Some war stories were thought to be more Vietnam myth than reality. After the war, veterans spoke in hushed tones at bars in local VFWs about U.S. Navy SEALs operating independently in the jungles and about strange psychological warfare operations—but were those stories real? It wasn’t until 50 years later that we learned some of them were true. The stories of men with code names such as “Phantom” and “Ghost Walker” remained unrevealed for over 50 years. Another difficult-to-believe account was the story of “Salt and Pepper”.
As a young Second Lieutenant, I attended a school in Vũng Tàu for newly assigned “Phoenix” advisors assigned to MACV district teams in Vietnam. During one session, the Major in charge told us to be on the lookout for two men: one Caucasian and one dark-skinned, possibly a Black soldier. Nicknamed “Salt and Pepper” (the Caucasian was also known as “Pork Chop”), they were the subject of a high-priority mission. If we received any intelligence about them, we were to report it immediately to the 525 MI Group in Saigon. This mission carried the same FLASH priority as a “Brightlight” mission to recover American Prisoners of War. Even the Major laughed, however, saying it was probably just a myth about two American GIs who had deserted and gone over to fight for the enemy.
We were told that these two men had initially been spotted along the DMZ in the northern part of Vietnam along the Laotian border. These two men were allegedly wearing North Vietnamese uniforms and we’re fighting with our enemies. A lot of commanders in the field dismissed these reports. Some felt that these stories were illusions, but the reports kept coming in on numerous occasions. Eventually these reports spread throughout most of Vietnam, and we were told as intelligence officers to be on the lookout, just in case there was some truth to this War Story.
The turncoats, if they really existed, came to be known as “Salt and Pepper”. They seemed to move with a skill that made them almost untouchable. They left a trail of confusion, theft, and violence that remains unsolved, and refuses to fade from the annals of the Vietnam War.
According to some of the reports that were issued at the time these two men were highly skilled at stealing American supplies and equipment and spreading anti American propaganda. It was reported that they had been spotted in enemy territory wearing Việt Cộng uniforms and carrying AK47 rifles. Even after 1969 MACV reported repeated encounters with a white and black team embedded with enemy units. Many of these reports were analyzed and it was thought that the potential Americans working with the North Vietnamese we’re actually working as ‘rice mules’. A ‘rice mule’ was someone who was involuntarily drafted into the North Vietnamese supply operation to move equipment and food along the Hồ Chí Minh trail. It was known that in some cases captured ARVN soldiers were forced into these logistical operations, and it was thought that possibly Americans were put in that situation as well.
Some of the intelligence reports indicated that “Salt” and “Pepper” were skilled radio telephone operators and that they would often use captured American communications equipment to lure Americans into ambushes, and work to redirect artillery fire away from NVA units that were operating in the field. Again, much of this is speculation, but there were a multitude of reports and as an intelligence analyst when you start receiving more than one report of the same incident from different sources you have to think that there’s some reality to those reports. As late as 1970 there were still reports of “Salt” and “Pepper” operating, and those reports began filtering into the Mekong delta, although the vast majority of the reports came from the northern part of Vietnam.
Based on the sightings a military artist even composed a wanted poster that was distributed throughout South Vietnam. The brass wanted to capture both of these men badly, so bad that it even broke its own policy and released the information to ABC News. Needless to say, nothing came of it. Despite the documentation, intelligence reports, and speculation, the truth remained buried under layers of secrecy. More than a half-century later, the legend of “Salt and Pepper” endures. It remains one of the strangest and most unsettling unsolved mysteries of the Vietnam War.
Unclassified U.S. Government sketch of “Salt” (aka-“Pork Chop”) and “Pepper”
According to a Defense Intelligence Report posted in July of 1981, the identity of “Salt” and “Pepper” has never been positively established. Reporting on “Salt” and “Pepper” had a fairly consistent pattern: – The two collaborators were always in the company of enemy forces. – Their activities were limited to propaganda, communications, transportation, and other comparable functions. – They were unarmed and frequently appeared ill or somewhat fatigued. – Both spoke Vietnamese fluently, however, when talking to each other they spoke English. DIA conducted an investigation in hopes of establishing the identities of “Salt” and “Pepper.” Three indigenous sources who had provided information on the collaborators were shown several photographs of unaccounted for U.S. personnel. All three sources independently selected photographs of a Caucasian, (Killed in Action by Presumptive – KIA (PFOD) as being “Salt.” Finding of Death and another Caucasian disappeared without checking out on Liberty.
According to a DIA report, “Recently, five separate sources have observed a Black man in Hanoi between the end of 1980 and May 1981. The Black man was apparently under no restraints and was living in Hanoi or its environs. A Japanese Embassy Hanoi staffer approached this Black during a shopping trip to Hanoi at the Đông Xuân market during late May 1981 . The staffer said in English, “Hello, are you an American?” The man replied, “No, no.” The Japanese then asked, “Did you come from the USA?” The man answered, “No, goa-goa.” Having said this, he went away.”
“Dr. Larry Ward, President of Food for the Hungry International, was in Hanoi recently and observed a Black male with a gray stubble beard riding a bicycle. The Black man attempted to shield himself from view when he realized Dr. Ward was looking at him.”
After the communist takeover, DIA received several refugee reports concerning (Name withheld). If (Name withheld) had not surfaced and become available in Danang, debriefings, those refugee reports probably would not have been correlated. (Name withheld) On the surface, the experience appears seems to imply that other deserters similarly unknown to DIA may still remain in Vietnam. This implication must be weighed against the fact that the communist authorities expelled several other Americans who remained in Vietnam, despite their expressed desire to continue to reside there. DIA efforts will continue to identify any deserters/collaborators reportedly remaining in Southeast Asia.”
So based on these reports by the Defense Intelligence Agency it appears that even into the 1980s potential reports of the existence of “Pepper” still existed. Whether or not “Salt” and “Pepper” actually existed or are Vietnam War myth live still today. Whether or not either of them are still alive is questionable. Today they would be in their 80s or 90s. With the opening of Vietnam to American tourism and US businesses that have established themselves in Vietnam the existence of “Salt” and “Pepper” may never be known.
Myth? Reality? Perhaps history will eventually decided!
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Again, please look at all my books that I have listed. They can be reviewed and/or purchased from Amazon.com with the click of a button directly from my website: http://www.ptaylorvietnamadvisor.com, at Authors Published Works.
The Advisor Series:
- “The Senior Army Instructor; The Paul Tyler Saga Begins” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/BOGSXJ2ZHC)
- “The Advisor, Kien Bing, South Vietnam, 1969-1970. A Novel” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L4X5NQ3)
- “The Province Senior Intelligence Advisor, Kien Song Province 1970-1971; A Novel” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHL2XCX5)
- “The Hardchargers,” Vietnam 1972-1973; A Novel” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7SPR1JY)
- “The Tuscarora Trail” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3QY2GM6)
Civil War History/Fiction:
- “A Civil War History of Harrison County West Virginia 1861-1865” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0B1CLL28Q
- “The Most Hated Man in Clarksburg” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B0C6429M1X
Science Fiction: (Chuck Neighbors author, Taylor *editor/**co-author)
- *“Destiny” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6WGWHLS
- *“HomeFall” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJN1JLWF
- **“The Planet’s Revenge; The Katy Sterling Saga Continues” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYQBHC6C
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