Remember the Year of the Monkey

The red hand stamp on this 1969 cover ominously warns, NHO TET MAU THAN / DE PHONG XUAN KY DAU - "Remember the Year of the Monkey / Take precautions for the spring holiday" (year of the Rooster) .

The Year of the Monkey, of course, was 1968, and Tet was when the Vietnamese Communist forces launched a full-scale offensive against the Republic of Vietnam.

A smaller version of this hand stamp exists with the same text and there is a third version that specifically recommends uniting against the Communist enemy. They are all illustrated in Richard Aspnes' excellent Commemorative Postal Markings catalog.

The rectangluar KBC 4416 cachet is also interesting. I haven't seen one quite like that and I didn't previously have a record of this KBC number.

Update June 8:

I received a response from knowledgeable collector/dealer, Anh-Tuan Tran, who specializes in cachets and markings on Vietnamese covers. He believes both cachets on this cover are fake. There is not a lot of fake KBC material on the market, so I admit I did not consider this possibility.

The back-stamp postmark in Vinh Long looks good - the March 2 1969 date is late for Tet, but it's logical this marking may have been used for a couple of months to keep people alert. The QUAN -BUU postmark is illegible. Like I said, I haven't seen this type of KBC cachet.

Anh-Tuan provided a scan of another "Remember the Year of the Monkey" cachet for comparison - this one an M3 First Day Cover. As you can see, the letters in the hand stamp are much more precise and clear.


Is the KBC 4416 cover a fake, or was the hand stamp regionally made and applied during the contemporary period?

Based on the available information, I think the underlying cover is genuine but I concur the two hand stamps appear to be a fake.

1958 USOM Laos Cover

Here is another cover I picked up at the NAPEX show. I couldn't resist the lovely franking, despite the cover's awkward size - it took two passes through the scanner to capture it and I'm not sure how to store it (click the image to make it larger).

It looks like there may be a stamp missing near the bottom based on the partial postmark, so it's probably not possible to accurately identify the rate paid. It presumably contained documents or photos that were not to be folded.

The return address is the American Embassy in Laos. The cover was sent in May 1958 by a member of the US Observation Mission (USOM).

USOM Laos was established in January 1955 to provide foreign aid.

NAPEX, ROK Forces, APO Number List

I just got back from NAPEX in Virginia for the Society of Indo-china Philatelists annual meeting. As always, I had a great time catching up with other SICP members. I gave a presentation titled, "South Vietnam at War 1952-1956," Peter Corson talked about the North/South Family Postcards and Howard Daniels showed some interesting financial instruments and other material from the region. I am sure Jack Dykhouse will do a full write up for the next issue of the ICP.

I picked up a couple of items from dealers, and a group of KBC material from a fellow collector that I will be scanning.

I bought the cover shown here because it is the first I've seen from Republic of Korea (ROK) forces in Vietnam that references a US APO number (96240). I'm not sure why it was added, since the Koreans ran their own military postal service. [I've talked about ROK forces a couple of times on this blog - look for them using the topics sidebar].

At any rate, I've had a difficult time figuring out the locations or dates for these covers, so having an APO cross-reference helps. In this case, the APO was located at Nha Trang Air Base.

While APO 96240 was easy enough to Google, a lot of them are difficult to identify. This prompts me to inquire if any reader can point me to a list of 5-digit APO numbers used in Vietnam. I have the excellent Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations produced by the Military Postal History Society, but it only covers through 1964 when the 3-digit numbers were still in use.

Even a partial list of 5-digit APOs would be helpful.

Update June 9

John Carroll pointed me to a 1994 MPHS publication, United States Numbered Military Post Offices Assignments and Locations 1941 to 1994, edited by George Cosentini and Norman Gruenzner. It is out of print, but I found a copy from Phil Banser.

NKP Airbase APO 96310

Shown is a cover from APO 96310 located at the Nakhon Phanom (Royal Thai) Air Base in Thailand, on the border with Laos. The United States flew reconnaissance flights over the Ho Chi Minh Trail and covert ground support missions over Laos from this base during the Vietnam War.

NKP Air Base also corresponds with Operational Location 23-27 as shown in the address ("OL 23-27"). The postmark reads Jun 20 1969.

