Captain Archie Kuntze..Photos?
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Carl Robinson
Aug 3, 2011, 4:17:00 PM8/3/11
to Vietnam Old Hacks
Don North has sent this message on behalf of Vietnam Magazine requesting help on a story about Archie Kuntze. Can anyone help out here? Cheers, Carl
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dnorth6743 <dnort...@aol.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:24 AM
Subject: Captain Archie Kuntze..Photos?
To: robinso...@gmail.com
My friend and editor of Vietnam Magazine Roger Vance is working a story on American Captain Archie Kuntze an infamous social climber in Saigon during the war. Roger is looking for any photos of Kuntze and his lady Jannie Suen.
From: Dnorth6743 <dnort...@aol.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 12:24 AM
Subject: Captain Archie Kuntze..Photos?
To: robinso...@gmail.com
My friend and editor of Vietnam Magazine Roger Vance is working a story on American Captain Archie Kuntze an infamous social climber in Saigon during the war. Roger is looking for any photos of Kuntze and his lady Jannie Suen.
Roger has asked me to remind Old Hacks that he would welcome story suggestions on the war and also appreciate submission of any particularly unique photos..color or black and white that would make good cover photos.
Cheers
Don North
Carl Robinson
Aug 4, 2011, 3:52:10 PM8/4/11
to Vietnam Old Hacks
From Roger Vance at Vietnam Magazine, here is a longer piece on Archie Kuntze and the mysterious Jannie Suen, pictures of whom are urgently sought. We are talking about the "build-up" period of '64-66.
Fascinating guy -- and I do recall how he beat the corruption racket charges that ended of his career. "Never heard from again," eh?!
Best,
Carl
Peter: Thanks for contacting me. Here is a short synopsis of the Archie and Jannie story:
There are plenty of photos available of Archie, but in spite of her
notoriety, we have been unable to find any images via our typical sources of
Suen. Given she was getting a good deal of press at the time, we believe
there must be photos of her out there somewhere.
I appreciate any assistance or ideas on leads you may have.
Thanks.
Roger
Roger L. Vance
Editor, Vietnam
Weider History Group
19300 Promenade Dr.
Leesburg, VA 20176-6500
703.779-8328
703.779.8310 (F)
Roger...@weiderhistorygroup.com
In the spring of 1964 Captain Archie Kuntze, U.S. Navy, was given command of
the U.S. Navy Headquarters Support Activity Saigon (HSAS) to supervise the
U.S. buildup for the rapidly growing conflict in Vietnam and to transform a
small port into a major military base. From 1964-66, he was one of the most
powerful men in South Vietnam, known as “The American Mayor of Saigon.” He
initially administered more than $100 million annually and was independent
of Westmoreland’s MACV. Reporters quickly dubbed Kuntze “the most
influential American in the South Vietnamese capital.”
From the moment Kuntze met Jannie Suen, he went head-over-heels for the 5
feet 3 inch 26-year-old beauty. Suen, who was Chinese, worked in the Taiwan
embassy and wore colorful silk dresses slit up the side to mid-thigh and
carried a parasol to protect her from the bright sun. A Time magazine
correspondent called her “a sinuous Chinese Miss” and “the Saigon Siren.”
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Charles Howe described Suen as “a vest-pocket
Venus with a craving for gossamer green silk and shiny jewelry.”
Kuntze moved from his officer’s quarters into an elegant villa with Suen at
No. 74 Hong Thap Tu Street, called “The White House” by the Vietnamese
press, hosting parties for high-ranking political, military and diplomatic
personnel—and Americans holding or seeking lucrative supply and construction
contracts.
Their lavish parties were “the talk of Saigon” a reporter wrote, and
“everyone who was anyone” sought an invitation. Suen cruised about Saigon in
Kuntze’s 1964 white four-door Buick Electra with its conspicuous white
sidewalls, a Navy flag on the left front fender and an American flag on the
right, driven by a Vietnamese chauffeur. People gaped at Suen in the
back seat in her oversized dark glasses and a high collared Chinese dress.
Critics described the car with the mistress as “offensively loud and
insistent, as well as shameless.”
In 1966 Kuntze was brought up on 12 counts for corruption and
court-martialed in San Francisco. After a 10-day trial in November, he was
found not guilty of 10 charges and guilty on two related to his “conduct
unbecoming an officer”—for letting Suen use his government car and for
living with her out of wedlock. He was found guilty on an additional charge
of abusing his position by importing Thai silk into Saigon for Suen’s
father. He then was allowed to resign from the Navy. Suen was never heard
from again.
