wagner Posted March 17, 2014 Share #1 Posted March 17, 2014 Hi Guys, I got this flak vest from a vet and he told me it was issued for Arvin. The vest appears unissued. Any more details, on rarity or avaliablity on todays market would be appreciated. Thanks in Advance. -wagner- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageproductions Posted March 17, 2014 Share #2 Posted March 17, 2014 It's a US made flak vest for the South Vietnamese military. Yours is in excellent condition, and these are fairly tough to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted March 17, 2014 Share #3 Posted March 17, 2014 Hi Wagner, I have heard of these being made for ARVN but have never saw one . The parenthesis (RVNAF) would be Republic of Vietnam Air Force and it is 1970 dated. The DSA number looks right but I myself don't know if they made these . If it is real, I would put it in the somewhat rare category as I have not seen one. It looks good to me as far as the way it is made, Either way it is super cool !!! Regards, Mitch Geez Bob you beat me . Glad to here it is real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefallenbuddha Posted March 18, 2014 Share #4 Posted March 18, 2014 I think the abbreviation actually stands for "Republic of Viet Nam Armed Forces." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted March 18, 2014 Share #5 Posted March 18, 2014 Development of these small size ARVN vests is described in this book, which I'd recommend. It's a British publication but I'm sure Amazon US would have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo Posted March 18, 2014 Share #6 Posted March 18, 2014 I will echo the sentiments of the others who have commented here, these are a rather tough piece of gear to find. I've only seen a handful of these in all my years of collecting. Great find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted March 19, 2014 Share #7 Posted March 19, 2014 Similar vest in action. ARVN 25th ID in Cambodia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezman Posted March 19, 2014 Share #8 Posted March 19, 2014 Gil, this photo is great but it is not the same vest, since it has snap closures whereas wagner's vest has velcro closure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefallenbuddha Posted March 20, 2014 Share #9 Posted March 20, 2014 Here's a photo of a similar vest worn at An Loc in 1972 by an ARVN media officer in front of a knocked out NVA tank. He still works in journalism, publishing a veterans' magazine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted March 20, 2014 Share #10 Posted March 20, 2014 Gil, this photo is great but it is not the same vest, since it has snap closures whereas wagner's vest has velcro closure. Similar. Key word is "similar". But yes, the closures are different. The point was to show an ARVN soldier wearing such a vest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks again guys for all the feedback. I'm pondering of letting it go as I collect german daggers. What would be a price range for one like this ? -wagner- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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