.32 ACP. 3.3" barrel. SN:315595K. (mfg. ca. 1941) Formerly high polished blued finish with bright chamber fixed sights, and mounting post-war two-piece WALTHER banner brown synthetic grips. Simple blowback operated DA/SA autoloading pistol fed by detachable single stack magazines with provenance connecting it to an alleged Viet Cong officer called Ho-Dong-Do. Left slide shows WALTHER banner followed by two-line address and model marking reading Waffenfabrik Walther, Zella Mehlis (Thur)/Walther's Patent Cal. 7,65 m/m Mod. PPK. Item shows the {Eagle/N} commercial proof on the right chamber and muzzle. Left frame additionally struck with the {Swastika C} mark indicating this handgun was originally procured for police use by Nazi Germany. Handguns of this pattern entered wide circulation after World War II, occasionally seeing distribution as military aid to assorted nations, including Vietnam. Magazine struck with WALTHER banner over PPK 7,65mm. The action is incomplete and missing the sear and cocking piece. Multiple internal components show signs of rough field repair or replacement, including the trigger bar and hammer plug.

Included with the handgun are a Phoenix Program wanted poster, American bring-back papers, and Vietnamese exportation papers. The poster is mounted in a red aluminum frame, with the sight measuring 15.5" x 10.25", and shows the {Phoenix Emblem}/Phung Hoang, the South Vietnamese patch for the Phoenix Program. A rough translation accompanying the text reads: "Here is the name of the Viet Cong Cadre that the Phoenix Program is Hunting.

Name: Ho Dong Do (also known as Ho Thanh)
Father: Ho Van Tong
Mother: Tong Thi Thoi, residing in Nam Hamlet, Tan Village
Chairman of the Chach Mang People's Committee
Tan-Tanh Commune in Tanh-Binh Quan

Dear Compatriots!
If you know the hiding place of the above Viet-Cong officer, please notify the National Police Department. You will be respected and your names will be kept confidential.

Cung Banh Do!
You can't hide forever because everyone has recognized you. Please go to the Hoi-Chanh to enjoy the leniency of the monk to see Chanh-Phu. You will be warmly welcomed and treated kindly.

Phoenix Committee
Kien-Phong Province."

Also included are the signed and dated Registration of War Trophy Firearms form, War Trophy Registration/Authorization form, Temporary Export License, and South Vietnamese issued Export License for this firearm issued to Captain Walther F. Malcoim of the MACV Advisory Team 84, which was active in Kien Phong, a province located in the Mekong Delta. Documents dated 10 August 1970. This appears to be a typo, but a Captain Walter F. Malcolm of Springfield, Massachusetts did, indeed, serve as an intelligence officer in Vietnam. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on April 27, 1945, Malcolm graduated from Cathedral High School in 1963, and attended the University of Massachusetts where he joined the ROTC program. He later studied at the Foreign Language Presidio in Monterey, California, before officially joining the United States Army in 1969. Soon ascending to the rank of Captain, Malcolm would return to civilian life and work as a tax consultant and financial advisor.

The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, typically shortened to MACV, provided military assistance to the Republic of Vietnam through numerous means from information gathering to direct action against he enemy. From 1968 through 1972, this included the "Phoenix Program", an operation intended to locate and annihilate the infrastructure of the Communist movement within South Vietnam. While details regarding Phoenix and its operations remain speculative, growing scrutiny regarding the brutal methods employed resulted in the eventual shelving of Phoenix as an American led effort, though the operation continued afterward, allegedly as Plan F-6.

Additionally accompanied by a copy of Douglas Valentine's "The Phoenix Program", which describes the successful use of bounty posters in Kien Phong Province in 1969 on page 284. Though sparse on details, it is possible one of the operatives captured in this fashion is the very man pictured in the included wanted poster. {C&R}

Fair. Bore is dirty with some residues that may clean to Bright with strong rifling. Metal finish shows pitting on slide flanks and particularly the rear slide, and an indentation to the left frame spur. Brown patina dominates on grips with some blue remaining on the upper frame flanks and in places on slide. Barrel with gray to brown mottling forming through polish. Grips with some scattered light scratches. Poster and all original papers exhibit age toning and some stains. Staple holes and tears to bring back paperwork. Vietnamese export paper is flaking and shows some tears. Action is nonfunctional due to missing parts.