Thanks to a reader, "CMR" in the return address has been identified as "Consolidate Mail Room"

Map image source: http://aircommandoman.tripod.com/

Postcard from Vietnamese Marine Training at Quantico

Given the Presidential Inauguration this week, it seems an appropriate time to share this postcard.

It was sent on January 10, 1965 by a Vietnamese Marine, Major Minh, training at Quantico, Virginia. The machine postmark reads, "Marine Corps Schools, VA."

The recipient was a Warrant Officer in the Vietnamese 1st Marine Battalion, headquartered in Saigon. A receiving cancel in Vietnam marks a transit time of eight days.

General Le Minh Dao

The two covers illustrated with this post bookend the military career of Le Minh Dao, the South Vietnamese General who is perhaps best known for leading the ARVN 18th Division during the waning days of the Republic of Vietnam.

The first cover takes us back to February 1956, when Le Minh Dao was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for military training. It was sent home to his family and the enclosed letter mentions his recent visit to Washington DC during Tet. He writes that he is attending school regularly and expects to be home in June.


After a long and decorated military career, Le Minh Dao was captured after the at the Battle of Xuan Loc by PAVN forces and was sentenced to live the next 17 years in re-education camps where he became weak and nearly blind from malnutrition.

The second cover was sent from Le Minh Dao from a re-education camp in Ha Son Binh province in April 1982. When he was finally released, he received political asylum in the United States where he lives today.

South Vietnamese Naval Ship Listing

I just added to my collection this cover, sent from the Vietnamese Naval Ship Tran Hung Dao, hull number HQ1 at KBC 3328.

I thought I'd share my checklist that summarizes information I've compiled about each VNN navel vessels, including the ship number, name, type, disposition, associated KBC number(s) and notes.

Click to view VNN Ship Listing

There are quite a few holes, especially regarding the ship names and dispositions, so any help making this listing more complete will be greatly appreciated.

Feedback Requested on Abbreviations

This post includes several covers that include an abbreviation that I have struggled with, either due to the handwriting or because I am simply unfamiliar with the usage. I would appreciate feedback or suggestions on these items.

C.A.A.T.
The return address of this cover from M.A.A.G. (Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam). includes the abbreviation "C.A.A.T." Searching Google I was able to come up with two candidates: "Combined Anti-Armor Team" or "Combined Arms Assault Team." The former, a Marines unit, seems more prevalent and thus more likely.


CORDS
This is an example of questionable handwriting. I assume the return address reads "CORDS /IV" standing for "Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support, IV Corps", but I cannot help thinking it looks more like "COBOS," which does not seem to mean anything. The rest of the address reads "Advisory Team 75, My Tho, Vietnam."


ARMA
This cover is from the US Embassy in Vientiane, Laos. The return address is written in pencil and partially obscured with something that looks almost like White-Out. The name appears to be "Captain W.R. Healy" and the next row is "(?)ARMA". If I assume the first character was intentially wiped out (and the sender got a bit sloppy with his name above), ARMA likely stands for the "Army Attache" which was involved in programs like Project 404 in Laos. I have tried searching with other letters in the abbreviation, e.g. SARMA, DARMA, OARMA but to no avail. Thoughts?


K.V.K.
Presumably a Vietnamese term, the abbreviation "K.V.K." has me stumped. Identification might provide some more information about the type of unit served by KBC 4076.

On Dec 1st and anonymous contributor identified the abbreviation as meaning "Kho Vu Khi" or ammunition dump


Click on the covers for larger images. Thanks for your help!
Andrew

Urgent Rifle Brigade Cover 1947

Shown is a turned cover (disassembled, turned inside out and reassembled for use) sent via the French military postal service in Indo-china. Based on the My Tho back stamp, the year was 1947. A hand stamp in the upper left reads "KHAN (Urgent)". In the lower right is the unit cachet of a rifle brigade.

I am less familiar with French material than Vietnamese and I have a couple of questions that I am hoping readers can answer.

1) Is the notation in the upper left corner a shorthand return address (M919/4B)?

Philippe Drillien writes,

I do not think it's a return address. According to the French regulation, every French administration must own two books . In the first one, you must write, every day, all the mail you receive; each mail is given a number of arrival; often, the number is preceded or followed by one or more letters. Usually, the letter concerns the service or the name of the addressee. The second book is for the mail you send and works according to the same way. M919/4B could mean:

It is the 919th mail registered by the secretary M. It has been written by 4B

2) The last word in the top portion of the unit cachet is unclear (after Tirailleurs). Perhaps Algeriens?

