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wFrom:  Peter Berlin

wtDate:  January 1, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
But what was the name of lady that sold the sandwiches in the station, circa 1969?   I strangely remember liking her egg salad sandwiches (today, I would never eat egg salad in a foreign country-but then, who knew)    I think she was a Rose also??

wFrom:  Rick Fredericksen
wtDate:  January 2, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
Peter, could have been Mai?  That name sticks with me in '69, as the person who sold snacks in a makeshift snack bar at the end of the hallway down by engineering I think.
Rick F

wFrom:  Ron Turner
wtDate:  January 1, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
Jim,
The person I knew of as Ms Swan was, I believe, in Admin.  She was a little older than Engineering's Rose and somewhat slender: she carried herself well and was quite attractive.  I do not believe Ms Swan is in any of the photos on your email, but I'm sure that Engineering's Rose is the one on the lower right.  The lower right photo was, I'm reasonably sure, not taken in the Engineering office. I recognize both guys in your photo, but the taller one I can't place. The one on the right (USAF S/SGT Allen) was an engineer.

Ron

Dick Ellis and Ray Profeta (with agreement from Ken Kalish) are saying that these are the two ladies that worked in the music library or as secretary.... in Jun 68 - Jul 69.  Miss Ann (top?) and Rose (bottom?)....   Ken Kalish says the one at the typewriter is Rose, while Dick comments about Miss Ahn and Miss Rose (Miss Kook--sp?) in 1968.
[Shown towards the top of this page with Ray Proteta's message of December 29, 2013 and therefore not repeated here.  ]
Now, you are saying that Rose worked in Engineering in 1971.  I knew the woman who worked in Engineering in 1971 as "Ms. Swan" and do know that she was senior to most of the other women.
This makes "three Roses."  (Double that and I'll give my wife a dozen roses for her birthday!)  What's a guy to do???
Also, Happy New Year,
Jim

wFrom:  Jim White

wtDate:  December 30, 2013

Subject:  Website Update - December 29, 2013

Ken and Ray agree that the girl at the typewriter is Miss Rose.  In Admin, there was a Rose Hahn who worked for me as the telephone operator/typist in 1970-71.  It has been 40+ years, but my memory tells me that the the girl with SFC Halsey and SSgt Allen on the AFVN Organization / Main Station.html is very likely the "Rose" that worked for me.  The girl in Ray's photo look very different.  But, there might have been a second "Rose" working at AFVN.

On the Website, at AFVN Roster / Vietnamese Local Hire Roster (newly added) there is a list that includes seven clerical staff who worked at AFVN when I was there in 1970/71.  There is still a great deal of "static" or "ambiguity" on that page as far as correct spelling of names, positions, and years they were with AFVN is concerned.  ANY HELP I CAN GET FROM ANY ONE IN REFINING THESE NAMES WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.    [Sorry, but I was "yelling" on purpose.]

Also, will add the two photos but want to wait a bit to see if any more clarification comes in.

Jim

wFrom:  Ray Profeta

wtDate:  December 30, 2013

Subject:  Website Update - December 29, 2013

I agree with you.

Ray

Miss Ahn, Music Library

(Received from Ray Profeta on December 30, 2013.)

wFrom:  Dick Ellis

wtDate:  December 2, 2013

Subject:  AFVN Roster - Vietnamese Personnel

When I was there Miss Kook (sp?) or "Rose" was working in radio records.  She invited me to her home when I was leaving for a dinner with her family.  She worked for Air Vietnam in the ticket window before AFVN and said Vice President Ky tried to get a date with her once. She was very high fashion with her hair up in a bee-hive and lot's of make-up. Papa-son Ngot (knot) was the janitor and a veteran of the French Foreign Legion.  He showed me his ID card once and a small monthly check he still received from the French government.

Miss Dung was the young lady who ran the small coffee and pastry "closet" at the end of the hall in 67-68. She was a student and read a book all the time.  I understand she married one of "us" and changed her name to Hong when she moved to America.  I am sorry, I can't remember who she married.

Miss Ahn was very quiet and worked as the secretary for Radio.  She rode a bike to the station every day.

Dickie

wFrom:  Jim White

wtDate:  December 1, 2013

Subject:  AFVN Local Vietnamese Employees

Dear Mr. Phouc, Germine,

My name is Jim White and I was with the AFVN in Saigon from August 1970 through June 1971.  At present I am acting as the Webmaster for AFVN-RADI0-TV.org.  It is a web site for all of those who were with or who are interested in AFVN.  The site already has a fairly complete list of the American personnel who were assigned to AFVN from 1962 through 1973.  However, I would also like to add a list of the names of as many of our local (Vietnamese) employees as possible.  From my own diary, I have been able to make the following partial list of those who were there in 1970 and 1971. 

