The ace of spades is placed on the first person that the soldier kills. If a soldier has his ace of spades, he has not killed anybody yet.
It also stood for -DEATH-. During the Vietnam War, it was a common misconception among US soldiers that the Vietnamese believed the ACE OF SPADES stood for DEATH.
Which is WHY American troops would distribute ACE OF SPADES playing cards on dead VC bodies. While the Vietnamese did not originally associate the ACE OF SPADES with DEATH, the card did become an effective weapon in the psychological battle with the Viet Cong. As a symbol it was also a very effective tool in the maintenance of moral among US fighting men. In fact, leaving the card on the bodies of dead Vietnamese soldiers became such a popular practice among G.I.'s that the BICYCLE playing card company was asked to manufacture that single card and ship it to Vietnam by the crate. These crates where often marked with the label "BICYCLE SECRET WEAPON." The card could also often be spotted tucked into the helmet webbing of American Infantry and Marines.
It also stood for -DEATH-. During the Vietnam War, it was a common misconception among US soldiers that the Vietnamese believed the ACE OF SPADES stood for DEATH.
Which is WHY American troops would distribute ACE OF SPADES playing cards on dead VC bodies. While the Vietnamese did not originally associate the ACE OF SPADES with DEATH, the card did become an effective weapon in the psychological battle with the Viet Cong. As a symbol it was also a very effective tool in the maintenance of moral among US fighting men. In fact, leaving the card on the bodies of dead Vietnamese soldiers became such a popular practice among G.I.'s that the BICYCLE playing card company was asked to manufacture that single card and ship it to Vietnam by the crate. These crates where often marked with the label "BICYCLE SECRET WEAPON." The card could also often be spotted tucked into the helmet webbing of American Infantry and Marines.
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aldremech:
My step father brought home some of the MACSOG cards. I guess they were really unpopular with the townsfolk as well
nikonphoto80:
very interesting, I didnt know that stuff, or maybe I did and forgot about it, not sure, but my dad was in the Vietnam war.