1966 Life in Vietnam City Plan or Map of Saigon, Vietnam, for U.S. Servicemen

Selling American cars in Saigon.

This is a fascinating c. 1966 Life in Vietnam city plan of Saigon and Cholon, issued at a pivotal moment in the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975) as American military and civilian personnel poured into South Vietnam. Distributed by Cars International, the map was designed to help newly arrived Americans navigate an unfamiliar capital, identifying streets, markets, shrines, museums, the airport, and other practical landmarks alongside advertisements for American and European automobiles. More than simply a street map, it captures the everyday reality of wartime Saigon: a city increasingly entangled with the American military presence, where orientation, commerce, tourism, and war existed side by side.

A Closer Look

The map details Saigon and adjacent Cholon. Streets throughout are labeled with their Vietnamese toponymy, with symbols and illustrations marking key sites: shrines, museums, the central market, and, of course, the airport. Naval vessels appear in the Saigon River. A star marks the Cars International office. A coordinate grid dissects the map, allowing for the use of the alphabetic street index on the verso. A list of American and European car makes and models available through Cars International appears below the map.

Cars International

Cars International was a car dealer that specialized in serving U.S. military personnel and government employees. Cars International both sold cars and provided infrastructure to send vehicles to servicemen around the world. The organization advertised its services as early as 1963 in the Foreign Service Journal. In 1966, a Congressional investigation found that Cars International did not always follow through on this deal.

Cars International operates in Long Beach, Calif.; Leonia, N.J; San Diego Calif.; Norfolk, Va.; Yokohama, Japan; Yokosuka, Japan; Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, and Vietnam.

[It operates] on a preorder basis, accepting down payments in the banks and promising delivery of automobiles to the United States at a later date.

The Navy lists 28 complaints against Cars International, including nondelivery, difficulty in obtaining refunds, late delivery, breach of contract, not fully equipped, no warranty provided, partial refund, no return of deposit, contracting with minors, misrepresenting sales, poor service after payments, hidden costs, and replies to correspondence either slow or not at all.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by an unknown cartographer and published in Life in Vietnam Magazine c. 1966. Life in Vietnam is a rare publication, and it appears to be independent of the much more well-known Life Magazine. We have found digitized examples of Life in Vietnam from 1966 that include a variant edition of the map. The differences include a different typeface, new place names, and changed illustrations. We have not found any examples of the separate map cataloged in institutional collections.

Condition

Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Closed margin tear professionally repaired on verso. Alphabetic street index on verso.

References

United States Congress House Banking and Currency Committee, 'Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Domestic Finance of the Committee on Banking and Currency. House of Representatives. Eighty-Ninth Congress. Second Session. Held at Newark, N.J. August 19, 1966.' (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office) 1966.