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| A tribute to the Military Police who served in Vietnam |
| Copyright (c) 2001-2002 Military Police of the Vietnam War All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Copyright (c) 2001-2002 INFANTRYMEN.NET All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. "Neither the United States Army nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, or endorsed, or authorized this product/service/activity in anyway." |
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| SAIGON TEA |
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| As in all wars there were the girls. For economic reasons many young girls went to work in the bars. Many of the girls were married, had Vietnamese boyfriends, or had American boyfriends that they lived with. Selling "Saigon Tea" was quite profitable for them. The drink was nothing more than a kool-aid flavored drink (most of the girls did not drink or smoke), mostly no bigger than a shot glass. (Quicker to drink that way). The cost of the "tea" usually ran about one to two dollars. The girl split the cost with the bar owner, so it could be a lucrative income for a young 17-20 year old girl. Typically a girl would sit with a G.I. and get him plastered, of course, only with the Saigon Tea coming to the table for her. An "excuse me" would usually mean she was off to another table and another G.I. (out of sight) to tell him he was "handsome" too and to order more tea. In Saigon MPs usually were in and around the bars at curfew time as many girls simply got up from their patrons and walked out the front door and got into a cab, on the back of a scooter, and went home. This left many a G.I. just a bit upset as his hopes of further entertainment had just been dashed. Of course there were prostitutes as in all wars, and there was a distinction with many of the bar girls who were pushing drinks for a living and actually had normal lives away from the bars. |
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| My good friend Tom Likely with the 552nd MP Company. Here with a local bar girl in Bien Hoa. The girls really liked the MPs because they kept the bars safe when there was trouble. Off duty MPs had the luxury of sitting with the girls and not having to worry about buying "tea". |
| Two pretty Vietnamese girls perform with a band at a club on the Long Binh Army Base. An unknown 527th MP gives a look like he's died and gone to heaven. |
| Me and a little kid in the town of Bien Hoa. Kids were everywhere and really enjoyed attention from the MPs.School girls in Saigon substitute the traditional Vietnamese dress for mini skirts |
| I caught this local Vietnamese Police Officer "hitting" on a girl on a bike at a traffic light. He didn't realize it and then gave me a coy smile as if he had been caught. A Vietnamese motorcycle cop. I was issued a traffic ticket when I was a civilian worker. I wasn't driving, but a passenger in the back of a jeep driven by a Vietnamese driver who had forgotten his license. . I just happened to be the only one with a license, so he wrote me the ticket. Figure that one out. A nice judge did let me off the hook, however. Office worker in beautiful traditional Vietnamese dress. |
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| John Prahl, 552nd MPs tries to get a shy shop girl in Bien Hoa to look at the camera for a picture. Right. Bob Morrison was with the 716th MPs and stayed on in Saigon to work as a civilian. We both worked as investigators for AAFES. Bob poses with one of the secretaries. (1969) |
| Taken while on patrol with the 527th MPs in Saigon, a young girl carries her little sister. Taking a break from the oppressive heat and humidity. It was not uncommon for all shops to close down between noon and 3 o'clock to reopen later because of the heat. |
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| Bob Morrison when he was a Sergeant with "A" Co., 716th MPs in Cholon. To his right is SP4 Mike Leighty. (1967) |
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| Girls outside of the "We Try Harder" bar. |
| photo courtesy Dean Hodgdon |
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| Unknown girl and her family relax on the outskirts of Saigon. Photo courtesy Ron Herrick. |