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Operation Wandering Soul – Ghost Tape Number 10 and the Haunted Jungles of Vietnam

“Vietnamese legends held that on the anniversary of a person’s death, a spiritual channel between our world and the afterlife can open making communication possible. Was this just such a phenomenon?”

JUST AFTER  dusk on the night of Feb. 10, 1970, the jungles near the U.S. Army’s Fire Support Base Chamberlain in Hau Niga Province , South Vietnam came to life with a cacophony of spine chilling sounds. Mournful wailing, sobbing, and baleful shrieks filled the air — unearthly sounds that seemed to be coming from everywhere, but nowhere in particular.

And amid the blood curdling chorus was a clearly audible warning:

“My friends,” pleaded a disembodied voice from across the darkness, “I have come back to let you know that I am dead… I am dead!”

“It’s hell… I’m in hell!” it continued in Vietnamese. “Don’t end up like me. Go home, friends, before it’s too late!”

The eerie warning was followed by a chorus of other strange sounds: banging gongs, sobbing women and a child’s voice calling for her father.

To the Viet Cong soldiers hiding in blackness beyond the American perimeter, these otherworldly noises sounded like the wandering souls of departed comrades. According to local folklore, the sprits of the dead that were not returned home for proper burial were cursed to walk the earth in torment until their remains were found and properly interred. Vietnamese legends held that on the anniversary of the death of one of these lost souls, a spiritual channel between our world and the afterlife opens making communication possible.

Were these hair-raising sounds just such a phenomenon? Were they spirits of the dead of some past battle reaching out to the living? Perhaps to the communist guerrillas listening it seemed that way.

The reality was something much less fantastic.

Operation Wandering Soul

The noises were actually part of a taped broadcast that was being blasted across the countryside by American GIs armed with portable PA speakers. In fact, the entire program had been recorded weeks earlier in a Saigon sound studio. It was all part of a top secret U.S. military psychological warfare campaign known as Operation Wandering Soul . The voices and noise played in the jungle that night came from a session known unofficially as “ Ghost Tape No. 10 ”.

Organized by the U.S. Army’s 6 th PSYOP battalion in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, the Wandering Soul campaign was intended to frighten and demoralize the enemy, and hopefully compel many to desert their positions.

(Listen to ‘Ghost Tape #10’ for yourself)

Following the broadcast that night, elements of the 27th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the “Wolfhounds”) swept the jungles surrounding Fire Support Base Chamberlain in search of trembling VC insurgents. The mission netted three prisoners – a moderate success.

And this was not the only broadcast of the PSYOP horror show.

Various American units employed similar recordings in a number of areas in South Vietnam in late 1969 and early 1970 with mixed results.

On one occasion, the broadcast included an amplified tiger’s growl (which was recorded at the Bangkok zoo). The remix was transmitted over a communist-controlled hilltop in South Vietnam. It supposedly led to 150 VC to abandon their positions.

In other cases, the recordings were played from speakers mounted on helicopters and were supported by leaflet drops. In some cases, enemy soldiers realized it was a hoax and concentrated their fire onto the choppers.

Yet in a number of instances, the tapes were so effective that they reportedly terrified friendly South Vietnamese troops and civilians alike.

One former PSYOP officer recalled that even if the enemy saw through the ruse, the message at least played upon their anxieties about dying far from home and likely sapped their morale. [ 1 ]

Vampires of the Jungle

Interestingly enough, the Vietnam War wasn’t the only time American psychological warfare specialists had invoked the supernatural to rattle the enemy.

In the early 1950s, U.S. military advisers to the government of the Philippines hatched a plot to stoke the fears of the indigenous Marxist guerrillas of Luzon known Hukbalahap or “Huks”.  Local superstitions told of an elusive mythical creature known as an “ Aswang ”. These winged shape-shifting vampires were believed by local folklore to inhabit the jungles where they would feed on the blood of trespassers. Part of the American plan was to stoke fear in the ranks of the Huks by spreading rumours in local villages of recent Aswang sightings in an area held by the insurgents. Later, a captured Huk sentry was drained of blood, and given two fang wounds on his neck. His body was then quietly returned to his post. Supposedly, when his comrades returned and found the bloodless body panic ensued and the Huks fled the area.

(Originally publishing on Oct. 29, 2012)

(LISTEN to MHN editor N.H. Mallett as a guest on the HowStuffWorks.com podcast describe Operation Wandering Soul. The segment starts at 3:55)

SOURCES http://pcf45.com/sealords/cuadai/wanderingsoul.html http://www.psywarrior.com/SuperstitionPSYOP.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wandering_Soul http://karws.gso.uri.edu/Marsh/Bay_of_Pigs/psy.htm http://www.psywarrior.com/wanderingsoul.html

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9 thoughts on “ Operation Wandering Soul – Ghost Tape Number 10 and the Haunted Jungles of Vietnam ”

You find the darnedest things! Really interesting…

Ha… thanks! Glad you liked it.

Great stuff as usual!

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Operation Wandering Soul: The Terrifying Ghost Tapes Of The Vietnam War

Psychological warfare is nothing new — it goes all the way to ancient times when Cyrus the Great used it in battle against Babylon. The tactic is generally considered successful if it manages to demoralize or break an enemy in one way or another. There are two forms of psychological warfare: strategic and tactical. Strategic psychological warfare generally involves a large communications operation over a vast audience. Tactical psychological warfare is used directly with combat operations, which hopefully results in surrender (via Britannica ). 

