Description

1945 – 46 Orange Dove & Helmet Japanese printed military card from Saiji Kawame, Miura Party, 1st Special Engineer, South French Indochina Dispatch to Yoshino-village, Iruma – Gun, Saitama Pref. Censored by circular chop of Munakata & with violet framed RELEASED BY / CENSORSHIP with in message text Please don’t worry about me, now I’m in Saigon of French Indochina and hope that I may return as early as possible…….

Indo Chine (present day Viet-Nam, Laos & Cambodia) had been a Fench colony since 1887 By the end of September 1941 Japanese forces had occupied the entire territory yet allowed the Vichy French to maintain as administrators, basically as a puppet Government, until 9 March 1945 when Japan under a Coup took full control due to fearing the Vichy might side with the Allies. Japan surrender mid August 1945 & the first Allied troops under Major General Gracey landed Saigon while Chinese National Revolutionary Army entered the north of the country…

Despite there being around 70,000 Japanese troops taken POW in the South & housed in various Camps in & around Saigon most were repatriated in May – June 1946 but little surviving mail exists & is very rare due to Japanese culture & the stigma attached to being taken prisoner so most families destroyed it.