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/

MSA Mission to Saigon

This cover has a return address from the Mutual Security Agency (MSA) mission to Saigon, which was formed in 1951 under Truman.

Averill Harriman was the Director of the MSA at this time and was focused on organizing covert operations and psychological warfare in Vietnam. In 1954 the MSA became the Foreign Operations Agency (FOA), then the International Cooperation Agency (ICA) and finally the Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1961.

The cover was sent from Saigon on 29 Jul 1952 to Portland, Oregon but was redirected to Parks Air Base in California, which had just re-opened in the previous year after sitting abandoned since 1946.

A Portland machine cancel on the front and hand stamp on reverse peg the cover's arrival as August 5th. Straight line date markings of August 14 and 15 probably mark its arrival at its destination. Somewhat ironic is the sender's notation on the reverse, "P.S. Rich this went as air mail - check delivery time."

Three copies of the first Vietnamese airmail stamp issued March 8, 1952 (Scott #C1) attractively grace the cover. At 9$90, the sender likely overpaid the rate, which was 8$50 to North America as of December 1953 (John Carroll).

Crab Insignia cover - update

Back in December I posted a request for more information about a cover with a crab insignia. Here is a quick summary of what I have learned.

The cover is related to the Phoenix program. It was sent from the "Rung Chi Linh" training facility in Vung Tau built for the Binh Dinh Nong Program. Paramilitary police also trained here. "Rung Chi Linh" is printed on the inside of the letter sheet, so the crab is definitely the program's insignia.

As you can tell from some of my posts I am spending time focusing on US Forces, especially early involvement (1945-1964) and material related to covert operations - both US and Vietnamese. If you have interesting items to sell/trade, let me know.

Special Operations Augmentation

Special Operations Augmentation (SOA) provided cover for the clandestine Studies and Operations Group (SOG). The recipient was a member of SOA Command and Control South, 5th Special Forces Group Airborne. This group formed the core of SOG ground missions. SOG ran highly classified sabotage and psychological and special operations in North and South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China.

The cover was sent Registered mail from Thailand in September 1970. The rubber stamp marking on the cover front simply reads "Air Mail" in English and Thai script.

Aviation Investors

Aviation Investors was a civilian front for the CIA and its operational company, Vietnam Air Transport, was used to conduct Operation Haylift. More on this later, but here is a cover from 1962 from an R.F. McGrath "Aviation Investors, Inc."

National Police Training Center

Sent in 1960, this cover contains a love letter from a woman in Khanh Hoi to her boyfriend at the National Police Training Center in Vung Tau.

The Rach Dua training center, under Colonel Nguyen Van Be trained police (Canh Sat Quoc Gia), undercover police and youth member forces.

Crab Insignia Cover

Does anyone have any information about the crab insignia on this cover? Was it used by a paramilitary unit? The return address is Lien Doan 84, Tong Doan 8, Box 20, Vung Tao. The postmark is from Vung Tao in 1968.