The United States military is not above using psychological warfare. The Army explains that such missions are to share "specific information to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, reasoning, and behavior of foreign governments and citizens," and forms of it include cyber warfare and "advanced communication techniques across all forms of media." One of the key missions of psychological warfare is to deliberately deceive and mislead the enemy.

Propaganda is a form of psychological warfare

Deception during war is not always easy, but some believe it's necessary. Sun Tzu explains in " The Art of War " that all warfare is based on deception. He wrote, "[W]hen we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."

Propaganda is one way governments can deceive people. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency describes three types of propaganda: white, black, and gray. With white propaganda, the source is known and "gentle persuasion" is used to elicit a desired response. Black propaganda is straight-up lies attributed to false sources. Gray propaganda can be truthful (or not), but the source is never revealed. Leaflets are a common form of propaganda, and during World War II, the U.S. dropped around 8 billion leaflets, which included instructions for enemy soldiers on how to surrender, per Britannica .

Aside from leaflets, propaganda can be communicated through movies, newspapers, videos, and on the radio. During the Vietnam war , the U.S. military also experimented with a rather strange and creepy form of psychological warfare against enemy soldiers, and it centered around particular beliefs the Vietnamese had about the afterlife (via The War Zone ).

The military used ghosts as a psychological tactic in Vietnam

Such beliefs centered around the notion that the souls of the dead wandered among them. One idea, in particular, was that the dead must be buried in their homeland or their souls would drift on the earthly plane suffering in pain.

Another popular belief among the Vietnamese was that the souls of those who suffered violent deaths or those who were buried without a proper burial could also wander aimlessly. In addition, the Vietnamese also believed that random, "errant" souls wandered the earth, causing misfortune among the living (via Psywarrior ).

Armed with this cultural knowledge, the military believed that using ghosts could be an effective tactic against the Viet Cong, reports The War Zone . So it came up with "Operation Wandering Soul," a campaign meant to trick enemy soldiers into thinking that the souls of the dead were attempting to communicate with them.

The military recorded ghastly sounds

The recordings used by the U.S. military in Vietnam included strange cries of women and children, as well as eerie howling noises (via Psywarrior ). Some of the voices reportedly were of dead Viet Cong soldiers speaking to their comrades.

A tape called "Ghost Tape Number 10" is reportedly one example of some of the sounds used, and it includes voices saying, "It's hell ... I'm in Hell!" Other voices reportedly urged the soldiers to leave their positions while others called upon them to stop fighting or defect. A video of some of the sounds reveals a voice reportedly saying, "My friends, I come back to let you know that I am dead ... I am dead." Yet another voice pleaded with soldiers to go home before it was too late (via The War Zone ).

In 1965, the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion of the U.S. Army was initiated in Vietnam. The War Zone staff reports the U.S. Army and Navy utilized many of these recordings until 1970.

They played the recordings all night long

Most of the recordings were broadcast at night from helicopters and Swift boats. Foot soldiers wearing loudspeakers on their backs also snuck into enemy regions, per The War Zone . Some speakers were hung from tree branches deep in the forests. The military would begin playing the sounds at 8 p.m. and play them all night long. According to Psywarrior, the locations varied each night, and volumes were adjusted to make the voices seem closer or farther away.

Simon Adler, host of Radiolab 's "Mixtape," says the recordings were meant to "target the deepest fears of the Vietnamese people," and they seemed to work because word about the chilling noises — or ghosts — eventually got out. In fact, U.S. soldiers heard stories about certain areas being haunted by the souls of the dead. In addition, some Vietnamese farmers were reportedly hesitant to work near areas where some of the broadcasts were heard (via Psywarrior).

Was Operation Wandering Soul effective?

It's not clear how exactly successful Operation Wandering Soul was. Some accounts showed evidence of success. For example, a tape of a tiger allegedly caused 150 Viet Cong soldiers to abandon their posts. Another occurrence resulted in five Viet Cong soldiers surrendering. Other tapes reportedly terrified not only soldiers but civilians, per Psywarrior . 

That said, some reports weren't so positive. In one instance, Vietnamese marines fighting the Viet Cong dropped their weapons while hearing the noises. One report described an incident where Viet Cong soldiers opened fire in the direction of a helicopter broadcasting the sounds; another similar account claimed Viet Cong soldiers shot rockets at Swift boats in response to the recordings.

As a result of being fired upon, U.S. soldiers in the boat stopped playing the sounds and resorted to playing Tina Turner instead. However, when the Viet Cong fired their weapons toward the sounds, they revealed their location, which ultimately worked in favor of the U.S. (via The War Zone ).

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Ghost Tape No. 10: The Haunted Mixtape of the Vietnam War

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Imagine you're a Viet Cong soldier and you start to hear eerie sounds of voices wailing in the jungle. You see no one, just hear these disembodied voices. What do you think?

These sounds were one of the more creative methods the United States military used during the Vietnam War to depress enemy morale and get them to give up. Known as "Operation Wandering Soul ," the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (6th PSYOP) of the U.S. Army, with help from the U.S. Navy, broadcast spooky sounds fit for a modern horror movie and called it "Ghost Tape Number 10" (listen to the audio here ).

