PHUNG HAUNG DONG TIEN
HISTORY OF PHOENIX
The Ugliness of Phoenix
Since no one wanted the expense and time of costly and time consuming trials, and this included the United State, a simple manner of accusation was devised to help slaughter thousands of innocent people, and some not so innocent, but who could tell the difference without benefit of trial. Called a "Finger Card," about the size of a standard index card, 3" x 5", this card would mean the difference between life and death for many people. These cards were available to the ruling class in Vietnam and all that was needed were three signatures from three separate people. These people could be any living person in Vietnam, but I suspect at times even dead ones were used. In effect, if I wanted a man's wife, all I had to do was get three of my buddies to sign the card, turn the card in to the Embassy House, but most probably the Province Chief, and for a fee, you would get what you asked for, the wife, the husband got dead. Sounds inhuman and it was, but it also was the truth.
Next in line were the "Specials." These were undocumented, unwritten orders, delivered by verbal orders from the Vietnamese Province Chief only. To put it simply, all the Province Chief had to do, without approval from anyone, order a PRU unit to do what he wanted and most times his motives were for personal gain. I'll write this again, he did not have to clear his orders with anyone, including Embassy House, and most probably he is running a 7 eleven today, all on United States tax payers dollars.
I was going to go into detail about some other things, but common sense, and my son, dictated that some things are better left unsaid.
Will close these final lines, hoping that, if for no other reason, someone like me will not again be tempted to test fate.
Economics govern the western way of life, not honor. Economics also governed most actions in Phoenix, but I must say that the six men I knew were true patriots, we believed in what we were doing, but some things will never be forgotten or forgiven.
Provincial recon Unit members, as long as they were Vietnamese, received Five Hundred Dollars for every assassination.
The Nung mercenaries were allowed to negotiate their fees, depending on they he killed.
The American cadre were paid Five Thousand Dollars per operation, plus thirty days leave in a designated area, mostly Okinawa.