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Scarf and insignia of 12th Air Commando Squadron Ranch Hand/Agent Orange missions Vietnam 1966


RegularsByGod
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RegularsByGod

Display of memorabilia of James Edward Herbst, crewman on C-123 Provider defoliation missions in Vietnam, 1960's. Jim Herbst had served a hitch in the Navy, including a Pacific cruise around Southeast Asia in the 7th Fleet. After his discharge from the navy he joined the Air Force, serving a tour in Vietnam as part of the Ranch Hand missions, as a crewman on an aircraft from the 12th Air Commando Squadron stationed at Bien Hoa in 1966, that sprayed "Agent Orange" over South Vietnam. He left the Air Force with the rank of Staff Sergeant. I found out that Jim died in 2008 at the age of 64.

 

He gave me all the items in the display back in 1985 or so. He did not want to talk about his service so I received very little information from him. The only other item about his service that he told me was that missions were normally flown at one hundred feet or lower, exposing the crew to small arms fire. He said that steel helmets, flak jackets and "chicken plates" were routinely employed by the air crews for protection. He moved away not long after our few meetings and I never saw him again.

 

His personal Air Force mementos in the display are:

 

Ranch Hand scarf, Ranch Hand plaque piece, US made ribbon bar and lapel pin for the Distinguished Flying Cross, US made ribbon bar and lapel pin for the Air Medal, US made Air Force Staff Sergeant stripe, US made Air Force enlisted man's collar device, Vietnamese made US aircrew cloth wing, Vietnamese made South Vietnam Flight Engineer (Fixed Wing) cloth qualification badge, and Vietnamese made South Vietnam Flight Engineer (Fixed Wing) metal qualification badge.

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RegularsByGod

Close up of the Ranch Hand scarf. Hand embroidered Vietnamese made scarf. The character in the center is a rather botched rendition of the Chinese character for "purple". I remember Jim telling me he had another scarf with full color emblem instead of the white shown here. I never got to see it. The scarf with full color emblem was for parade and dress wear. This scarf with the white embroidery was worn for everyday wear. The name "Herb" at the bottom of the scarf was Jim's nickname in Vietnam, short for his last name of Herbst. After the 309th Ranch Hand flight was flown in Vietnam, South Vietnamese Air Force Air Vice-Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky presented the commander of the flight with his personal violet colored flying scarf, saying "These are your colors. Wear them with pride." After that Ranch Hand personnel wore purple scarves.

 

 

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RegularsByGod

Ranch Hand plaque piece. Painted and enameled brass. Chinese character for "purple" in center.

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RegularsByGod

USAF enlisted Aircrew wings, white hand embroidered on blue cloth, Vietnamese made. Removed from his uniform.

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RegularsByGod

South Vietnam Flight Engineer (Fixed Wing) metal qualification badge. I'm not an expert on these badges but I assume this one is Vietnamese made. Jim was authorized and presented these by a South Vietnamese Air Force officer.

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RegularsByGod

South Vietnam Flight Engineer (Fixed Wing) cloth qualification badge, white hand embroidered on blue cloth, Vietnamese made. Removed from his uniform. Jim said he wore both these and his USAF aircrew wings together on his uniform.

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River Patrol

Nice looking cloth wings and personalized Ranch Hand scarf.

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