The ruse had its genesis in "Ghost Army" recordings made during World War II to trick the Germans into thinking the Allies had way more Sherman tanks coming their way than they did. But the Vietnam version also capitalized on the strongly held Buddhist beliefs of the region, specifically that the spirits of the dead are doomed to walk the earth in their own personal hell if their bodies are not found and buried appropriately. Vietnamese legends also held that lost souls could communicate on the anniversary of death. What better way to scare the North Vietnamese soldiers than to let them hear from their tormented fallen comrades-in-arms?

With the help of South Vietnamese participants, the U.S. Army created these hair-raising messages. Accompanied by shrieks, screams and moans, an alleged deceased Viet Cong soldier pleads with his comrades, saying things like, "My friends, I have come back to let you know that I am dead ... I am dead!" and "Don't end up like me. Go home, friends, before it's too late!" Helicopters, as well as strategically placed soldiers, carried loud speakers to make it appear the sounds were coming from all over the jungle. Some enemy soldiers realized it was a setup and started shooting immediately in the direction of speaker-laden helicopters; others were definitely spooked.

"Even if the Viet Cong didn't believe there were in fact ghosts in the jungle with them, that this was just a supernatural horror show being put on by the Americans, just the sounds and the message were more than a little eerie," says Nathan Mallett, editor and founder of MilitaryHistoryNow.com, in an interview with The Stuff of Life podcast, for an episode titled " Haunted ."

The ruse was expanded when a South Vietnamese ally intentionally spread a rumor that a tiger was attacking the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong troops. So, the 6th PSYOP added recordings of tiger growls. Allegedly, 150 men fled the mountain on which it was played.  

To this day, paranormal activity fascinates people, and we even seek it out by way of books, television, movies, and haunted houses. Check out the Stuff of Life podcast "Haunted" for more details on Ghost Tape No. 10, haunted attractions and something called Doomocracy.

American troops repeatedly created a "Ghost Army" during World War II to fool Hitler with inflatable tanks and fake camps, as well as blared recordings of infantry and armored units from trucks. Many of the artists involved in these deceptions found later success in fashion, art or design careers — including fashion designer Bill Blass.

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Operation Wandering Soul: Ghosts in the Vietnam War?

The Vietnam war was unlike any other major engagement the United States had ever fought. In the Viet Cong they found an adversary who eschewed the normal patterns of warfare, refused to engage in open battle, and used the territory to every advantage against their foe.

Against such a resourceful and agile foe, the U.S. was forced to adopt their own unorthodox tactics to meet them, and beat them, at their own game. And one of their most unusual and daring tactics was the use of ghosts to haunt the Viet Cong soldiers.

Named “Operation Wandering Soul ”, the plan was simple: undercut the morale of an enemy you cannot see, so they cease to be an effective fighting force without the need for direct engagement. In this way, the U.S. military hoped to defeat the enemy and force their surrender before a shot had even been fired.

The proposal was simple in execution: a broadcast would be made into the jungle consisting of screaming and shrieking human voices. The soldiers who heard the voices, uncertain of their source, would be paralyzed with fear.

So, did it work? Ultimately, it is hard to say. But one of the recordings, somewhat prosaically dubbed “Ghost Tape Number 10” survives to this day. Listening to it, you can see how unsettling it would be to hear these sounds, were they to appear from nowhere in the deepest jungle .

Operation Wandering Soul

It was just after dusk on the night of 10th February 1970, when the jungle around the U.S Army Fire Support Base, Chamberlain in Hau Nghia Province of South Vietnam was filled with spine chilling and frightful sounds. The darkening night was filled with unearthly wails and moans, seeming to come from everywhere.

Intermingled with the screams were recognizable human voices, conveying a frightful message. One such voice, tortured and pleading, said “My friends, I have come back to let you know that I am dead… I am dead !” from the darkness.

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The voice further continued in Vietnamese, saying, “It’s hell…I am in hell ! Don’t end up like me. Go home, friends, before it is too late!” The U.S. Army followed this dire warning with a chorus of other strange and disturbing sounds such as sobbing women, banging gongs and a child’s cry for their father.

It is easy to see how the Viet Cong soldiers who took shelter in the darkness of the jungle could believe these sounds came from the wandering souls of their dead comrades. The entire jungle beyond the American perimeter came alive with the terrifying voices, surrounding the Viet Cong soldiers hidden in the darkness.

The U.S were also canny enough to tap into local folklore . The Vietnamese believed that the spirits of dead soldiers that couldn’t return to their homes for proper burial were cursed to remain on Earth in torment.

There is some evidence that the Vietnamese actively held these beliefs, and there were apparent recovery efforts made by the Viet Cong after hearing these voices. These attempts to retrieve their dead suggest that they believed the voices they heard.

In this, the U.S. had chanced upon a very effective psychological weapon to use against their enemy. So long as the Viet Cong believed the voices, the U.S. would have an advantage.

Absolutely Secrecy 

The entire plan rested on the Viet Cong not realizing that the voices were an American trick. American soldiers used portable speakers at various points both along their perimeter and deeper in the jungle, to mask the source of the sounds.

The recordings have been carefully tailored weeks before. A Saigon sound studio was purposed to make the recordings, which were then professionally edited to maximize the realism of the voices.

