In the final days of World War II, an unlikely alliance formed in the jungles of Indochina. A small team of American OSS operatives parachuted into northern Vietnam to work directly with Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap. Their mission: support the Viet Minh in fighting Japanese occupiers. This remarkable moment saw American advisors supplying, training, and even saluting alongside communist revolutionaries—just years before the Vietnam War would pit them against one another.
In July 1945, a six-man OSS team code-named Deer Team landed near Tân Trào, a Viet Minh stronghold. The Americans trained Ho Chi Minh’s guerrillas in small-unit tactics, radio operations, and medical treatment. They also helped treat a seriously ill Ho Chi Minh with quinine and sulfa drugs, likely saving his life.
The Deer Team's presence was pivotal. They coordinated parachute supply drops and instructed Viet Minh fighters who would soon take on retreating Japanese forces. This relationship was built not on ideology—but on shared strategic interest in defeating a common enemy.
One of the most powerful symbols of this fleeting alliance was a public flag-raising in Hanoi. OSS operatives and Viet Minh officers stood together and saluted the American flag. General Giap, who would later command North Vietnamese forces against the U.S., stood among them. The moment was real, documented, and profoundly ironic in retrospect.
Although the OSS mission was short-lived, its legacy remains one of the most unusual and revealing chapters of U.S. foreign policy. Within two decades, allies became adversaries—but for a brief moment in 1945, their hands and hopes were joined.
These premium articles are coming soon. Stay tuned!