7 Flag Safe Conduct Pass
When two more nations joined the Allies in Vietnam, their flags were added to the safe conduct pass leaflet. The front has seven flags on yellow-orange background, with large text in Vietnamese at top, "Giay Thong-Hanh" ("Safe Passport"), and small text in English, Korean, and Thai at bottom, "Safe-conduct pass to be honored by all Vietnamese government agencies and allied forces." Back has photograph of pointing ARVN soldier standing next to a Viet Cong defector at right on white background; same safe-conduct message as appears on front, on yellow background, in English at top and in Vietnamese at bottom. Vietnamese text at left center is "Mang Tam Giay..." ("Carry this safe conduct pass to collaborate with the National government and you will be: Kindly welcomed / Assured of your security / Well treated."). The back design accompanying the photograph exists in three styles.
The second style used is shown above and bears the signature and photograph of Nguyen Van Thieu. The leaflet was developed in January 1968.
Nguyen Van Thieu was born on 5 April 1923, in the province of Ninh Thuan. As a young man, he briefly helped the Viet Minh fight the French colonial powers in his native province. He attended the National Military Academy in Hue and joined the French-backed Vietnamese army fighting the Viet Minh. By 1963 he was chief of staff of the Armed Forces of South Vietnam. During the confusion of the mid-1960s, when South Vietnam was wracked by coups, General Thieu became commander of the military region embracing the Mekong Delta. In June 1965, Thieu was appointed chairman of a 10-member military directorate. From there it was a short step to the presidency. He was elected in 1967, and presided over the country for eight years of the war. As the North Vietnamese armies moved south in greater numbers Thieu appealed to President Nixon for more financial aid. Nixon was sympathetic but the United States Congress was not and the move was blocked. Starved of funds, Thieu had difficulty paying the wages of his large army and desertion became a major problem With the fall of the government to the Communist armies he fled to Taiwan in April, 1975. He died in September 2001 in Boston.
"Chieu Hoi - The Winning Ticket"
The image of the flag safe conduct pass is so stirring that it was used repeatedly on U.S. official documents and publications. The seven-flag pass is featured on the cover of the Booklet "Chieu Hoi - The winning ticket" issued to servicemen in Vietnam in 1968. This booklet (MACV Command Information Pamphlet 6-68) explains to the reader the importance of greeting the defectors and treating them well. General Creighton W. Abrams is pictured and quoted:
The Chieu Hoi Program pays dividends to you, the fighting man. It provides intelligence and it saves lives. It is my desire that every servicemen in Vietnam assist this program whenever he can. Your support of this program will help materially in the defeat of the enemy on the battlefield.
The booklet adds:
What is the Chieu Hoi program? Chieu Hoi (open arms) is the national Viet Cong defector program. It pays off big dividends: It weakens the NVA/VC, it saves American and allied lives, and it can shorten the war.
The same picture and text was on a small card issued to servicemen to be folded and carried in their wallet. The back of the card was all text:
HOW CAN YOU HELP? Give voluntary defectors Chieu Hoi (Not PW) treatment. Segregate Chieu Hoi from PWs. Treat the returnee with respect. Give him a receipt for all weapons that he brings in. Deliver him safely to the unit intelligence officer for prompt debriefing and then promptly to the Government of Vietnam Chieu Hoi Service at the nearest District or Province headquarters.
Because these leaflet are colorful, common and popular among collectors, various reproductions exist. One is a postwar facsimile of the 7-flag (Thieu signature and photograph), printed all in pink. A more interesting one is the same leaflet printed on somewhat thicker paper with somewhat brighter colors. The registration is rather poor. They were given out in 1989 at the Ohio Vietnam Veterans reunion.
The flag safe conduct passes were so successful that reproductions of parts or all of the 5-flag and 7-flag safe conduct passes are found on other propaganda leaflets. These show entire fronts or backs or partial vignettes from the fronts or backs. The reproductions are usually reduced in size.
The "Trail" campaign was directed against the military and civilian personnel who use and maintain the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This series of roads and trails twisted for thousands of miles in and around Vietnam and was the main supply route for the VC and NVA. The Allies routinely dropped leaflets (all coded with a "T") over the trail in an attempt to destroy the morale of the enemy. Some of these leaflets show the front or back of various flag safe conduct leaflets.
More information:
http://www.psywarrior.com/VNFlagSCP.html