It was part of a Top Secret U.S. Military Psychological Warfare Campaign. This secret plan was organized by the 6th PSYOP Battalion of the U.S. Army in collective cooperation with the U.S. Navy .

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The sole intention of this campaign was to demoralize the enemy battalions and to force them to desert their positions. Scaring the enemies would offer the U.S. army an edge over their strategies. And that seemed to work pretty well.

The PSYOP battalion expanded their range across South Vietnam after the first trial. The American units employed similar types of recordings between 1969-1970, with mixed results.

On one occasion, the sound of a tiger’s growl was added to a broadcast, recorded from Bangkok Zoo. The recording, complete with the sound of the dangerous jungle cat was then transmitted at a South Vietnamese hilltop controlled by the enemy. Hearing this terrifying noise, around 150 Viet Cong abandoned their positions and fled.

But in some other cases, the Americans decided to play recordings on speakers mounted on helicopters, supported by leaflet drops. Faced with a more obvious source of the broadcasts and realizing they came from the Americans, the helicopters were often fired upon and the plan met with limited success.

But it definitely worked in some cases. There were occasions where the tapes turned out to be so effective that there are reports of Vietnamese troops being terrified. The civilian population were also deeply frightened upon hearing the tapes.

A Vital Edge in an Unorthodox War

Hence, in this way, Operation Wandering Soul was executed and helped Americans gain an edge over the North Vietnamese soldiers. The idea, now proven, was adopted and adapted by the U.S. in their more recent military actions.

One American soldier, a PSYOP officer, recalled the operation and said that, even when the enemies saw through the cunning strategy, the soundtrack would still leave them anxious and afraid to engage. And so as an effective anti-morale tool, Operation Wandering Soul was a success.

Top Image: Unearthly shrieks in the night proved an effective psychological weapon. Source: Hektor2 / Adobe Stock.

By Bipin Dimri

Operation Wandering Soul (Vietnam War). Available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wandering_Soul_(Vietnam_War)

Disembodied Voices Were Blasted Into The Jungle By The U.S. In Vietnam To Spook The Enemy. Available at:  https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42927/ghosts-stories-were-used-by-the-u-s-in-vietnam-to-spook-the-enemy

Operation Wandering Soul – Ghost Tape Number 10 and the Haunted Jungles of Vietnam. Available at:  https://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/10/30/trick-or-treat-the-strange-tale-of-ghost-tape-no-10/

Operation Wandering Soul (Vietnam War). Available at:  https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Operation_Wandering_Soul_(Vietnam_War)

OPERATION WANDERING SOUL US blared haunting sounds into jungle and used ‘ghosts’ to spook enemy in Vietnam war. Available at:  https://www.the-sun.com/news/3965990/us-blared-ghost-track-vietnam-war/

Bipin Dimri

Bipin Dimri is a writer from India with an educational background in Management Studies. He has written for 8 years in a variety of fields including history, health and politics. Read More

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Operation wandering soul: the us military’s use of psychological warfare in vietnam.

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The US military is no stranger to the use of propaganda and psychological tricks when it comes to conducting war. During World War II , the Allied forces made use of such tactics against the Germans, and by the time the Vietnam War was in full swing in the 1960s, American troops had expanded their deployment of psychological warfare. One way they did this was through the launch of Operation Wandering Soul, which played upon Vietnamese superstitions and beliefs.

The logic behind Operation Wandering Soul

Similar to a number of other cultures around the world, the Vietnamese have their own beliefs regarding what happens after someone dies. It’s believed that those who have passed must receive a proper burial, lest they be made to wander the earth for all eternity and cause misfortune for the living. This is particularly true for those who have died a violent death away from home.

The US military was aware of Vietnamese beliefs surrounding death, with the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) having written a report in December 1969 outlining the types of ghosts that could be used in different psychological warfare campaigns.

Officials wanted to put this knowledge to use and decided to develop an operation that would not only demoralize the Viet Cong and troops with the People’s Army of Vietnam (NVA), but also convince them to desert and defect.

The ghostly tapes were recorded in Saigon

For weeks, engineers with the US military spent weeks recording ghostly sounds at a studio in Saigon. South Vietnamese and defected Viet Cong soldiers were also brought in to record their own audio, to increase the authenticity of the tapes.

Among the sounds recorded included the cries of women and children, the banging of gongs, howling noises, voices of Viet Cong “descendants” and iterations of some of the scariest ghosts in Vietnamese folklore. This included the “ tightening-knot ghost ,” which was intended to convince enemy troops to die by suicide after whispering “cổ cổ” – “neck” in Vietnamese.

Targeting the Viet Cong at night

The recordings produced in Saigon were used by the US Army and Navy . They would start blaring the tapes at 8:00 PM and play them all night long, often from Patrol Craft Fast (PCF) “Swift” boats and helicopters. Special infantry and foot soldiers would also be deployed behind enemy lines to play the recordings on speakers strapped to their backs or hung from trees.

The US military also had dedicated battalions for its special warfare operations. One was the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion , which was initiated in Vietnam in November 1965. Its men were among those who utilized the tapes against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

One recording, dubbed “Ghost Tape Number Ten,” was typically played in areas where the Viet Cong were known to be hiding. It was allegedly hard to ignore them, too, as they were played so loud that the sound traveled through the underground tunnels that snaked through the Vietnamese jungle.

