Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
The Refugees Return, 1965 US poster: A horizontal photo-sheet (code SP-1138) says that communist refugees have returned

The Refugees Return

A horizontal photo-sheet (code SP-1138) says that communist refugees have returned to their old village and that the Phu Yen authorities have issued each family 20 sheets of corrugated metal and 5 bags of cement. Photographs show a materials-distribution ceremony at Hoa Binh commune before a seated crowd, and the province chief handing over metal sheets. The banner heading ties the aid to a slogan, 'Actively build the countryside to defeat the communists', pairing a visible benefit with a political aim.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stackingGlittering generalities
Date
1965
Period
Cold War
Made by
Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing section, for the South Vietnamese government's rural construction programme
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Johnson Administration
Leader
Lyndon B. Johnson
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
Home front, 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
Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing section, for the South Vietnamese government's rural construction programme. National Archives and Records Administration, 306-VP-7-1138.

Text on the object

Original (Vietnamese) · read from the image, not independently checked

ĐỒNG BÀO TỴ NẠN CỘNG-SẢN TRỞ VỀ LÀNG CŨ

... VÀ CHÁNH QUYỀN PHÚ-YÊN ĐÃ CẤP PHÁT VẬT LIỆU GIÚP HỌ XÂY DỰNG LẠI THÔN ẤP LÀNG MẠC CŨ. MỖI GIA ĐÌNH TỴ NẠN ĐƯỢC LÃNH 20 TẤM TÔN VÀ 5 BAO XI MĂNG.

[banners in photograph, partly legible:] ... CẤP PHÁT VẬT LIỆU XÂY CẤT NHÀ CHO ĐỒNG BÀO XÃ HÒA-BÌNH ... [illegible]

Quang cảnh buổi lễ cấp phát vật liệu tại xã Hòa-Bình.

Trung Tá Tỉnh Trưởng Phú-Yên tự tay trao tặng phẩm cho đồng bào hồi cư.

TÍCH CỰC XÂY DỰNG NÔNG THÔN ĐỂ CHIẾN THẮNG CỘNG-SẢN.

SP-1138

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

COMPATRIOTS WHO TOOK REFUGE FROM THE COMMUNISTS RETURN TO THEIR OLD VILLAGE

... AND THE PHU-YEN AUTHORITIES HAVE ISSUED MATERIALS TO HELP THEM REBUILD THEIR OLD HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. EACH REFUGEE FAMILY RECEIVES 20 SHEETS OF CORRUGATED METAL AND 5 BAGS OF CEMENT.

[banners in photograph, partly legible:] ... ISSUING OF MATERIALS TO BUILD HOUSES FOR THE COMPATRIOTS OF HOA-BINH VILLAGE ... [illegible]

View of the materials-issuing ceremony at Hoa-Binh village.

The Lieutenant Colonel Province Chief of Phu-Yen personally hands over gifts to the compatriots who have returned home.

ACTIVELY BUILD THE COUNTRYSIDE TO DEFEAT THE COMMUNISTS.

SP-1138

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