When the U.S. used the Undead to Attack the Vietcong (The Vietnam War)

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1969-1972 the Vietnam War was an intense civil conflict between the Communist North Vietnamese led by Ho Chi Minh and the South Vietnamese president no jingjim and his American Allies who were intent on stopping the spread of Communism as the Viet Cong soldiers prowled Through the Jungle in the south of the country in total darkness they were assaulted by Eerie sounds wearing from all directions music cries and disembodied voices calling for help please brother go back I'm scared don't end up like me they were the sounds of Souls Lost in battle doomed to Forever wander in pain and suffering with no hope of reaching the afterlife at least that's what the Americans in the South Vietnamese wanted the Viet Cong to believe psychological warfare played a huge part in the war in Vietnam more than in any other previous conflict the disembodied voices in the dark were a ploy from the south to instill fear decrease morale and encourage desertions in the north they called it operation wandering Souls to understand why the South Vietnamese and Americans use this tactic we first need to understand the Vietnamese beliefs about death the Vietnamese believed in good deaths and bad deaths good deaths were at home surrounded by loved ones bad debts or those that occurred away from home through violence accident or war and ones where the victim could not be properly Buried The Souls of these individuals were unable to find their way to the afterlife and so wander the Earth aimlessly in pain and suffering stuck in an eternal limbo as wandering Souls by the end of the war some 300 000 Vietnamese were classed as wandering Souls so the South Vietnamese and Americans saw a way to capitalize on the fears that sprung from these beliefs they require the mixture of eerie and unearthly sounds banging gongs crying children and the disembodied voices of Fallen comrades which were played by willing South Vietnamese participants they hoped these terrifying sounds carrying Through the Jungle would scare the Viet Cong causing low morale and encouraging some to Desert and flee back home for fear of becoming a Wandering Soul themselves one tape used at the time remains publicly available and is known as ghost tape number 10. on the tape you can hear some of the cries recorded by South Vietnamese in a chilling Supernatural voice go home go home my friends hurry if not you'll end up like me go home my friends before it is too late [Music] thank you project was backed up by a leaflet dropping campaign with messages like is this a grave beneath a photo of a dead NVA Soldier while on the back it said unfortunately it is not but it is the final resting place many many kilometers from the graves of his ancestors his body cannot be identified his grave cannot be marked and his soul will never find rest the tape was blasted through the jungles of the Vietnam War used by both the US Army and Navy it was broadcast from loudspeakers and helicopters and boats or by infantry deep in the jungle who would sneak into Viet Cong occupied areas and play the tapes in the middle of the night a U.S military assistance command Vietnam fact sheet published in December 1969 tells more of what they hope to achieve with this psychological warfare the document describes ghosts that were part of the rural folklore such as the ghost pig or mahale the Ghost Dog Macha and the ghost cat my mail other more Sinister and militia spirits that they could utilize were also mentioned the tightening box ghost who goaded people into suicide and the ghost maapien who drew people into addiction and eventual death so although only ghost tape number 10 is available to the public this fact sheet outlining a number of different ghosts taken from Vietnamese culture suggests there were a variety of psychological tactics used in the tapes to support their campaign but although creepy there was not much evidence to suggest that the tapes were particularly effective in terrorizing the North Vietnamese tactics like this often had mixed results and it's unlikely that the Viet Cong and NVA weren't aware that the Americans were behind the voices in the dark already accustomed to the psychological acts of warfare used by the U.S leaflet dropping and propaganda broadcasts it suggested that as soon as they heard these disembodied voices creeping Through the Jungle instead of responding in fear the Vietcong immediately fired in their general direction towards where they believed the enemy soldiers were hiding in some cases U.S soldiers abandoned this Ploy almost immediately in favor of just blasting out popular American Music of the time to disorient their enemy instead that being said hearing disembodied voices and creepy terrifying Sounds playing through the darkness is an effective scare tactic whether you believe they're really The Souls of your Fallen comrades or not as one Vietcong Commander said even though they knew the tapes were false the audio messages were hard to ignore with other eyewitnesses claim they were effective Raymond deich commander of the U.S sixth psyop Battalion said the tape was so effective that we were instructed not to play Within earshot of the South Vietnamese forces because they were as susceptible as the Viet Cong or the NBA while we don't know the validity of the statement it's certain the tapes sowed a certain degree of fear and uncertainty and even when they didn't if the being Kong immediately fired in the direction of the sounds they gave away their position allowing the Americans an insight into their trip layout and where to attack while these tactics would not win or lose a war psychological warfare played an important part of demoralizing and distracting the enemy the Vietnam war finally ended in 1975 although the Americans withdrew a bit earlier in 1973 ending one of the greatest acts of psychological warfare the world has ever seen foreign because I know

Channel: Simple History

Views: 1,224,199

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, ghosts, vietnam war, weird tech, The Wandering Soul, psychological warfare, Haunted Jungles, NVA, Viet Cong, South Vietnamese, Americans, PSYOP TAPE, folklore, loudspeakers, US Military Assistance Command Vietnam Fact Sheet, Ghost Tape No.10, Vietnamese culture, leaflet dropping, American music, audio, 6th PSYOP Battalion, Raymond Deitch, Go home my friends, gongs, noises, sounds, supernatural, phantom

Id: gCM4VPAID0g

Length: 8min 5sec (485 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 30 2021