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. Read what this was all about.

By Jerry Glazer

A failed attempt to dupe a determined enemy.  The Vietnam War produced many schemes besides the apparent use of military strength.  The U.S. concocted several unknown, if not strange, tactics to influence the outcome of the conflict.

One lowered the admission standards of recruits to keep the flow of replacements. Another became the flagrant spraying of the toxic chemical Agent Orange. Both came with terrible consequences. Another incorporated the use of urine detectors to hunt down hidden North Vietnamese. The machine proved ineffective because the contraption usually pointed to U.S. service members in the field. Still, one more, and perhaps the most bizarre, embraced the use of loudspeakers to influence the enemy that ghosts of their dead comrades wanted them to change their allegiances.  

To manifest Viet Cong and North Vietnamese defections, the Army Psychology Operations Battalion (PSYOP), with the help of the Navy, orchestrated a propaganda campaign labeled Operation Wondering Soul. The unit broadcast tapes of weird and scary sounds combined with ghostly voices imitating the North Vietnamese dead. 

The Vietnamese held the belief the dead must rest in their home soil, or their souls would eternally wander in pain and suffering. They also believed the dead would appear again on the anniversary of their demise.  The Vietnamese honored their dead by returning to the place of their eternal rest to contact their spirit. The premise of Operation Wandering Soul rested on the idea the North Vietnamese would fear the loud jungle broadcasts of ethereal sounds and voices of the wandering dead.             

Army engineers developed recordings of eerie noises and spooky voices portraying slain Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers. The U.S. went so far as to use actual South Vietnamese troops to record the speech for authenticity. The recordings, dubbed the Ghost Tapes, included Buddhist funeral music and the voices of crying young girls.  “Come home, Daddy!”  the voices pleaded. There were other recordings of men screaming warnings, “Go home and reunite with your loved ones or suffer the wrath of the dead.” 

In Firebase Cunningham (photo courtesy Paul Mannix)

The tapes repeatedly broadcasted over loudspeakers during the night close to North Vietnamese combat positions. The tactic attempted to keep the enemy from restful sleep. “My body is gone. I am dead to my family,” the loudspeakers blared.  “Tragic, how tragic!  My friends, I have come back to let you know I am dead, and I am in hell!  Friends, you are still alive; go home! Go home before it is too late!” It went on like this until daybreak. 

The overall success of Operation Wandering Soul and the Ghost Tapes produced dismal results. First, the North Vietnamese knew the sounds and voices were recordings. Moreover, they revealed the location of the broadcasters upon which the enemy immediately directed an attack.  

The U.S. failed to understand the North Vietnamese were fighting for self-determination from foreign domination. As Ho Chi Minh repeated more than once, they would fight until the last person could hold a weapon. It happened in a previous prisoner exchange where the North Vietnamese stripped the garments provided by the Americans and crossed into the hands of their compatriots naked rather than show any comfort. The action proved a point missed by the U.S. military. 

As Ho Chi Minh said, “You can kill ten of us for every one of you, and in the end, you will tire of the loss first.”  And indeed, as the U.S. pulled out after eleven years, had given everything and gained nothing, it proved Ho Chi Minh’s prophesy.  

Operation Wandering Soul became a failed attempt to win a war against a fierce and determined enemy who would rather die than surrender. And yet, we must wonder if our politicians learned anything from the experience. American history proved they did not.

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 if they appeared from nowhere in the deepest jungle.

JERRY GLAZER

As the leader of a Special Ops team, I learned the hard way that the Vietnam War was built on lies and deceit.  We had as much to fear from the hardened American units as we did from the enemy. 

​I was one of the more fortunate ones who returned alive, but every soldier has been wounded. I was awarded 3 medals for bravery and meritorious service awards, but PTSD, regret, and guilt followed me home. 

 When I returned from Vietnam, I recounted these bizarre stories: the humor and absurdity of basic training and combat. My friends and family members were intrigued and in awe of its insanity. And it was then that I put my thoughts on paper, and my passion for writing had begun…… Watch for the upcoming launch of my book, Vietnam Uncensored: 365 Days in a Nightmare.

*****

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