Vietnam Postal History During The Vietnam War

Yes, those are aerograms with the same design as South Viet Nam military stamps M1 and M3 of 1961 and 1969, I believe.

Thank you very much, Danko! I will check if I have the original stamps and will post them here.

Both countries, North and South Vietnam, issued many propaganda stamps which I will show them from time to time.

One of the famous photos of the Vietnam War is the capturing of the American pilot Capt. William "Bill" Robinson by the NVA. He was captured on Sept. 20, 1965, in Ha Tinh Province, North Vietnam, while on a rescue mission, after the Kaman HH43B "Huskie" helicopter on which he served was shot down of by the NVA. Shortly after his capture, Bill's photo was taken with a petite North Vietnamese woman carrying a gun. It was later used in a propaganda campaign and depicted on the following Vietnamese stamps issued on June 5, 1967.

Bill was the longest American soldier held as a prisoner of war. He was released during Operation Homecoming on February 12th, 1973 by the North Vietnamese, a little over 7 years as a Prisoner of War.

During Vietnam War, North Vietnam issued several set of stamps marking the number of American air planes shut down by the Vietnamese army and the Vietcong forces. Here is a set issued on June 25, 1968 marks the shut down of 3000 air planes. I try to find the original photos served as models to design these stamps:





Next time I will post war propaganda stamps issued by South Vietnam

During Vietnam War, North Vietnam issued many propaganda and military related stamps. Many of them were posted in this thread mainly by OldDuffer. Here is an example of a North Vietnamese propaganda stamp issued on October 20, 1963:

South Vietnam also issued several propaganda and military related stamps although not much like the North. Here is a small group of them:

The left stamp was issued by South Vietnam, calling to unification of Vietnam. It has the date July 20, 1954, in which the Geneva Agreement was signed, declared that Vietnam was to be divided into North and South at the seventeenth parallel until elections could be held in 1956. The right stamp was issued by North Vietnam on November 7, 1977 shows Vietnamese children drawing the map of united Vietnam:

Victory of Binh Long, issued by South Vietnam on November 25, 1972:

Victory of Quang Tri, issued by South Vietnam on February 24, 1973:

War injured soldiers, issued by South Vietnam on September 1, 1972:

Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969) was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary and statesman. He served as prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh leaded his country in the Vietnam war aimed to unified both parts of Vietnam. As the war continued, he became less involved in the war's decisions and served more as a highly visible figurehead president for the Vietnamese people until his death in 1969.

North Vietnam issued many stamps show HCM as propaganda stamps or to commemorate special events. Here are examples of three stamps:

Several foreign countries also issued stamps show Ho Chi Minh. Here is a small selection of them:

DDR, issued on September 2, 1970:

Cuba, issued on May 19, 1970 to mark the 80th birth anniversary of HCM:

USSR, issued on July 12, 1980 to mark the 90th birth anniversary of HCM:

Laos, issued on May 11, 1990 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of HCM. I enclose the photo used as a model to design the stamp:

Laos, HCM and Kaysone Phomvihane, issued on July 18, 2002 to mark the 25th anniversary of friendship treaty and 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and Vietnam. The original photo shows also Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, to the left of HCM but excluded from the stamp:

Laos, HCM and Kaysone Phomvihane, joint issued with Vietnam on July 18, 2012 to mark the 35th anniversary of friendship treaty and 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and Vietnam:

To add one to the series of planes shot down - this one from 1966 at 1,500.

A cover sent from Radio France Asia, Saigon, South Vietnam to NZ on December 20, 1955:


The cover franked with four copies of the stamp issued on on October 11, 1955 to commemorate the evacuation of about million Vietnamese from the North area to the south area of Vietnam. Here is one stamp from the set, although this particular stamp is overprinted and issued on August 6, 1956 (I don't have the stamp on the cover):

The other stamp shows Phoenix, issued on September 7, 1955 to commemorate the 1st Anniversary of the construction of the independence palace in Saigon:

Hi - this is my first post to this topic. Could someone point me to where I could find the postal rates for the South Vietnamese Postal Service as well as that operated by the US during the war. There was a hospital-ship called M.S. Helgoland supplied by Germany. She served from 14 September 1966 to 31 December 1972 first at Saigon before moving to Da Nang. I am preparing a display of mail from the ship's personnel most went to Germany and used Vietnamese stamps. Some letters went to the US handled by the US Navy's Postal Service. Any help would be much appreciated.

Here are several of the covers. I think that some covers are over franked and I need to be able to prove that. Thanks

LaoPhil
Thanks for posting the censored cover from Cambodia. I recently came across one dated Dec 25, 1972 with the same red "CENSURE / RÉPUBLIQUE KHMER / AGRESSÉ PAR IMPÉRIALISTES / VIETCONG ET NORD-VIETNAMIENS" handstamp on the back, and was looking for info on it. Fortunately I remembered this thread.

MJRH-TO, thanks for sharing with us these great covers! unfortunately, I can't help with your question about postal rates but I recommend you to join the Society of Indochina Philatelists (SICP). There are several members there, experts in Vietnamese philately and I sure they can help.

revcollector, you are welcome! glad my post helped a little. Regards

MJRH-TO - I also do not have a source for Vietnam postal rates during this time period, either online or hard copy. I do agree that many covers were franked with lots of stamps that probably overpaid the required rate needed at the time.

The USA rate from a US Navy post office on a ship in Vietnam to West Germany would probably be the same rate as an airmail letter from the USA mainland to West Germany, for a non-military civilian. I think the international airmail rate from the USA to West Germany was 20 cents in 1968. (Correct me if I am wrong, anybody who knows for sure.) If so, your 20 Feb 68 Da Nang cover would be properly franked, I would think.

Thanks for showing us your nice covers. They are new to me. I learn new things from this thread all the time. Revcollector, if you want to show your Cambodia cover on this thread, I would like to see it. Just like the War, I thought this thread could spill over into Laos and Cambodia, too. OK with me, if it does, as I also collect those two countries.

Linus

LeoPhil & Linus thanks for you assistance. I am in contact with the Society of Indochina Philatelists as you suggested.

Day of Friendship with the Allies Fighters, issued by Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) on January 28, 1974. Stamps show soldiers and flags of the USA, Thailand, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines:

Nice flag stamps, LaoPhil.

Here is a cover from my collection, typical of an American soldier's letter back home. No postmark and free-franked, nothing on the back. Someone did hand write the year of 1972 above the map. As I hold this in my hand today, I am remembering all the vets who served there, you are not forgotten by me.

Linus

From Wikipedia:

Paul-Léon Seitz (December 22, 1906 - February 23, 1984) was a French man ordained as a bishop in the Catholic Church in 1952. From 1960 to 1975, he served as the Bishop of Kontum, a Central Highlands region of Viêt Nam known for its Montagnard tribes.

Seitz was dedicated to medical and social welfare for the Montagnaard people. He was active in fundraising efforts on behalf of the tribespeople, securing donations from England and the United States. During the Vietnam War, Seitz sought relief for the many thousands of refugees that were displaced by the Viet Cong.

From my collection, here are two picture postcards mailed from South Vietnam during the war, that serve as thank you cards to donors of his charity.

Linus