Politics & Power Quote by Hanoi Hannah

A clock time can sound like a courtesy. Here it’s a weapon dressed as scheduling.

Hanoi Hannah’s line - “Our program for American GIs can be heard at 1630 hours” - borrows the U.S. military’s own language to slip under the skin of the people she’s targeting. “1630 hours” isn’t casual radio chatter; it’s the crisp, standardized diction of briefs and orders. Using it is an act of ventriloquism: she’s speaking in the cadence Americans are trained to trust. That’s the first layer of intent: make the broadcast feel official-adjacent, like something meant for them, not aimed at them.

The second layer is the possessive “our.” It’s territorial and taunting. It claims control of the airwaves, the narrative, even the soldiers’ attention. This isn’t “a program,” it’s “our program,” a small declaration that the battlefield includes sound and routine. The line invites a ritual: tune in daily, let the enemy set a point on your mental calendar. Propaganda works best when it becomes a habit.

Context matters: Hanoi Hannah was the nickname for Vietnamese radio broadcasters during the Vietnam War who delivered English-language messages designed to demoralize U.S. troops - mixing music, news, casualty reports, and insinuations about futility and betrayal. The subtext of that neat little timestamp is: we know you, we’ve studied you, and we can reach you whenever we want. It’s psychological warfare as customer service.