Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Share #1 Posted November 23, 2014 The following are the uniforms, medals and insignia of First Lieutenant Paul S. Colvin, who was killed in action on 1 August 1967, just a few weeks short of the end of his tour in Vietnam. Fortunately all of his belongings are still in the possession of his daughter. I've been helping the family identify everything, and I thought I'd share the story of this American Hero. We plan to build him a detailed and complete shadow box to tell his full story to the generations to come. Paul Colvin enlisted in the Army in 1963 and served as an infantryman in E Company, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment in 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley Kansas. During his enlisted time he earned the Expert Infantry Badge, the Good Conduct Medal and the expert marksmanship badge for rifle and pistol. After making Sergeant he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer. He served in C Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd Artillery Regiment in 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood until he was selected for pilot training. After he received his wings Paul was sent to Vietnam assigned to the 114th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Brigade, flying UH-1C Gunships. He arrived in Vietnam on 13 September 1966 and was killed the following August. Judging simply by the number of Air Medals he was awarded for combat missions his final year of life was a very busy one. His awards and decorations include two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, two Air Medals for Valor, 32 Air Medals for service(!), two Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citations, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. I'll continue to upload additional pictures. The first picture is of Paul's jungle fatigue jacket. All of the insignia is clearly Vietnamese made. This was worn by Paul in Vietnam and shipped home in his personal effects after he was killed. Note the 144th AHC "Knights of the Air" patch on the right pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted November 23, 2014 The next photo is of his two pocket green fatigue shirt. This was during the transition period from full color insignia to subdued insignia, so it's interesting to see the subdued name tapes with full color EIB, aviator wings, rank and branch insignia. This shirt is shiny from it's last starching in '66 or '67! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted November 23, 2014 The next item is Paul's M-1951 Field Jacket. It features subdued name tapes, full color aviator wings, and pin on metal second lieutenant bars. This is a nearly 50 year old brand new jacket. The condition is incredible. He wore it a few times before going to Vietnam and the jacket has been folded in storage since then. It was obviously never updated after he was promoted in Vietnam, so I believe the second lieutenant bars were pinned on the epaulettes by Paul 48 years ago. The historian in me stood in awe of this time capsule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted November 23, 2014 This is Paul's MA-1 flight jacket. Just like the field jacket, this is in nearly brand-new condition. I believe Paul wore this in pilot training before he received his wings, and never updated it after he was awarded them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted November 23, 2014 Paul's blue Officer's Service Cap with Air Defense Artillery Branch piping and second lieutenant shoulder straps. The hat shows a few signs of it's age, there are small holes from moths or something near the officer's insignia on the front, but overall it's in incredible shape. The hat is sitting on its original plastic bag and its original box. I put it back in he bag and back in the box after I fished photographing it. His dress blues were also present and in their 1960s garment bag, but he removed all of the insignia so there wasn't much to photograph on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted November 23, 2014 There were many sets of Khakis in the storage chest, all of them neatly folded and still shiny with starch almost 50 years after being ironed! I selected one and photographed it. I found the direct embroidered aviator wings, rank and branch insignia very interesting. I assume this was done in Vietnam, but I'm surprised it was authorized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted November 23, 2014 Paul was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for bravery in action. I read the citations and they are both impressive. The first was awarded for actions on 26 March 1967 when Paul helped rescue three downed helicopter crews under fire. The second was awarded for a mission on 28 June 1967 during which Paul repeatedly attacked Viet Cong positions and drew their fire allowing an American Infantry unit to break contact and withdrawal. He also drew the enemy's fire in order to allow multiple dustoff Hueys to land and pick up the infantry unit's casualties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted November 23, 2014 The Distinguished Flying Cross is in it's original box and is engraved with Paul's name on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted November 23, 2014 Here are the certificates for both of his DFCs. It's interesting that they're signed by General Westmoreland, however I would assume this was done with an autopen of some kind due to the volume of certificates they were processing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted November 23, 2014 Next is his Bronze Star in the original box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted November 23, 2014 The Bronze Star is also engraved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted November 23, 2014 His Bronze Star certificate. I found the size of the certificates interesting. I didn't measure them, but they're something like 10"x14", way larger than the modern 8.5"x11" award certificates. My hypothesis is that when the government started producing awards with computers and printers instead of type writers, they had to shrink the certificates down to a size that would fit in a printer. Too bad, the giant certificates are much more impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted November 23, 2014 Paul's engraved Purple Heart and its certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted November 23, 2014 Air Medal with "V" Device and 33 Oak Leaf Clusters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted November 23, 2014 The Air Medal is also engraved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share #16 Posted November 23, 2014 Lastly, here is Paul's 144th AHC party helmet. It features a Viking toting twin machine guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrei Posted November 24, 2014 Share #17 Posted November 24, 2014 Great grouping. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted November 24, 2014 Share #18 Posted November 24, 2014 AWSOME ...... owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted November 24, 2014 Share #19 Posted November 24, 2014 Very nice indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted November 24, 2014 Share #20 Posted November 24, 2014 Amazing group...thank you for posting! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau-Brummel Posted November 24, 2014 Share #21 Posted November 24, 2014 Very poignant and touching grouping, thank you very much for taking the trouble to post It, also please thank Mr Colvin's daughter for allowing It to be shared with us. That Vikings drinking helmet Is a fantastic piece and only the second I've ever seen the other being In the possession of a friend of mine, both display surnames and call signs. I'll let him know about this thread and hopefully he may add something to It, I think he served at around the same time as Paul so It's very possible they flew together. The Vikings spent a lot of time on the Delta and I believe I have some aerial footage of them somewhere, I'll try to dig It out and post It. Yours, Guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain of Armor Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share #22 Posted November 25, 2014 @ Guy, they were definitely down in the Delta, one of his citations explains that he was supporting 9th Infantry Division on that particular mission. Any additional information would be great, I was hoping that the collective historian minds on this forum could give me some addition insights. Paul is listed in the KIA crew members on the 114th AHC website, his story is well documented. I'm a little hazy on the "Knights of the Air" versus "Vikings". To my knowledge the only unit he was in was the 114th AHC which was part of the 1st Aviation Brigade. I need to do some research and figure out if they were in a Battalion or if they were a stand alone company that reported directly to Brigade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted November 25, 2014 Share #23 Posted November 25, 2014 Very poignant group. I am glad the see it has remained with the family after all these years. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau-Brummel Posted November 25, 2014 Share #24 Posted November 25, 2014 Not a huge amount Is written about them and I believe Viking were the Gunship and ARA element, my friend flew B model gun ships. I'll try to find out what I can and post It here for you, thanks again for sharing this. Yours, Guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted November 25, 2014 Share #25 Posted November 25, 2014 Thanks for posting this very interesting group. It is nice having these items all kept together instead of scattered in the wind. I'm glad the family has kept the items . For clarity the Vikings were a gun platoon for the 121st AHC at Soc Trang. The 114th AHC and the 121st AHC were both in the Delta Avn.Bn. (prov) . He could have been transferred between the two. If you go to this website you will see several Viking items http://www.vhpamuseum.org/companies/121ahc/121ahc.shtml Regards, Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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