Ms. Swan -- Engineering

Rose Hahn (?) - Telephone Admin

Ms. An Ms. Hahn

Ms. Hahn - Supply

Ms. Kim

Ms. (Ba) Dao -

Driver Mr. (Pop) Nyung - Driver

Ms. Mai (first or last name)? - Cafeteria

Frank Burke, who was with AFVN in 1967 and 1968 wrote suggesting that you might be a good source in making this list a little more complete.  Anything you could do to help make this list more complete would be greatly appreciated.  I am looking for full names, the years they worked at AFVN and what their job might have been.  Of couse, information on how to contact them would also be nice but most likely difficult to find.  For example, I have often wondered what happened to these people and particularly what happened to Rose Hahn (or An) who worked directly under me.

Thank you,

Jim White

Vietnamese Local Hire Employees

November 2013 - January 2014

Go to the Vietnamese Local Hire List for a list of names.

AFVN Group Conversations

Some Additional Thoughts

While redoing this page in May 2014 I realized that one possibility is that the "Rose" I knew as the Admin office's telephone operator and typist was released after I left, and that the Miss Swan ("Rose") who had been in Engineering when I was with AFVN, based upon the time-honored system of "first hired, last fired." was moved from Engineering to the Admin Office.  

Jim White

wFrom:  Ron Turner
wtDate:  January 5th, 2013
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Misss Rose * Miss Swan
Jim,
You may well be right that Miss Swan was in engineering during part of Seeger's tenure, but I assure you she was not there after Seeger and Elliot left.  I minimized dialog about her to follow the guidelines on comity. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the Rose in the typewriter photo was our (Engineering secretary) during the overwhelming majority of the time I was there (Sep 71-
May 72). I am the one who did the personel actions on her and got her into the hospital; I attended her wedding, etc, etc.  While old age has not enhanced my memory processes, there is no chance of error on her during the cited period.
Perhaps the switch was made when I was coming in and Elliot and then (in a few days) Seegar left?  
Ron

wFrom:  Dick Ellis
wtDate:  January 2, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose (corrected copy)
Single photo on the left is Miss Ahn...the one on the right with the side shot is Miss Rose.  I arrived in July 1967 and both were working in radio in the record library....actually I think Ahn was the record librarian and Rose was the Radio Section secretary.  We became friends and talked a lot but I never invited her out.  She invited me to dinner at her home the week I left in Sept of 68...   She had big boobs for a Vietnamese and very white skin....she wore lot's of make-up and kept her hair in a bee-hive.  She was the one who worked at Air Vietnam in the early 60's.  Her Vietnamese name was some version of Miss Kook..."Rose"... While I was there  was Ahn.....Rose....in Radio....Miss Dung was a teenager who ran the coffee closet.....there was an older Vietnamese woman who was secretary of engineering and another who helped with admin at the front door....Papa Son Nauht or "Knot" was the janitor who had once served in the French Foreign Legion and there was a very skinny maid.  Any other Vietnamese people stayed in the shop or garage out back and I never saw much of them....
Dickie

wFrom:  Dick Ellis
wtDate:  January 2, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
When I was there from July 67 to September 68 there was a small closet at the end of the hall and someone had cut the door into a "Dutch door" with a small shelf and half of it closed.   Miss Dung was the tall slim lady who worked in there...and sold pastries that she bought on the way to work....it was just developing at that time.....   She married one of our guys and came back to the states and had her name changed to Hong....   Who married her?  
I understand later it developed into a larger facility and was eventually moved to the back lot.... wow...
Dickie.

wFrom:  John Thomas
 wtDate:  January 2, 2014
Subject:   Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
Yes, S/Sgt Allen was an engineer.  He was to take over the transmitter when I left.  Since I spent most of my time in the transmitter building, and was only at AFVN for a few months I didn't get to know many people.  Most of my tour was spent at Long Phu in the Delta.
John Thomas ETN2

wFrom:  Tim Bodle
wtDate:   January 2, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
Rick, I believe you are correct.  Mai and I went to the movies a few times.  Nice person.

wFrom:  Jim White
wtDate:  January 1, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose
Your comments are interesting but seem to deepen the mystery even more.  Now I may have three "Roses" to wonder about.  I know that Rose Hahn was the Secretary & Telephone Operator for Admin and I'm sure that is Rose Hahn in this photo.

