Việt Nam Cộng Hòa Rural / Agricultural Development 1968

This postcard shows a flower kiosk in Saigon, SOUTH VIETNAM, during the Vietnam War. It was posted on 31 May 1968 from Vung Tau, South Vietnam and destined for Edinburg, Scotland.

On the reverse side of this postcard there are two stamps, same design, from the Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Cộng Hòa). The design, showing a bulldozer and farmers, was first issued on 26 January 1968,   to illustrate rural or agricultural development (Xây Dựng Nông Thôn) in South Vietnam. The artist / designer was Nguyễn Đức Tuấn. 

I found the postcard interesting in that two ARVN soldiers, Vietnamese women wearing the traditional Áo Dài and other civilians are pictured around the flower stall. 

To put 1968 in perspective,  the Battle of Khe Sanh, Tet Offensive and Massacre in Hue during the Vietnam War occurred earlier in January. The North Korean government seized the USS Pueblo and its crew of eighty-three in January. The U.S. Civil Rights Act initiated by JFK became law in April. Civil Rights leader  Martin Luther King was assassinated in April. Massive student protests and strikes across France happened in May. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June. Richard Nixon was elected U.S. President in November.  I was an Eighth Grade student at Bookcliffe Junior High School in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

It's almost hard to imagine this all happed nearly 60 years ago.