There are plenty of photos available of Archie, but in spite of her
notoriety, we have been unable to find any images via our typical sources of
Suen. Given she was getting a good deal of press at the time, we believe
there must be photos of her out there somewhere.
I appreciate any assistance or ideas on leads you may have.
Thanks.
Roger
Roger L. Vance
Editor, Vietnam
Weider History Group
19300 Promenade Dr.
Leesburg, VA 20176-6500
703.779-8328
703.779.8310 (F)
Roger...@weiderhistorygroup.com
Gijs Kijlstra
Aug 5, 2011, 3:13:06 AM8/5/11
to vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Below is a blog entry of the diary of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Paris Clark, Jr, edited by John R. Clark. It includes a picture of Capt Archie C. Kuntze. http://vietnamwarclerksdiary.blogspot.com/2011/02/from-editor-navy-exchange-hair-spray.html
The Navy Exchange, Hair Spray, HSAS, and Corruption
In the previous diary entry on 7 July, Clark wrote, "Believe it or not, hair oil is not available at the PX, and this has
been a sore point with me. The PX has lots of female hair spray and
lots of other ladies items even though there are only about 200 nurses
in all of Vietnam. But they don’t have things like men’s hair oil."
Clark was one of many contemporary observers who noticed that the Navy Exchange stocked quantities of women's items, like hair spray and cosmetics, that exceeded the 700 authorized females in South Vietnam. Clark does not elaborate here, but it was apparent that the exchange stocked the hair spray for Americans to gift their Vietnamese girlfriends. It was also apparent that large quantities of PX hair spray, along with alcohol, cigarettes, stereo equipment, television sets, movie and slide projectors, and clothing consistently appeared on the Saigon black market in the summer of 1965. The story of PX hair spray is a story of corruption.
The Cholon Post Exchange and Commissary Store was located at 100 Hung Vuong Street in the U.S. Navy Headquarters Support Activity Saigon (HSAS or HEDSUPPACT) compound. In 1965, it was the largest and most profitable Navy Exchange in the world. In November 1965, its sales exceeded 8.7 million dollars; the net profit from 1 June to 1 November 1965 was more than $1.75 million, more than twice the amount registered by the second-ranked Navy exchange at Yokosuku, Japan.
The Commissary store was a giant supermarket that served the U.S. military community and stocked a million-dollar inventory that included more than 1,500 canned and packaged items, 122 varieties of meat, and forty kinds of produce.
Captain Archie C. Kuntze was the commander of HSAS, the U.S. Navy's largest off-shore command. In mid-1965, HSAS was a considerable military empire that reported through a chain of command that was independent of MACV. In addition to the PX and commissary, HSAS had the responsibility of unloading ships in Saigon port, disbursing paychecks to all American military personnel in South Vietnam, operating all bachelor officers' and bachelor enlisted quarters, running a field hospital and dental clinic for sick and wounded troops, and feeding and entertaining American military men in clubs and messes. HSAS also had the responsibility for administering more than $100 million in U.S. government funds.
Kuntze was a high-living divorcee who styled himself "The Mayor of Saigon". He slapped backs and shook hands at cocktail parties and social functions as though he were an American big-city mayor. Kuntze hosted his own parties which the American press reported as the most glittering and the talk of Saigon. He acquired a Taiwanese girlfriend, Jannie Suen who was nineteen years younger than him, and lived in an elegant villa at 74 Hong Thap Tu in downtown Saigon.
Kuntze behaved in a manner seemingly calculated to draw attention to himself and to annoy General Westmoreland. For example, HSAS controlled all non-military vehicles in South Vietnam and was responsible for providing MACV with cars for Westmoreland and his senior staff. Kuntze's official car was a 1964 Buick sedan with whitewall tires, the only vehicle with whitewall tires in all of Vietnam. Although Westmoreland was a four-star general and the senior military officer in South Vietnam, HSAS assigned Westmoreland a less-prestigious Chevrolet sedan for his official vehicle. Kuntze also aggressively courted the American and Vietnamese press. Rare was the day that his picture or a story about him did not appear in a Saigon newspaper. Whenever the Viet Cong bombed one of the hotels he had converted into servicemen's quarters, Kuntze rushed to the scene to direct rescue efforts and give briefings to newspeople.