wFrom:  Ron Turner
wtDate:  January 1, 2014
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose
The Rose.  When I arrived at AFVN engineering while Bill Seeger (CWO) was OIC, Rose (I believe the only Rose in the building) was the Engineering Secretary.  She remained in that position until after I left at the end of May 72.  During most of this time CWO3 MacDonald was the Engineering OIC.
The Rose I knew was pleasant enough looking, but not star quality.  To say I was one of her fan club would involve considerable hyperbole.  I believe she was the relative (niece of granddaughter) of the Minister of Information.  The NCOIC of Danang site, Bobbie? xxxxx?,  remarked that some time before she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.  Around Dec (?) of 71 she married an ARVN helicopter pilot who had a picture of himself at one of our Aviation schools with the Pres. of the U.S.  He seemed to be a very nice young soldier.  The wedding was a very large affair as East Asian weddings usually are.
She was a very competent secretary who was rewarded for her competence by being graded as an administrative assistant.  Every few months the manpower eval people downgraded her and I would get an old friend in J3-33 to restore the position.  Sometime after the April Fools Day invasion (CWO MacDonald and I were in Hue) Rose's bus was hit broadside by a US contractor's vehicle resulting in much injury to include a completely broken arm (bone broken and displaced).  Rose had been in the hospital for about ten days when her husband came and asked us to do something, that she had not had the arm set yet.  CWO Mac and myself accompanied him to the hospital and found her looking like a concentration camp victim (slate gray, little animation, etc, etc).  It seems that all the ARVN/Civilian doctors were tied up with combat (perhaps the An Loc battle was raging).  The next morning I went and talked with the 2nd [3rd?] Fld Hosp commander and he refused to take her (although the hospital was basically empty) and said that only if the Vietnamese stated that could not care for her (fat chance) or the US Ambassador request that she be cared for would he take her.  CWO Mac and I conferred back at #9 HTT and decided that the US Counsel General was our best bet - That evening I called him at home and he agreed to intervene and assured me that she would be admitted in the AM to have her there.  Her family took care of getting her there.  Much of the staff of the hospital was lined up at the emergency entrance (next to the morgue - which always seemed a little in bad taste) with the Hospital commander at the front of this sort of medical receiving line.  When I walked up to her as they received her the hospital commander seemed to be a little disoriented, whatever.  The hospital had extended their ace orthopedic surgeon a week to personally handle her case.  If I remember correctly, the arm had to be rebroken and pinned together.
She returned to work somewhat later after thriving on the hospital chow.  That is pretty much what I knew of Rose. 

wFrom:  Ken Kalish

wtDate:  December 30, 2013

Subject:  Website Update - December 29, 2013

I am sure the one at the typewriter is Miss Rose.

Ken

Miss Rose Kook (Sp?), Music Library

(Received from Ray Profeta on December 30, 2013.)

wFrom:  Ray Profeta

wtDate:  December 29, 2013

Subject:  Website Update - December 29, 2013

A while back we were talking about the two ladies that work in the music library or as secretary.  I have a picture of the two that were there when I was, Jun 68 - Jul 69.  Miss Ann and Rose, if I remember the names right.

wFrom:  Steve Wiltsie

wtDate:  December 2, 2013

Subject:  AFVN Roster - Vietnamese Personnel

Jim,

I’m pretty sure you are correct about the two Ms. Hahn’s, or Ahn’s.  And I think you are right about their departments at AFVN during the time you specified.  I remember that Major Dove spoke of the “co-Ahn’s” from time to time (meaning there were two of them.)

Steve Wiltsie

wFrom:  pghermine@aol.com

wtDate:  December 1, 2013

Subject:  AFVN Local Vietnamese Employees

Please spell out AFVN, I understand what VN stands for , but AF is Air Force?

[I (JimW) replied that AFVN meant American Forces Vietnam Network, but no answer received as of May 27, 2014.]

wFrom:  Jim White

wtDate:  November 30, 2013

Subject:  AFVN Roster - Vietnamese Personnel

Good Morning,

Have been emailing back & forth with Bob Morecook and have been thinking about adding the Vietnamese personnel to the AFVN Roster.  Would like add the guards also but there is no way to find their names.

I have the following names for August 1970-June 1971 when I was there.

Ms. Swan - Engineering

Rose (Ahn?)  Telephone (Admin)

Ms. An

Ms. Hahn - Supply (came to AFVN in late 1970 and before Jan 6, 1971

Ms. Hahn - A "second" clerk with the same name?

Ms. Kim Ba (Ms.) Dao - Driver

Mr. (Pop) Nyung - Driver

Can any of you expand on these names and/or the years they were at AFVN?

Cooperation, both required and appreciated,

Jim W

wFrom:  Jim White
wtDate:  January 4, 2013
Subject:  Miss Ahn and Miss Rose * Miss Swan
Ron,
I'm a little slow in responding to your message because I took some time to try to organize our correspondence on this topic (See AFVN Website / Vietnamese Local Hire Employees).
I may be wrong about the girl I am identifying as the Admin Office's "Rose Hahn," however, I am very sure that Ms. Swan was never in Admin--at least not when I was with AFVN from August 1970 to June 1971.  Ms Swan may have been answering the phone and typing in the Engineer Section, but certainly not at the main telephone switchboard near the Admin Office and the Mail Room.  In my diary, for May 13, 1971, I have a comment that "CWO Seeger objected (to having the Vietnamese clerical staff help with the collating the AFVN Survey).  He said that his clerk, Ms. Swan had 'too much rank.'"  That puts her "squarely" in the Engineering Section when you with AFVN (71-72).
Jim