https://www.historynet.com/us-armys...tnam-war.htm


Linus

I could use some advice. My mom saved all of my letters home from Quang Tri and Danang in 1970-72. Philatelically they aren't terribly exiting since they're all 'Free' franked. I've thought of offering them on eBay except for one reason and that is that the Army changed serial numbers to social security numbers. So mine is on every one. And with identity theft nowadays I'm not sure that's worth it. Any suggestions?

Opinion.
Follow your gut feeling, I would resist.
Important history of the times, well worth saving, leave in a shoebox, for years hence.

Quote:
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is.

A small note of clarification on canceling machines in 2 recent posts which may not be obvious:

1. The cover from APO 96318 ran through an International Postal Supply Company's Model HD-2 machine.

2. The AWM Collection photo is a Universal Stamping Machine Company's Model K machine.

Both machines are about the same size and have fairly similar appearances and mechanics. Both are hand-driven. The man on the left is holding the drive wheel. Because of the small size, ruggedness, and lack of needing electricity, they were ideal for military use anywhere. The impressions are easy to tell apart. The Machine Cancel Society has produced monographs on both of these machines.


Lastly, for John's Vietnam Letters, coming from a strong postal history bias, the greatest monetary and historical value is to keep any correspondence fully intact - not separating the letters from the covers, not breaking up the correspondence, not cutting off or obliterating any of the return address. I would retain them intact within the family. Just my 2 cents.

Using Google, I discovered that the US Government sold an HD-2, for $18.90, that came out of a post office in Dorchester, Nebraska, USA. Here is a photo from that auction lot:

Nebraska HD-2, yes, the black rectangular box houses an oil pan and gears - with considerable open space under it. The Universal Model K has a skirt that goes nearly to the ground. I have examples of both machines, perhaps some day I'll make a thread comparing and contrasting them and their impressions. To encourage (force?) central processing of mail over a decade ago, the USPS collected-up most all of these machines all over the country and mostly sold them for scrap value as they are fairly heavy. And some have been sold at excess equipment auctions and found their way to collector hands - but a tangent for another day.