North Vietnamese Army Envelope HT 33540 Hanoi September 25, 1966

Families in the North could write to a loved one who had gone to the Front.  It would take months for mail to reach a soldier in the South. Regardless like anyone who has ever served, it was a welcomed and cherished item to receive.

For security reasons, the family would write to a Ham Thu or HT which is the abbreviation for Letter Box number. The LBN was an encrypted unit designation rather than writing the actual name of the Company, Battalion and Regiment out on the envelope.

The soldier could write back but mail going North was not as reliable.

Envelope were either purchased or hand made. The hand made envelopes were from pieces of paper cut and glued together by hand. Purchased  envelopes often have some kind of bird, political or military motif on the left lower front.

North Vietnamese stamps, which always had a military or political nature, were sometimes attached when sending from the North to the South but were not necessary for mail going from he Front back to the North.  Sometimes you can read the postman’s cancellation mark and the date it was sent.

Soldiers could also write to other NVA soldiers in which case both used the letter box number but no stamp was necessary.

Finding letter and envelopes is very rare as, like all things of potential intelligence value, they had to be turned in to S-2 for exploitation.

This material is highly interesting and makes for a great personal effects display, so pick out a few pieces while it is still available.