Thành Nội High School · Hue, Vietnam · Christmas 1966
The Hue Christmas Cards
COMING SOONAround Christmas 1966, students at Thành Nội High School in Hue wrote holiday cards to American servicemen. My dad, Navy corpsman Russell Jacobson, received a stack of them and kept them.
The cards
Tap a card to see it larger. These are cut from one photo of all twelve fronts; clearer scans will be added.
Where the cards came from
The cards are simple and kind. Many are signed “Thành Nội girl, High School.” Some of the envelopes are addressed simply “To American Soldier,” or, in Vietnamese, to the soldier of the 3rd Marine Division. These were kids reaching out to strangers in the middle of a war.
That winter my dad was serving near Phu Bai, about ten miles from Hue. His letters home place him on Hill 180, just outside Phu Bai, from late January into mid February 1967, and that’s most likely when the cards reached him.
What happened to Hue
Thành Nội is the area inside Hue’s old walled Citadel. About thirteen months after these cards were written, the Tet Offensive reached Hue, and the Citadel became the center of one of the worst battles of the war. Most of the city was left homeless. During the occupation, thousands of civilians were killed, and teachers, students and anyone connected to Americans were among those targeted.
Why I’m looking for them
We don’t know what happened to the students who wrote these cards. Some may have left Hue, some may have left Vietnam, and some may not have survived. That’s why I’m trying to find them, or their families, and let them know their kindness reached someone and was kept for almost sixty years.
Names we can read so far
- Bùi Thị Hồng
- Minh Trang Nguyễn
- Hòa Nguyễn Thị
- Nhu Lê
These are early readings of the handwriting and may be misspelled. There may also be a Tường Vy and a Long. More names will be added as each card is read.
What we know so far
- Twelve printed cards, many decorated by hand with glitter, plus handwritten envelopes.
- Most are dated for Christmas and New Year 1966 to 1967.
- Several writers say they were junior secondary students at Thanh Noi High School. A few sign as “a Thanh Noi girl.”
- Thanh Noi is the area inside the old walled Citadel of Hue.
- Where this comes from: the cards and envelopes themselves, my dad’s letters home from Hill 180 in January and February 1967, and published histories of the Battle of Hue.
Can you help?
If you went to Thanh Noi High School, recognize one of these names, or know how students in Hue came to write to American servicemen that Christmas, I’d love to hear from you. Everything comes to me first, and nothing goes on the site until I’ve read it.