Content note: A photograph, as issued, shows a mine victim lying on a road with grieving relatives. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Who Is the Friend of the People of Hau Nghia Province?
A two-column sheet sets photographs under 'The Government of the Republic of Vietnam Builds' (a vaccination, a school, fertiliser distribution, a new road) against 'The Viet Cong Destroy' (a mine victim, a ruined school, a wrecked bridge, a cratered road). Short captions credit the Government with care and building and the Viet Cong with killing and sabotage. The tell is the paired contrast: only government benefits appear on one side and only insurgent harm on the other.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1965
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing section, Saigon, for the South Vietnamese government
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Johnson Administration
- Leader
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Audience
- Mixed
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- 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, Saigon, for the South Vietnamese government. National Archives and Records Administration, 306-VP-5-141.
Text on the object
AI LÀ BẠN CỦA NHÂN DÂN TỈNH HẬU NGHĨA CHÍNH PHỦ VIỆT NAM CỘNG HÒA XÂY DỰNG Chính phủ lo bảo vệ sức khoẻ và sinh mệnh của đồng bào Chính phủ xây cất trường học để giáo dục con em của đồng bào Chính phủ giúp cho dân phương tiện làm ăn, như phát phân bón để trồng trọt Chính phủ lo đắp đường để công việc lưu thông thuận lợi, nền kinh tế phát triển VIỆT CỌNG PHÁ HOẠI Việt cọng giựt mìn xe đò, giết hại lương dân Việt cọng phá hủy trường ốc, khiến con em của đồng bào lâm vào cảnh thất học Việt cọng phá hủy cầu cống, làm trở ngại công cuộc làm ăn của dân chúng Việt cọng đặt mìn phá đường làm lưu thông gián đoạn, kinh tế bế tắc
WHO IS THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE OF HAU NGHIA PROVINCE THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM BUILDS The government looks after the health and lives of the people The government builds schools to educate the people's children The government gives the people the means to earn a living, such as distributing fertiliser for planting The government builds roads so that traffic is easy and the economy develops THE VIET CONG DESTROY The Viet Cong set off a mine under a passenger bus, killing innocent people The Viet Cong destroy school buildings, leaving the people's children without schooling The Viet Cong destroy bridges and culverts, obstructing the people's livelihood The Viet Cong lay mines to wreck the road, interrupting traffic and choking the economy
'Việt cọng' is printed so (not 'Việt cộng') in this sheet. Diacritics transcribed as printed to the best of legibility at this image resolution.
