Counterfeiting Legally to Disrupt Enemy

digicrypt (60)in #life • 7 years ago (edited)

This is the story of Vietnam veteran Charles J. Zoerb, a man who fought the North Vietnamese with a printing press, I hope you enjoy this story.

The following story is excerpted from a Buffalo News story, the full article can be seen here

“Charles J. Zoerb never set foot in Vietnam, but from his printing presses on Okinawa he helped create weapons to expose North Vietnamese infiltrators and help demoralize the enemy.

So, in his case, you could say the pen was mightier than the sword.

Army veteran Charles J. Zoerb at his home, in Alden on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (John Hickey/Buffalo News)

Zoerb was well prepared for his role in the Army’s 15th Psychological Operations printing branch. Before he was drafted, he had worked as a printer at Arcata Graphics in Cheektowaga. Twenty-two years old at the time, Zoerb had never imagined he would be able to utilize his civilian trade. He was certain that when he was drafted he was destined to serve in the Army infantry in Vietnam.

“We were told to look at the person next to you because he was going to Vietnam, and the person next to you was looking at you. But right after I completed boot camp and two days in advanced infantry training, I was pulled out and sent to Fort Eustis in Virginia,” he said of how the military began making use of his printing abilities.

With a top-secret security clearance, he arrived on the Pacific island of Okinawa on Feb. 18, 1966, assigned to a fully furnished print shop that operated nonstop.

Under the guidance of U.S. military brass and South Vietnamese officials, Zoerb and 29 other printers produced counterfeit money and propaganda leaflets.

A piece of propaganda printed by veteran Charles J. Zoerb. (John Hickey/Buffalo News)

The fake currency, he said, was the more devious of what rolled off the presses.

“It was scattered from airplanes flying above North Vietnam. When infiltrators headed to South Vietnam with that money, they could be identified because the cash had special markings and serial numbers,” Zoerb explained.

Those caught carrying the fake bills would be arrested and interrogated, he said.

“We printed tens of millions of these bills to also flood and destroy the economy in the north,” he added.

“During one eight-hour shift, one of those off-set presses could produce close to 180,000 bills, just to give you an idea of how much money we were printing,” he said. “We also had two sheet presses and they were quite a bit slower, but one of them could print 80,000 bills in a shift.”

A brochure for U.S. troops printed by Army veteran Charles J. Zoerb. (John Hickey/Buffalo News)

Over the years, he has delighted in telling fellow veterans, relatives and friends about his unusual wartime service:

“I tell them that you are looking at the only person you will ever meet who legally printed counterfeit money.”

He says it never fails to produce a chuckle. And that’s when he gleefully adds:

“It’s true.””

Charles J. Zoerb, 73
Hometown: Bowmansville
Residence: Alden
Branch: Army
Rank: Specialist E-5
War zone: Vietnam era, Okinawa
Years of service: Drafted, February 1965 - March 1967
Most prominent honors: Unit Commendation Award, Good Conduct Medal
Specialty: Printer