Was Operation Wandering Soul successful?

There are mixed opinions as to whether or not Operation Wandering Soul was successful. There were a number of Viet Cong defections during the time it was in effect, including 150 who feared being killed by tigers after hearing audio with animal sounds and five others who surrendered during another incident.

Rumors began to spread among locals about certain areas being haunted, with some farmers going so far as to refuse work near where the tapes were broadcasted. According to  The War Zone , the tapes were so effective that troops were advised to avoid playing them near where South Vietnamese forces were stationed. “They were as susceptible as the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army,” said Raymond Deitch, who commanded the 6th Psychological Operations Battalion.

More from us: US Air Force Pilot Richard Ritchie Shot Down Five Enemy Aircraft in Vietnam

That’s not to say, however, that the Viet Cong weren’t aware that the recordings were fake. There was evidence that enemy leadership was worried about the psychological effects of the tapes, and there were instances where the Viet Cong would actually fire at US troops that were playing them. While this initially put the US forces in danger, it also revealed the enemy’s location, allowing them to return fire.

"The Wandering Soul"

At night, deep in the jungle during the Vietnam War, eerie sounds were used to represent the dead. The U.S. military would broadcast an audio mix called Wandering Soul (also known as Ghost Tape Number 10) to try to persuade North Vietnamese troops to go home. It exploited the Buddhist belief that once a person dies, his body must be buried in the family plot or his soul will wander aimlessly. (01:14)

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THE GHOSTS OF VIETNAM: OPERATION WANDERING SOUL

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: war without end..

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At night, deep in the jungle during the Vietnam War, eerie sounds were used to represent the dead. The U.S. military would broadcast an audio mix called Wandering Soul (also known as Ghost Tape Number 10) to try to persuade North Vietnamese troops to go home. It exploited the Buddhist belief that once a person dies, his body must be buried in the family plot or his soul will wander aimlessly. (01:14) From The Smithsonian Magazine with a short video

I was watching a youtube pr esentation about little known historical facts. For the first time, I learned of Operation Wandering Soul. Part of the Phoenix Program which was a program of targeted assassination, torture, infiltration, interrogation and psychological warfare against the people of Vietnam—as if the actual warfare wasn’t brutal enough. This interested me enough to look further into this strange footnote of military (fucked-up) history and I thought I’d share my discovery with you. (Besides being a math geek, I am also a history buff). It’s also very relevant for today because this is ongoing crap.

LOUD SPEAKERS IN THE JUNGLE…BECAUSE THE RESISTANCE IN VIETNAM WERE ALL SUPERSTITIOUS IDIOTS?

In the deep, dark, moist, shadows of the Vietnam War, a haunting operation known as "Wandering Soul" unfolded, buried in the annals of history. This was a psychological warfare campaign, as illegal as it was morbid, an eerie symphony of sounds that had mixed results in intimidating the enemy, and was one of the many crimes from that war kept from the US people.

The trumpet of trumped-up war was tarnishing the worsening moral horizon, and Operation Wandering Soul, a sordid footnote in the unending saga of violence, which should have been a soul-searching moment for those who supported that war. The story of Wandering Soul resonates today as a testament to the negative effects of war, inviting anti-war activists, like myself, to underscore the immediate and lasting effects of brutal, inhumane conflict. Through the lens of history, we explore the grim lessons Operation Wandering Soul imparts and how activists can wield them to change the tenor of modern conflicts.

Uncovering Operation Wandering Soul

In the late 1960s, the CIA and U.S. military's psychological operations (PSYOP) unit conjured the macabre and monstrous specter that became Operation Wandering Soul. The purpose was simple in its complexity—strike a chill into the hearts of the North Vietnamese soldiers and incite fear with what the CIA deemed that they held dearest, their spirituality. Recordings of ghostly voices, supposedly fallen Viet Cong, lamenting their decision to fight and warning against the futility of war, were blasted into the night across the Vietnamese jungle.

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It's essential to dissect the operation not merely through the lens of military strategy, but through the broader spectrum of its impact on the cultural and ethical landscape. Wandering Soul wasn't just a tactical ploy; it was a repertoire of tragedy that underscored the heart-wrenching drama behind any conflict — the loss of life, of purpose, and of innocence.

Wandering Soul had a darker parent known as the Phoenix Program. A child of the CIA, Phoenix was a covert, intelligence gathering program that quickly metastasized into a campaign of indiscriminate violence. Phoenix devolved into a mechanism for torture, assassination, and rampant human rights abuses, cloaked under the excuse of counterinsurgency. Thousands perished, many under the auspices of unsubstantiated suspicions and coerced 'intelligence'.

This section of history shines a harsh light on the negative aspects of intelligence and clandestine operations, where accountability and morality become casualties alongside the reported body counts. The Phoenix Program was the Grim Reaper in the fertile fields of destabilization that war creates. However, the intended harvest was of the innocent, occupied, and oppressed. Detailed here is one of the darkest chapters of American foreign policy—an excursion into the labyrinth of fear and loathing that intelligence-gathering became.

