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Republic of Viet-Nam Air Force (VNAF) - Related Military Documents
Related military documents, especially those containing a KBC number such as the 1975 ID card shown front and back in Figure 7, can make an interesting addition to a military postal history collection. In this example, the cardholder Nguyen Van Hoang was an employee at the air base in Da Nang. He was allowed to access the base through the 1st Air Division gate and was assigned to work with the 239th Squadron ("PD 239" seen near the middle of the card). KBC 3198 appears to the left of the photo, documenting its association with the 1st Air Division. 
Figure 7. Military ID cards are a good way of identifying KBC numbers. The vertical boxed hand stamp on the back of the card stipulates that the "card must be worn when entering base until exiting it" and the printed text states "when the card is missing, a report must be filed with the Military Police unit." When the collapse of the Republic of Viet Nam became evident, many VNAF personnel and their families flew to US air bases in Thailand. During the final hours of the war, a fleet of VNAF helicopters evacuated some 5,500 South Vietnamese, 2,300 Americans including nearly 1,000 US Marines, and 85 foreign nationals to US ships waiting offshore. In total, less than 200 VNAF aircraft were saved; the rest were pushed into the ocean during rescue missions to clear ship landing areas for incoming flights or the Communist forces captured them. On 3 May 1975, just three days after the fall of Saigon on 30 April, the Communist Vietnamese government issued "Order Number One" requiring all citizens of the former Republic of Viet Nam to register with the new regime. Military personnel were among those targeted for reeducation or "thought reform" in addition to registration, the length of which depended on Communist perceived degrees of "guilt." 
Figure 8. 1975 ex-VNAF Medical Engineer reeducation document Figure 8 shows a Communist South Viet Nam (Cong Hoa Mien Nam Viet Nam) document ordering a former VNAF Medical Engineer of rank private ("Binh Nhi") to report for reeducation. Most noncommissioned officers and privates were generally released after several days of reeducation classes. High-ranking officers and those who had served in intelligence, marine, airborne and ranger units were not so lucky. Those sent to reeducation camps faced hard labor, persistent hunger and daily indoctrination sessions; many ex-military personnel spent more than a decade in the camps and a large number did not survive the duration. VNAF Military ID Cards KBC 3198, 1st Air Division, 239th Squadron View Card > KBC 3004, 3rd Air Division, Political Warfare Unit View Card > KBC 4324, 5th Air Division, payroll card/receipt View Card > KBC 4324, 5th Air Division, US civilian advisor ID badge View Card > More VNAF ID cards are shown on the Military ID page. < Imnaha Stamps Home Original content ©2008 Andrew Crenshaw  - All Rights Reserved.
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