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Forgotten Folklore & Legends That Are Downright Bizarre

Khalid Elhassan January 5, 2023 26 min

Operation Wandering Soul: Using Superstitions (And Tigers) to Terrorize Vietnam

The roars of a Bengal tiger supplemented the terror of Operation Wandering Soul. Pexel

The recordings of Operation Wandering Soul creeped out and terrified at least some Viet Cong. Most VC or NVA troops simply got ticked off at the recordings and shot at the speakers, so the operation was not universally effective on all listeners. However, the recordings did have an impact on at least some enemy personnel. In February 1970, for example, a patrol swept an area after the eerie broadcasts, and caught a trio of “trembling VC insurgents“. On the other hand, the recordings could backfire at times, demoralizing not only the Viet Cong, but also “terrifying friendly South Vietnamese troops and civilians alike“.

The feedback from Operation Wandering Soul was good. That led its implementers, the US Army’s 6^th Psy-Op Battalion, to expand on their repertoire whenever possible, and tailor the recordings to local conditions. One such opportunity presented itself when a South Vietnamese allied army unit spread a rumor that a ravenous tiger was on the loose, and attacking North Vietnamese and VC troops in the vicinity. So the 6^th Psy-Op taped a tiger’s growls at the Bangkok Zoo, then amplified and blasted the recordings near an enemy-controlled mountain. It reportedly frightened 150 VC and NVA into fleeing their positions.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.