Vignettes of the CIA's involvement in Vietnam are multi-faceted, but they collectively paint a grim picture of aggressive intelligence agencies run amok. Within the fertile chaos of the Vietnam War, the CIA found rich soil for experimentation in covert activities that would have been untenable in more transparent environments. These activities bled into the warfront, with agents posing as aid workers, leading double lives that often resulted in further destabilization rather than resolution.

Peeling back the layers of covert CIA activities in Vietnam reveals a tapestry of meddling that marred the war's already questionable legitimacy. It is a narrative of shadowy figures and shrouded motives that plays like a cautionary thriller, where the protagonists wield the double-edged sword of plausible deniability. It was a potion of fear, misinformation, and power: the volatile byproduct of which was Wandering Soul and its haunting echoes that still resonate today, just like the landmines the US military left there keep blowing up children.

During his regime, Barack Obama ear-marked tens of millions of dollars to sanitize the legacy of the US War against the people of Vietnam; one where the US left there gloriously victorious and left a Vietnam that was not profoundly demolished. Operation Wandering Soul beckons a reckoning with our past and a sober reflection on our present. For we anti-war activists, our responsibility is the illumination of this past, not just as a remembrance of the slaughtered (millions of Vietnamese and 60k US troops), but as a beacon to deter future war crimes. Activists can learn from the lessons of the US war crimes in Vietnam—giving voice to those silenced by the cacophony of violence, and weaving a narrative that doesn’t glorify war but elevates the sanctity of life that it obliterates.

It demands that we reject the official version of events, to look past the statistics and into the hearts and minds of those affected—on both sides. Anti-war activism should draw from the well of ALL those waylaid by war, amplifying their stories, their losses, and their journey towards peace. It is a discourse of empathy, understanding, and a dedication to dismantling the machinery of war that stubbornly persists. It just won’t go away.

Actionable Insights for Activists

For antiwar activists, the story of Operation Wandering Soul offers actionable insights. It calls for a concerted effort to ensure that the past remains palpable, that the living memory of the horrors of war is preserved to dissuade its never-ending repeat. Activists could:

Foster a human connection to war by sharing stories from those who experienced it firsthand, or their descendants.

Engage with education systems to inject the curriculum with first-hand accounts and perspectives from nations on both sides of the conflict, not just the victors (the Vietnam resistance, in this case).

Collaborate with media to present alternative narratives that humanize the individuals affected, challenging the depersonalization of war.

Advocate for transparency in government activities, especially in foreign affairs and military operations, to hold those in power accountable for their choices and consequences.

Support programs that offer assistance to those still suffering from the effects of war, to reinforce the commitment to healing and peace.

Operation Wandering Soul is not just a paragraph in a history book; it is a living testament to the depths of desperation reached during war. In its ghostly echoes, there lies a call for impassioned activism that memorializes the dead, seeks redemption for the crimes of war, and confirms our resolve to make the world a more peaceful place.

How can we keep allowing this barbarism to continue?

"The Wandering Soul"

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Operation Wandering Soul: Ghost Tape Stories from the Vietnam Era

Posted by theblitzcorp.com | Oct 25, 2023 | History | 0 |

The Vietnam War, a conflict shrouded in tales of heroism and enigma, brought to light intriguing stories such as ' the lost patrol ' and the one we're about to explore - 'Operation Wandering Soul'.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military launched a psychological warfare campaign known as Operation Wandering Soul. This propaganda effort aimed to weaken the morale of the Viet Cong forces and increase desertions among their ranks. By capitalizing on the belief in wandering souls, the U.S. utilized eerie recordings and altered voices to create a haunting experience for the enemy.

Key Takeaways

• Operation Wandering Soul weaponized Vietnamese spiritual beliefs and funeral traditions through disturbing propaganda recordings.
• U.S. Army engineers and South Vietnamese allies created eerie "Ghost Tapes" of cries, screams, and lamentations.
• Helicopters and ground troops broadcasted the Ghost Tapes over loud speakers in the jungle at night.
• Reactions from Viet Cong forces were mixed, with some firing back in fear and others successfully demoralized.
• The legacy of these psychological tactics is debated, though they exemplify the creativity and controversy of the propaganda war.
• Some recordings may still exist today, intriguing those investigating this unique campaign.

Now, let's dig deeper into how the Ghost Tapes came to haunt the Viet Cong via Operation Wandering Soul during the Vietnam War...

Exploiting Vietnamese Beliefs About the Afterlife

To understand Operation Wandering Soul, we first need to grasp some spiritual beliefs held dear by the Vietnamese people. A key tenet of Vietnamese culture is showing respect for the dead through proper burial rites . Without a proper burial in their homeland, the soul of the deceased is said to wander the earth aimlessly in pain and suffering.

This belief exists across Buddhism, Confucianism, and other faiths in Vietnam. Traditions hold that these " wandering souls " can sometimes be contacted on the anniversary of their death and near where they perished. The Vietnamese honor these dead souls on a  holidays when they visit their death site.

For the Viet Cong fighting far away from their homes and families, the prospect of dying on the battlefield without a proper burial was a great fear. Their souls would be permanently cursed to wander, unable to rejoin ancestors in the afterlife.

American military strategists realized this spiritual vulnerability could be exploited through psychological warfare tactics tailored to these beliefs. This realization spawned propaganda campaigns like the infamous Operation Wandering Soul.

