"Five O'clock Follies," Saigon

 

This is the building where U.S. and allied spokesmen would brief journalists on military action during the previous 24 hours. The media referred to the daily, joint news conference as the "Five O'clock Follies," because correspondents often knew more than the briefers, having just returned from the battlefield. In the photo, you can see the doorway, just beyond, and to the left of, the cyclo. The Caravelle Hotel is the high rise in the background, where many news bureaus were located, so reporters could just walk across Tu Do Street for the afternoon briefing at 5 p.m. In the foreground, we see a Vietnamese gentleman urinating on a large planter, which served as the pedestal of the Soldiers Monument, and was removed by the victors after the fall of Saigon. Fredericksen, circa 1986.