A hooch maid was a

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

ese woman employed to clean the shelters and keep house for American servicemen during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Description

American soldiers in

sometimes called the dwellings of Vietnamese civilians "hooches" (possibly a borrowing from Japanese 家 ''uchi'', "dwelling"). Thus, the Vietnamese civilian women who maintained the dwellings were called "hooch maids". These women typically worked six days a week, cleaning and maintaining the rooms and belongings of the soldiers. If their work quality was deemed to be sufficient, they could be given goods from the base exchange, which could be turned into extra income on the black market. The military generally allowed most officers and non-commissioned men to have hooch maids, whenever these men wanted and requested their services. In

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...

, military trucks picked up the maids at designated stops in the city every morning, and returned them in the evening. Issues often arose between the soldiers and the maids, due to cultural differences, including how to clean clothes properly, and how much soap to use when washing the clothes. Maids also cooked for the men when appropriate. The maids could earn as much as a captain in the

South Vietnamese Army The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...

, although it was often less. One soldier described the maids as being "...good Catholics who might flirt with you but would never date an American soldier." Nonetheless, some maids reportedly had sex with soldiers to earn extra income.

References

{{Reflist Vietnam War Women in Vietnam Civilians in war Maids Vietnamese domestic workers