In 1976, a hand stamp was produced to announce the elections for a "Unified National Assembly" to take place on 25 April. The result of this first assembly was the creation of a single country in July under the banner of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The hand stamp is typically found in red ink on commemorative covers franked with Mien Nam (MN) stamps as shown in the illustration above. The text reads, "Vietnam Independence, United Socialist Ideology, 25-4-1976, Ho Chi Minh City." A variation, from Hanoi, is found on commemorative covers franked with North Vietnamese stamps.
The second cover (below) shows a postally used military cover with the hand stamp applied in black ink, which is unusual. The marking was applied in transit, ostensibly on April 25th (the cover is backstamped a couple of days later).
The red, boxed marking says, "Every voter go vote." This is the first example I have seen with either marking on a commercial military cover.
The abbreviation "M.N." on this postmark stands for Mien Nam, as the Communist regime referred to the "southern region" or liberated areas of South Vietnam.
The use of red ink is unusual, but the main appeal to me is its use in conjunction with a military stamp. Mien Nam postmarks typically canceled Mien Nam stamps, such as the ones depicting Ho Chi Minh watering a tree. Military stamps and M.N. postmarks are not often found together.
Tuy Phuoc is near Quy Nhon, and near the site of Champa towers built centuries ago.
UPDATE: This cover is a fake. For whatever reason I was only paying attention to the postmark and the fact that it was applied to a military stamp, but I didn't recognize the obvious - that the stamp was issued in 1982. Thanks to Ta Phi Long and John Carroll for noticing and calling it to my attention.