The Origins of Operation Wandering Soul

With Viet Cong forces deeply committed to their spiritual traditions, U.S. forces saw an opportunity for demoralization by playing upon their greatest fears. The propaganda campaign known as Operation Wandering Soul was born from this goal of damaging Vietnamese morale through supernatural means.

The operation originated in 1969 under the U.S. Army's 6th Psychological Operations Battalion . Deriving its name from the Vietnamese concept of " wandering souls " unable to find peace, the campaign focused on unnerving the enemy.

Along with other PSYOP units, the 6th Battalion created eerie battle sounds and ghostly recordings designed to haunt Viet Cong forces and undermine their resolve. The audio recordings would mimic tormented souls warning their still-living comrades.

This followed in the footsteps of earlier World War II "Ghost Army" tactics where Allied forces fooled German troops using fictional radio chatter and the illusion of large troop formations. Vietnam's Operation Wandering Soul took things further by tapping directly into spiritual anxieties.

Engineering Eerie "Ghost Tapes"

To develop an effective propaganda weapon based around " wandering souls ," the U.S. military first had to create the fear-inducing tapes themselves. The 6th Battalion spearheaded production of the so-called "Ghost Tapes."

Creating Demoralizing Recordings

U.S. sound engineers labored extensively alongside Vietnamese translators to craft unsettling audio content. Using state-of-the-art (for the time) recording techniques, they generated a catalogue of horror sounds including screams, moans, howls, and spooky voices.

The goal was to simulate tormented souls crying out from the afterlife. By editing these sounds with audio effects, they took on an even more disturbing supernatural quality.

South Vietnamese Army troops also voiced scripts written to prey on the conscience of Viet Cong fighters. Poignant dialogues reminded them of what they left behind, calling on them to " cease fighting " and " return home " while they still could.

Involving South Vietnamese Soldiers

To maximize the impact on Viet Cong fighters, actual South Vietnamese personnel participated in creation of the Ghost Tapes. Their authentic accents and dialects brought an added layer of immersion when combined with the unearthly noises.

The recordings used clever narrative techniques, like a young girl pleading for her Viet Cong brother to lay down arms. This played upon cultural values of family devotion and duty to one's parents.

Other tapes featured a Viet Cong soldier already killed in battle, warning his still-living comrades not to " end up like me ." This sent the chilling message that a doomed fate awaited them.

Through collaboration between U.S. manipulators of sound and Vietnamese speakers, the 6th Battalion compiled a growing catalogue of demoralizing recordings. The eerie Ghost Tapes were now ready for deployment...

Broadcasting the Ghost Tapes in the Jungles

Starting in 1969, Operation Wandering Soul launched into full gear across Vietnam. Helicopters and ground units descended into the jungles, broadcasting the terrifying Ghost Tapes over loudspeakers. The ominous recordings sliced through the natural soundscape, reverberating through Viet Cong hidden camps.

Playing Tapes from Helicopters and Loudspeakers

Modified low-flying helicopters carried banks of external loudspeakers to play the “ wandering soul ” tapes. Under cover of night, the aircraft swooped over dense jungle and passed just above the treetops.

The bellowing speakers drowned the bamboo thickets with unhappy spirits pleading and lamenting. Then, the helicopters would swiftly depart, leaving the unsettling sounds hanging in the air.

Ground infantry also brought portable loudspeakers on search-and-destroy missions, blasting the Ghost Tapes unexpectedly in all directions. Viet Cong trackers could be trailing a U.S. platoon, only to be ambushed by recordings of their deceased comrades.

Adding Animal Sounds for More Fear

Seeking new heights of psychological impact, the inventive PSYOP soldiers expanded the tapes to more than just disembodied voices. Actual animal sounds got edited in for additional shock value.

The 6th Battalion obtained roar samples from a tiger at the Bangkok zoo. Mixing these roars with the " ghost tape " vocals created a message that tigers were preying on Viet Cong troops as punishment for worshipping "false gods."

When played from helicopters around Nui Ba Den Mountain, the tiger roars allegedly caused 150 Viet Cong defections. The eerie tapes proved most sinister when blended with the organic sounds of nature.

Reactions from Viet Cong Forces

Once unleashed across Vietnam, how did the Viet Cong actually react to ghostly recordings of Operation Wandering Soul? With the atmosphere saturated by disturbing propaganda, local reactions ran the gamut from fear to frustration.

Returning Fire on the Source

Some Viet Cong fighters saw through the attempted psychological warfare and understood the sounds had a mundane origin. Outraged by the deceitful tactic, they defiantly fired back when possible at any audible helicopters or ground units.

However, by revealing their location through reactionary gunfire, these soldiers still ended up indirectly playing into the enemy’s hands. The return fire exposed their hidden camps for potential devastating counterstrikes.

Mixed Success in Achieving Defections

While return fire sometimes resulted, in other cases the Ghost Tapes succeeded at frightening and demoralizing the target Viet Cong forces. Instances of soldiers surrendering outright were limited, but morale suffered more broadly.

For some units already strained by jungle hardship, disease, and homesickness, the disturbing tapes were the last straw. The propaganda exploited lingering unease and doubt, helping push disillusioned fighters to "defect" or at least cease fighting.

Exact figures are unavailable, but anecdotal reports suggest a significant uptick in wavering morale that impaired North Vietnamese military operations. However, effects depended on individual unit cohesion and the tape's delivery.

