Chris Noel’s voice on the radio not only brought hope to U.S. troops serving in Vietnam, but her nightly program titled “A Date With Chris” also served as testament to the strength of AM during times of crisis. Now, three radio professionals moved by her story have launched a petition with hopes of honoring Noel with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
As the host of “A Date With Chris” — broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio & Television Services (AFRTS) and the American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN) — Noel was said to have inspired thousands of soldiers with her broadcasts, leading numerous visits to Vietnam amidst her rising Hollywood career.
One such solider was Harry Simons, who embarked on his radio career at age seven at WFAU(AM) in Augusta, Maine, now WMDR. After enlisting in the Marine Corps in high school, he was ultimately stationed in late 1967 in Saigon, Vietnam, where he became the chief engineer of AFVN’s Saigon AM and FM facilities, as well as the network’s nighttime rock ‘n’ roll DJ. It was there that Simons first encountered Noel’s broadcasts. “Only after the experience did I realize how much influence AFVN had on the Americans in Vietnam,” Simons said.
Simons, now living in Pensacola, Fla., collaborated with Mike Bates, who owned WEBY(AM) in Milton, Fla. from 2000 to 2018, to produce a 10-hour radio documentary entitled AFVN: The GI’s Companion. Released in 2015, the pair interviewed many veterans from the Vietnam War — some of whom worked at AFVN facilities while others simply listened while on the warfront.
“They all spoke so highly of Chris Noel and what her nightly program meant to them,” said Bates. It really gave them a reason to live for tomorrow.”
Noel’s reach highlighted the power of AM radio. In Saigon in particular, AFVN could be heard via a 50 kW non-directional antenna, broadcasting on 540 AM from a transmitter near Vung Tau on the South China Sea. “If you were a veteran and you served in Southeast Asia, you knew who she was,” said Simons. “She was the most famous broadcaster in the world at the time.”
But because of the nature of the AFRTS, decades before streaming, Simons said Americans going about their daily lives at home would have never known of Noel’s efforts. “You truly had to be there to understand what was going on,” he said.
To advocate for Noel’s recognition, Simons and Bates, alongside their WFAU colleague Randy Nichols, launched the website HonorChrisNoel.com on Feb. 10. They said they have already heard from hundreds of veterans, active duty, family and friends of service members from all across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and the Netherlands who were impacted in some way by “A Date With Chris.”
Despite previous attempts, the trio said they believe Noel is exceedingly deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “It’s obviously extremely difficult to do. But we all agreed, there could be no one who more epitomizes the spirit and meaning behind this honor than Chris Noel,” said Nichols.
The group is asking veterans and other interested parties to express support of Noel’s service through their petition. The petition will be sent to President Joe Biden to advocate that Noel be considered for the Presidential Medal of Freedom “for her selfless commitment and service to our country as a civilian, in times of war and in times of peace.”
Noel’s acting career began in 1963, leading to roles in twenty movies with MGM and Paramount. Her visit to severely wounded troops in a San Francisco hospital during Christmas 1965 inspired her to audition for an AFRTS show, leading to her becoming the first female broadcaster on Armed Forces Radio since World War II.
She greeted her audience with “Hi, love,” and her charm resonated across the airwaves. Noel initially recorded “A Date With Chris” from Hollywood but, after the Pentagon noted the impact her show was having on the troops, they asked her to visit Vietnam between Christmas and New Year’s in 1966. She would go on to make many more visits to the troops, volunteering to entertain them with song or dance performances.
It would not be an exaggeration to say Noel risked her life on these visits, helicoptering into combat zones, once crash landing near an enemy Viet Cong Village. The Viet Cong, recognizing her influence on U.S. troop morale, placed a $10,000 bounty on her life. “What Chris did was so above and beyond the call, to go to those forward operating bases,” Bates said, “and the troops really appreciated her presence and that she was so willing to risk everything to spend time with them.”
Today, Noel, 82, suffers from PTSD as a result of her wartime trips during the Vietnam War. However, throughout the years, service to veterans continued to be one of the driving forces in her life and, in 1993, she founded the Vetsville Cease Fire House, a shelter for homeless veterans in Boynton Beach, Fl. Noel remains dedicated to supporting veterans with mental and physical disabilities.
