Efforts to destroy the National Liberation Front (NLF) included the “Chieu Hoi” (Open Arms) amnesty program begun at the insistence of American and British advisers, including Sir Robert Thompson.

The program, like all others in Vietnam, generated remarkable statistics—almost 160,000 deserters and 11,200 weapons turned in—but only meager results. The program was conducted in classic American fashion with leaflets dropped from the air in NLF-controlled areas and Vietnamese psyops (psychological operations) personnel haranguing peasants via bullhorn from hovering helicopters. Continue reading →