Abstract
During the Vietnam War, the United States ran an extensive program of psychological warfare in order to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Vietnamese people. The Van Tac Vu program was one of the many psychological operations conducted by the United States in South Vietnam. Utilizing traveling Vietnamese cultural-drama troupes and drawing from Vietnamese culture, this program sought to win the sympathies of rural Vietnamese whom the Viet Cong were also seeking to influence. The Van Tac Vu cultural-drama troupes had many roles as they worked on the frontlines of the psychological war for Vietnam. They performed propaganda-infused skits, magic shows, songs, and plays for rural audiences, they worked on civic action projects and helped in the construction of houses, bridges, and roads, and they attempted to indoctrinate children through a strategy known as ‘cultural seed-planting.’ Very little scholarship exists on the Van Tac Vu program. For this reason, this thesis highlights this largely unexplored and under-researched aspect of the psychological war in Vietnam, and sheds light on the wider American failure in Vietnam.
Recommended Citation
Schaffer, Lucas
(2025)
"The Van Tac Vu Program: Psychological Warfare in the Vietnam War,"
Proceedings of GREAT Day: Vol. 16, Article 15.
Available at:
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/proceedings-of-great-day/vol16/iss1/15