The Legacy of Psychological Warfare Tactics

Looking back with years of hindsight, what is Operation Wandering Soul's lasting impact and reputation? The program pioneered new dimensions of creepy psychological warfare tactics, the value of which is still debated.

Over time, the operation has garnered a reputation for its audacious use of ghostly audio recordings and its ability to exploit cultural beliefs. The psychological manipulation employed in Operation Wandering Soul pushed the boundaries of conventional warfare and raised important ethical questions. Was it a brilliant strategy or an unsettling exploitation of superstitions?

The legacy of Operation Wandering Soul is a complex one. It exemplifies the ever-evolving landscape of warfare and the strategies employed to gain a psychological edge. Whether it is viewed as a groundbreaking tactic or a morally dubious experiment, Operation Wandering Soul continues to provoke discussions about the intersection of technology, culture, and warfare, making it a subject of enduring interest and scrutiny.

Disputes Over the Effectiveness

Due to limited documentation and statistics, the true effectiveness of the Wandering Soul tapes remains unclear. The Army Concept Team behind the operation insisted it helped weaken North Vietnamese Army resolve even if some soldiers saw through the ruse.

Others counter that most demoralizing effects were localized and temporary. Once the shock value wore off, the tapes grew less influential in breaking Viet Cong spirits. Still, the recordings likely put strains on morale that undermined potential military victories.

Comparisons to Other "Ghost Army" Campaigns

Operation Wandering Soul has drawn comparisons to World War II's "Ghost Army" and even later programs like the planned Congo ghost tapes. All demonstrate how spiritual beliefs and superstitions can become weaponized by military propaganda efforts.

However, these attempts at psychological warfare through supposed supernatural forces have proven controversial. Some consider them violations of human ethics and dignity, regardless of their battlefield impact.

Seeking the Remaining "Ghost Tapes" Today

Decades after the Vietnam War ended, fragments of Operation Wandering Soul still fascinate and haunt our collective memory. Enthusiasts continue searching for the original recordings, hoping more lost "Ghost Tapes" might resurface.

Online, you can find the infamous "Ghost Tape Number 10 ," with its wailing " wandering souls " beckoning like siren songs. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, with more tapes likely undiscovered in archives and private collections.

As sound historian Steve Goodman commented, we remain intrigued by acoustic weaponry and techniques that "conquer your true heart with deep vibrations." The Ghost Tapes of Vietnam, though deceptive, still resonate deeply in their otherworldly cries from beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the target audience for operation wandering soul.

The Ghost Tapes specifically targeted Viet Cong guerilla fighters operating in remote jungle areas. Exploiting Vietnamese spiritual beliefs, the unsettling recordings aimed to demoralize Communists cut off from village support.

How did the U.S. military obtain the unearthly sounds used in the tapes?

Army engineers spent weeks manipulating recordings to create an eerie audio catalogue. Creepy effects like echoes and sustain added haunting qualities to voices and background noises. Simple yet highly effective for psychological impact!

Did U.S. troops ever witness the tapes causing Viet Cong to surrender?

While mass surrenders were rare, some U.S. platoons did encounter individual Viet Cong defections after playing the tapes over loudspeakers. However, reception varied widely based on the unit's prior morale and degree of Communist loyalty.

What aspects of Vietnamese culture did the Ghost Tapes tap into?

They exploited the deep respect for ancestral traditions and fear of spirits unable to transition peacefully into the afterlife. Losing one's soul to endless wandering was a dark fate to be avoided at all costs.  In short, the soul wanders constantly with no rest or peace.

Are any of the original Operation Wandering Soul tapes available today?

While tapes like "Ghost Voice Number 10" have surfaced online, the full recordings are hard to find. Many remain buried in military archives or stashed away with veterans. Some are likely lost to time but more may emerge as sound collectors dig deeper!

And there you have it - the bizarre and chilling story of how eerie jungle recordings were turned against Viet Cong forces during Operation Wandering Soul in the Vietnam War! Let me know in the comments if you want me to delve into more fascinating military history topics in future posts. I had a blast researching this psychological warfare campaign that played upon Vietnamese spiritual beliefs. Stay tuned for more - and whatever you do, don't listen to the Ghost Tapes alone in the dark!

Why do the Vietnamese honor these dead souls, and how do they do it?

The Vietnamese have a deep cultural tradition of honoring their ancestors and the souls of the departed. This includes paying homage to the deceased during various holidays and ceremonies. During occasions such as the Lunar New Year (Tet), the living offer food, incense, and other symbolic items at ancestral altars to show respect and ensure the well-being of their ancestors' souls. This act of reverence is a way for Vietnamese people to maintain a strong connection with their ancestors and ensure their spirits are at peace.

How does "Operation Wandering Soul" represent the souls of the departed, and why is it significant?

"Operation Wandering Soul" was a unique and haunting psychological warfare tactic employed during the Vietnam War. This operation involved playing eerie audio recordings of ghostly sounds and voices over loudspeakers in an attempt to disrupt and demoralize enemy troops. The significance of this operation lies in its psychological impact on soldiers, as it invoked fear and superstition by seemingly representing the wandering souls of the dead. This tactic aimed to exploit cultural beliefs and further destabilize the opposing forces during the conflict.

About The Author

theblitzcorp.com

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