Hanoi Hannah

Trịnh Thị Ngọ ([ṯɕïŋ˧ˀ˨ʔ tʰi˧ˀ˨ʔ ŋɔ˧ˀ˨ʔ]; 1931 – 30 September 2016), also known as Thu Hương and Hanoi Hannah, was a Vietnamese radio personality best known for her work during the Vietnam War, when she made English-language broadcasts for North Vietnam directed at United States troops.

Ngọ was born in Hanoi in 1931. Her father, Trịnh Định Kính, was a successful businessman who owned the largest glass factory in French Indochina. She later stated that she grew eager to learn English because of her desire to watch her favorite films such as Gone with the Wind without subtitles. Her family provided her with private lessons in English. In 1955, when she was 24 years old, she joined the Voice of Vietnam radio station and was chosen to read the English language newscast aimed at listeners in Asia’s English-speaking countries. One of her tutors and mentors at the station was Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett. At this time, she adopted the alias Thu Hương, meaning "autumn fragrance", as it was easier and shorter for her non-Vietnamese listeners.

During the Vietnam War, Ngọ became famous among US soldiers for her propaganda broadcasts on Radio Hanoi. Her scripts were written by the North Vietnamese Army and were intended to frighten and shame the soldiers into leaving their posts. She made three broadcasts a day, reading a list of newly killed or imprisoned Americans, and playing popular US anti-war songs in an effort to incite feelings of nostalgia and homesickness, attempting to persuade US GIs that the US involvement in the Vietnam War was unjust and immoral. US Navy ships and personnel were also targeted in her broadcasts, with Ngọ reading out the names of crew members and saying that they were all going to die. She also received and played recorded messages from Americans who were against the war, saying later that she thought these messages were the most effective of all as "Americans will believe their own people rather than the adversary".

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