Shortly after assuming command of MACV in 1964, Westmoreland pressed Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp, the commander-in-chief, Pacific, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, to replace HSAS with an Army logistical command. In the spring of 1965, McNamara approved the logistical command and MACV drew up plans to phase out HSAS and turn over the Navy's responsibilities to the Army's 1st Logistical Command by the spring of 1966.
In mid-1965, investigators from the Defense Department, Navy, and Army flew to Saigon to look into problems associated with Kuntze and HSAS. One of those problems involved 150,000 cases of hair spray requisitioned by HSAS. Other problems included unexplained loss of significant quantities of exchange supplies that surfaced on the Saigon black market, and currency manipulation.
By May 1966, Kuntze's empire collapsed. The Navy dissolved HSAS and ordered Kuntze to the 12th Naval District headquarters in San Francisco, California. In a World War II-era barracks at Treasure Island in San Francisco, Kuntze went before a court-martial and faced charges of illegally importing Thai silk in excess of his demonstrated need, illegally converting $12,000 of Vietnamese piasters and U.S. military scrip into dollars, and maintaining a mistress in his personal quarters. In November 1966, a court composed of three admirals and six captains found Kuntze guilty of three acts unbecoming of a naval officer: allowing Jannie to live in his quarters; allowing her to use a U.S. government vehicle; and importing Thai silk. The Navy reprimanded Kuntze and reduced him in seniority, which ended his career. Kuntze retired shortly after the court-martial.
The Navy handled the case delicately because its investigators had uncovered evidence implicating senior South Vietnamese government and military officials in black market activities. Jannie Suen disappeared without a trace.
Clark was one of many contemporary observers who noticed that the Navy Exchange stocked quantities of women's items, like hair spray and cosmetics, that exceeded the 700 authorized females in South Vietnam. Clark does not elaborate here, but it was apparent that the exchange stocked the hair spray for Americans to gift their Vietnamese girlfriends. It was also apparent that large quantities of PX hair spray, along with alcohol, cigarettes, stereo equipment, television sets, movie and slide projectors, and clothing consistently appeared on the Saigon black market in the summer of 1965. The story of PX hair spray is a story of corruption.
The Cholon Post Exchange and Commissary Store was located at 100 Hung Vuong Street in the U.S. Navy Headquarters Support Activity Saigon (HSAS or HEDSUPPACT) compound. In 1965, it was the largest and most profitable Navy Exchange in the world. In November 1965, its sales exceeded 8.7 million dollars; the net profit from 1 June to 1 November 1965 was more than $1.75 million, more than twice the amount registered by the second-ranked Navy exchange at Yokosuku, Japan.
 |
| Inside the Cholon Post Exchange, 1965. (Photo courtesy Richard P. Clark, Jr. collection) |
The Commissary store was a giant supermarket that served the U.S. military community and stocked a million-dollar inventory that included more than 1,500 canned and packaged items, 122 varieties of meat, and forty kinds of produce.
 |
| Inside the Commissary Store, 1965. (Photo courtesy Richard P. Clark, Jr. collection) |
Captain Archie C. Kuntze was the commander of HSAS, the U.S. Navy's largest off-shore command. In mid-1965, HSAS was a considerable military empire that reported through a chain of command that was independent of MACV. In addition to the PX and commissary, HSAS had the responsibility of unloading ships in Saigon port, disbursing paychecks to all American military personnel in South Vietnam, operating all bachelor officers' and bachelor enlisted quarters, running a field hospital and dental clinic for sick and wounded troops, and feeding and entertaining American military men in clubs and messes. HSAS also had the responsibility for administering more than $100 million in U.S. government funds.
 |
| Captain Archie C. Kuntze, commander, Headquarters Support Activity Saigon, 1965. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy) |
Kuntze was a high-living divorcee who styled himself "The Mayor of Saigon". He slapped backs and shook hands at cocktail parties and social functions as though he were an American big-city mayor. Kuntze hosted his own parties which the American press reported as the most glittering and the talk of Saigon. He acquired a Taiwanese girlfriend, Jannie Suen who was nineteen years younger than him, and lived in an elegant villa at 74 Hong Thap Tu in downtown Saigon.
