Archive Photo of the Day: Santa at customs in Vietnam, 1970.
Santa Claus gets the once-over from the locals as he waits for permission to enter South Vietnam after arriving at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in December, 1970. His visit proved to be a short one, though, as he was denied entry because he didn't have a visa. Santa, also known as Pan American World Airways mechanic Jim Straughan of Miami, Fla., had come to Vietnam to pass out Christmas goodies to patients in U.S. field hospitals and Vietnamese orphanages. He and two other Pan Am employees left for Manila after an hour of wrangling with the bureaucracy, hoping to get the necessary visas there.
Santa Claus gets the once-over from the locals as he waits for permission to enter South Vietnam after arriving at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in December, 1970. His visit proved to be a short one, though, as he was denied entry because he didn't have a visa. Santa, also known as Pan American World Airways mechanic Jim Straughan of Miami, Fla., had come to Vietnam to pass out Christmas goodies to patients in U.S. field hospitals and Vietnamese orphanages. He and two other Pan Am employees left for Manila after an hour of wrangling with the bureaucracy, hoping to get the necessary visas there.
