A Safe and Easy Way Back to the Just Cause (River and Coast Chieu Hoi Poster)
A portrait sheet (code SP-1763) tells people along the rivers and coast how to rally by boat under the Chieu Hoi policy. Four photographs show Vietnamese Navy craft and two patrol boats flying the U.S. flag, and a three-step box instructs: hide weapons for later hand-in and reward, approach the pictured boats with both hands raised, and expect a friendly reception and transfer to a Chieu Hoi centre. The photographs let the reader recognise the vessels, while the steps and the closing appeal present surrender as safe and easy.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1965
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Chieu Hoi programme sheet issued under the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing series for the South Vietnamese government
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Johnson Administration
- Leader
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Audience
- Enemy forces
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- Vietnam War
- Source
- Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 306, Psychological Warfare Posters, Vietnam War (NAID 561393), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Chieu Hoi programme sheet issued under the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing series for the South Vietnamese government. National Archives and Records Administration, 306-VP-3-1763.
Text on the object
CON ĐƯỜNG AN TOÀN VÀ DỄ DÀNG TRỞ VỀ CHÍNH NGHĨA ! CÁC BẠN Ở VÙNG BẾN NƯỚC, DỌC THEO SÔNG BIỂN CÓ THỂ TRỞ VỀ NHƠN CHÁNH SÁCH CHIÊU HỒI CỦA CHÍNH PHỦ. CÁC BẠN MUỐN TRỞ VỀ VỚI CHÁNH NGHĨA QUỐC GIA THÌ NÊN THEO ĐÚNG NHỮNG LỜI CHỈ DẪN SAU ĐÂY: 1— GIẤU KỸ SÚNG ĐẠN CỦA CÁC BẠN, NHỚ NƠI CẤT GIẤU ĐỂ SAU ĐẾN LẤY, ĐEM NẠP, LĨNH THƯỞNG. 2— ĐẾN GẦN TÀU THUYỀN HẢI-QUÂN VIỆT-NAM HAY ĐỒNG MINH, CÓ IN ẢNH TRÊN ĐÂY. HAI TAY DƠ LÊN CAO ĐỂ TỎ THIỆN CHÍ CỦA CÁC BẠN. 3— THỦY THỦ ĐÃ ĐƯỢC CHỈ THỊ NIỀM NỞ TIẾP ĐÓN CÁC BẠN VÀ ĐƯA CÁC BẠN ĐẾN MỘT TRUNG TÂM CHIÊU HỒI. HÃY TRỞ VỀ NGAY BÂY GIỜ VỚI CHÍNH NGHĨA QUỐC GIA ĐỂ CÙNG TOÀN DÂN XÂY DỰNG NƯỚC VIỆT-NAM ĐỘC LẬP, PHÚ CƯỜNG. SP-1763
A SAFE AND EASY WAY TO RETURN TO THE JUST CAUSE! You, in the harbour areas and along the rivers and sea, can return immediately under the government's Chieu Hoi policy. If you want to return to the national cause you should follow these instructions exactly: 1— Hide your weapons and ammunition carefully, remember the hiding place so you can later fetch them, hand them in and receive a reward. 2— Approach a Vietnamese Navy or Allied vessel, pictured here. Raise both hands high to show your good will. 3— The sailors have been instructed to welcome you warmly and take you to a Chieu Hoi centre. RETURN RIGHT NOW TO THE NATIONAL CAUSE, TO BUILD TOGETHER WITH ALL THE PEOPLE AN INDEPENDENT AND PROSPEROUS VIETNAM. SP-1763
Translation is FRAME's own literal rendering from the poster's Vietnamese text. Vietnamese diacritics are transcribed as printed to the best of legibility at this image resolution; a few marks in small print could not be fully verified.
