During the Vietnam war, US troops believed that Vietnamese traditions held the symbolism of the spade to mean death and ill-fortune. In a bid to frighten and demoralize Viet Cong soldiers, it was common practice to mockingly leave an Ace of Spades on the bodies of killed Vietnamese and even to litter the forested grounds and fields with the card. In 1966, at the request of two US lieutenants, the United States Playing Card Company supplied the infantry with crates, in bulk, of this single card.