QUAN-BUU 1 Postmark 1956

In my article, Vietnam 1955: Military Postal History in a Year of Transition, in the March 2008 issue of the Indo-china Philatelist, I referenced numeric QUAN BUU markings 1,2,4,5 and 8, in addition to the number '7' marking that was the primary subject of the article.

Shown is a tan registered mailing receipt from a sender at KBC 4218 within I Corps.

The pink form appears to be a declaration of value for the contents of the letter. Of note is the QUAN BUU 1 postmark on the back of the form, dated 26 November 1956.


The abbreviation "CTTT" in the address on the pink form is spelled out in the address on the tan form as "Cong Thu va Tao Tac." This roughly translates as "Corps of Engineers". "Cong Thu" literally means "government buildings" and "Tao Tac" literally means "buildings and construction." (Thanks, Vinh for decoding these!)

Sea Eagles - Vietnamese 8th Marine Battalion

This cover, adorned with a picture of children with rain coats and bunny rabbits, was sent from the Vietnamese 8th Marines Battalion in Thu Duc at KBC 6618. The sender was apparently out on an operation as indicated by the "H/Q" (hanh quan) in the return address.

The addressee was aboard a Naval "Landing Craft Utility" class ship, with hull number 543. Mail was directed to this ship via KBC 3328, the Naval Fleet Headquarters in Saigon.

Military Construction and Supply Correspondence

KBC 3126 was assigned to a construction unit (Kien Tao). The preceding letter 'D' in the return address probably stands for "Doi" (small group) or "Doan" (large group). The recipient was a member of Supply Group 61 (Lien Doan 61 Tiep Lieu) associated with the 6th Air Division at KBC 3533. A 1.50d stamp pays the military letter rate, although mail between KBCs should have been sent postage free.

RVNAF Military Postal Service

I just obtained a copy of the Indochina Monograph series The RVNAF by Lt. General Dong Van Khuyen. Buried in the center of this 400 page document are three pages on the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces military postal service.

Some key items of interest:

By 1966 the Military Post Office Center (formerly the Directorate of Military Post Office) controlled 29 post annexes which served more than 1,500 KBC units and addresses. In 1973 there were 40 annexes servicing more than 3,000 KBC units.

The most frequent shortcoming in the military postal service was the time the mail took to reach the responsible person or beneficiary. An extensive investigation .... revealed that the delay did not take place between one KBC and another as many servicemen had thought, but primarily between the sending unit and the original KBC or annex, and between the destination KBC or annex and the receiving unit. The delay was also caused by the unit's internal distribution system.

There was also a lack of coordination between the unit and the area logistics command to have the KBC changed in case of [a] long-term operation outside the military region.

As for mail security, several measures were taken to prevent loss or interception. Mailmen, with proper security clearances, were chosen from good and reliable personnel. Each mailman was issued a register to record the receiving and delivery of mail, which was daily inspected by the chief of the mail and message section. Each mailman was also issued a leather case with lock for carrying mail in transit.

The book was reprinted by and is available from Dalley Book Service in Virginia. They have also reprinted a number of other military titles, including Bernard Fall's The Viet Minh Regime and Documents Relating to British Involvement in the Indo-china Conflict 1945-1965 originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Tell George I sent you!

3rd Infantry Division Cover

This cover was sent from a member of the Vietnamese Armed Forces 3d Infantry Division (3 Bo Binh) at KBC 6534. Nhac Doan is a group in charge of the military band and other entertainment.

Mobilie Riverine Military Police

This cover is addressed to a Mobile Riverine Military Police Officer in Phong Dinh province in the 4th military zone. It was sent on 26 November 1970 from Trinh Chi Hieu, Class 5 Radio Operator, Company 4 Specialist Battalion at the Naval Training Center in Nha Trang or aboard a ship that reported to Naval headquarters (KBC 3318).

A 3d stamp pays the military postage rate (half the civilian rate). Had the recipient been considered military, the letter could have travelled postage free. MPs were considered military in the sense that they had their own KBC numbers, but no KBC was used in this case.