Kuntze behaved in a manner seemingly calculated to draw attention to himself and to annoy General Westmoreland. For example, HSAS controlled all non-military vehicles in South Vietnam and was responsible for providing MACV with cars for Westmoreland and his senior staff. Kuntze's official car was a 1964 Buick sedan with whitewall tires, the only vehicle with whitewall tires in all of Vietnam. Although Westmoreland was a four-star general and the senior military officer in South Vietnam, HSAS assigned Westmoreland a less-prestigious Chevrolet sedan for his official vehicle. Kuntze also aggressively courted the American and Vietnamese press. Rare was the day that his picture or a story about him did not appear in a Saigon newspaper. Whenever the Viet Cong bombed one of the hotels he had converted into servicemen's quarters, Kuntze rushed to the scene to direct rescue efforts and give briefings to newspeople.
Shortly after assuming command of MACV in 1964, Westmoreland pressed Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp, the commander-in-chief, Pacific, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, to replace HSAS with an Army logistical command. In the spring of 1965, McNamara approved the logistical command and MACV drew up plans to phase out HSAS and turn over the Navy's responsibilities to the Army's 1st Logistical Command by the spring of 1966.
In mid-1965, investigators from the Defense Department, Navy, and Army flew to Saigon to look into problems associated with Kuntze and HSAS. One of those problems involved 150,000 cases of hair spray requisitioned by HSAS. Other problems included unexplained loss of significant quantities of exchange supplies that surfaced on the Saigon black market, and currency manipulation.
By May 1966, Kuntze's empire collapsed. The Navy dissolved HSAS and ordered Kuntze to the 12th Naval District headquarters in San Francisco, California. In a World War II-era barracks at Treasure Island in San Francisco, Kuntze went before a court-martial and faced charges of illegally importing Thai silk in excess of his demonstrated need, illegally converting $12,000 of Vietnamese piasters and U.S. military scrip into dollars, and maintaining a mistress in his personal quarters. In November 1966, a court composed of three admirals and six captains found Kuntze guilty of three acts unbecoming of a naval officer: allowing Jannie to live in his quarters; allowing her to use a U.S. government vehicle; and importing Thai silk. The Navy reprimanded Kuntze and reduced him in seniority, which ended his career. Kuntze retired shortly after the court-martial.
The Navy handled the case delicately because its investigators had uncovered evidence implicating senior South Vietnamese government and military officials in black market activities. Jannie Suen disappeared without a trace.
Carl Robinson
Aug 5, 2011, 3:43:55 AM8/5/11
to vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Thanks for filing that, Gijs. Surely, there must be some way to track down the wistful "Jannie Suen" who -- in all references -- "disappeared without a trace." She would've been in her early 20's back then -- or about our ages -- and supposedly came from Taiwan. Unusual name too. Do any of our Sinologist Old Hacks have any contacts in Taiwan on this one?
And reverse-paparazzing this one, wouldn't someone have taken a few snaps at those lavish parties at their Saigon Villa in '65 - 66 ?!
Finally, where would the court-martialed Charlie Kuntze himself be these days -- and perhaps he would know what happened to her. He also disappeared. What an intriguing yarn, really !
Best regards,
Carl
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Brian Williams
Aug 5, 2011, 4:32:26 AM8/5/11
to Vietnam Old Hacks
I'm with carl. Jannie sounds far more interesting than Archie
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 17:43:55 +1000
Subject: Re: Captain Archie Kuntze..Photos?
From: robinso...@gmail.com
To: vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Brian Williams
Athens
3069 44 444 545
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 17:43:55 +1000
Subject: Re: Captain Archie Kuntze..Photos?
From: robinso...@gmail.com
To: vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Carl Robinson
Aug 6, 2011, 7:33:12 AM8/6/11
to vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Here's a contribution from Dirck Halstead on this fascinating character. I can just picture this one ! Damn, it's tough thinking he & the lady just disappeared. Anyone got contacts in the Cayman Islands?!
Best, Carl
I am fascinated by the report on Capt. Archie Kuntze. I remember him from my tour with UPI in 1965-66.
There were reports that he had a "laissez faire" agreement with the VC so that none of his convoys would be intercepted.
His PX goods would show up on the black market at the same time they would go into his huge "Walmart" store.
He was known for showing up on the scene of every bombing in Saigon, in his white-walled command car with sirens screaming.
This is a great story.
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