Wearing regulation vietnam era patches

[Akko]

Hi everyone,

 

since I've recently bought a 3d pattern uniform for VN reenactement.

The only thing that I still need to do, is stitching the patch on it.

But what are the wearing regulations of the Vietnam war (1968)?

Are they the same as WW2 regulations or not? (1/2 inch)

 

Hope you guys can help me!

 

Regards,

Nicolas

[TrenchfootJoe66]

Hi everyone,

 

since I've recently bought a 3d pattern uniform for VN reenactement.

The only thing that I still need to do, is stitching the patch on it.

But what are the wearing regulations of the Vietnam war (1968)?

Are they the same as WW2 regulations or not? (1/2 inch)

 

Hope you guys can help me!

 

Regards,

Nicolas

If your going to a typical grunt in that pattern uniform you dont really need to sew anything on them. You can wear it absolutely blank if ya want. It would be perfectly correct to do so.

[Nate]

I don't know what the offical regulations the army had on insigna, so Im intrested to see what others say.

TrenchfootJoe66 is brings up a good point, most front line troops went through uniforms so fast they didn't even have time to sew there insigna on.

But for the others who did have insigna usually got them sewed on by local vietnamese seamstresses and tailors. So alot of un-standardized things happend.

My friend who served in the 1st logistical command in vietnam in 1970 told his seamstress to sew his leaning sh!t house on at the traditional 10:30 spot. Instead she sewed it on at the 1:30 spot on all his uniforms! Till this day he still wears his M65 jacket with the leaning sh!t house pointing the wrong way! haha

Good luck Akko!

-Nate

[patches]

Hi everyone,

 

since I've recently bought a 3d pattern uniform for VN reenactement.

The only thing that I still need to do, is stitching the patch on it.

But what are the wearing regulations of the Vietnam war (1968)?

Are they the same as WW2 regulations or not? (1/2 inch)

 

Hope you guys can help me!

 

Regards,

Nicolas

 

The "Regulations" I would say remained constant from 1919 to almost the present, ( NEW UNIFORMS YOU KNOW ) but as you will see, in any period there where devations, in place mentof not only shoulder patches but sleeve rank insignias, ranging from the subtle to the WHAT THE HELL DID THIS THINK ! but it would seem that this variation did not occur to often, and apart from the occasional slightly off application of patches in the field in Vietnam, the standars in placement was a given by the 1960s even earlier, going back to the early to mid 50s.

[USMCRECON]

...........But for the others who did have insigna usually got them sewed on by local vietnamese seamstresses and tailors. So alot of un-standardized things happend..............................

That's the point I was going to make when I read the first post.

 

Combat troops in Nam (and most certainly other wars as well) didn't really sweat the "small stuff " all that much. In Recon (or the Marines as a whole) we had no officially authorized patch. That said, several teams and/or platoons had unit-specific patched made by the Vietnamese tailor that had a shop on the combat base (see the Dunn's Raiders patch below).

 

 

Since these were unofficial and unauthorized, they went wherever we wanted to put them, on a breast pocket, over the pocket, on a sleeve, on the bush cover.....whatever. On one point, Top Tuttle was adament;.if we went off our combat base to the Freedom Hill Exchange, post office, Red Cross, USO, Charlie Med, etc, we could not wear a jungle utility jacket or cover with a patch on it

 

I never served in an Army combat unit but I suspect the 1st Sgt of a grunt Company, like our Recon 1st Sgt, had other more important things to do like inventorying the gear of KIAs, keeping the troops in ammo, gear, food, etc to go around with a ruler to measure if the unit patch and/or chevrons were sewn on exactly in reg. In a REMF unit, it might have been a different story and the Top Sgt there might have been more anal about it.

[J_Andrews]

You have not set forth any unit or timeframe, so we can only address the GENERAL SITUATION.

 

In the field, "less was better".

 

Minimalist Method: USARMY tape, name tape, unit SSI.

 

Optional: Rank (at all), skill badges, combat patch (from previous unit/tour of duty).

 

Rank and badges often were worn only on the headgear -- boonie hat preferrred -- and the soft caps got packed away when wearing a helmet.

 

Rear-echelon mothers were much more likely to wear a "full set" and to indulge in pocket patches and odd tabs.

 

Colored versus subdued is another subject entirely, as is the tapes worn horizontally or parallel to the pocket-top....

[Akko]

Thanks everyone for all the replies!

And I learned something again

& I'll remember 'less was better'

 

We're going to reenact the 4th ID (1968)

So maybe it's the best that we don't sew our patches...

I'm going to discuss it with my fellow reenacting mates

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Regards,

Nicolas

[elbertson]

I was taught to sew on SSIs a finger width from the shoulder seam.