Dated Chevron Boxes

[patches]

Found this great image of a box for subdued Vietnam War PV2 stripes, August 1969, the DSA number with 70 we take it is for the fiscal year 1970. It's on E-Bay, but it's not the whole box for sale, just individual stripes, I guess you can buy them in pairs.

 

 

[patches]

Perhaps if others find dated boxes from any era of EM Chevrons you can post it here, just like the topic Temski has over in Shoulder Patches of dated boxes of shoulder patches. Might be hard though right, but still it's good to have an open topic to post them if found online or better still bought, and you post photos of the box here.

[seanmc1114]

The interesting question about subdued E-2 stripes from that era is who would wear them? For the most part, the subdued chevrons were intended to worn in Vietnam, though you would occasionally see them in Korea and even more rarely stateside; I'm not sure about Europe. Also, by the middle of 1969, the sew on sleeve chevrons had mostly been replaced by metal pin on collar insignia. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was the standard practice to promote all E-2's to PFC E-3 when they went to Vietnam so the only E-2's you should have found in-country were those who had been busted back.

[patches]

The interesting question about subdued E-2 stripes from that era is who would wear them? For the most part, the subdued chevrons were intended to worn in Vietnam, though you would occasionally see them in Korea and even more rarely stateside; I'm not sure about Europe. Also, by the middle of 1969, the sew on sleeve chevrons had mostly been replaced by metal pin on collar insignia. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was the standard practice to promote all E-2's to PFC E-3 when they went to Vietnam so the only E-2's you should have found in-country were those who had been busted back.

Well at least the "E-2" subdued sleeve insignia, would be worn by pre 1968 PFC E-3s, remembering that this type, US machine embroidered on "Twill" first became available in mid-ish-late-ish 1966, supplementing the In country made ones that were already being worn at that time.

 

The only difference here is the nomenclature on the box and the date, as this grade insignia was no longer for PFC E-3s.

 

On no true E-2s pre or post 1968 (IE was that were newbies and not busted)? Not totally convinced of that, in Stanton, for the period of the Vietnam War 1 Jan 61- 31 Dec 76, numbers given for Army E-2 Combat deaths is 295 Non Hostile 178, also Army E-1 Combat Deaths 87 Non Hostile 55, pretty sure that not all of these guys where problem children and goldbricks who got busted down, some for sure but not all of them.

[patches]

A collection of subdued mosquito wing sleeve ranks n action circa 1968, probably pre-PV2 rank insignia change..

 

 

 

 

 

[Martinjmpr]

The interesting question about subdued E-2 stripes from that era is who would wear them? For the most part, the subdued chevrons were intended to worn in Vietnam, though you would occasionally see them in Korea and even more rarely stateside; I'm not sure about Europe. .

 

So soldiers in CONUS and Europe continued to wear full color chevrons on their fatigues through the 1960's until they went to pin on collar rank? Interesting. If so, then would it be correct to assume that they also wore full color SSIs, badges and black-on-white nametapes? Or was there a gradual phasing in of subdued SSIs and badges?

[patches]

Yes.

 

Take a look through these two topics Martin

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/256148-fatigue-uniforms-part-1-us-army-color-insignia/

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/256856-fatigue-uniforms-part-2-us-army-vietnam/

[patches]

Dated December 1955, a box of Master Specialists.

[patches]

Specialist 1st Class dated March 1956, you will note the Black bobbin thread on this and the above Master Spec ones, this was apparently standard for these 1955 ranks, and the first run of the new Yellow on AG 44 ranks in 1958, probably as a guess started using White Poly bobbin in the early 60s. lets say like 1961.

[patches]

Applique Corporal stripes, Dated January 1945.

[gap]

On 12/26/2016 at 9:01 PM, patches said:

A collection of subdued mosquito wing sleeve ranks n action circa 1968, probably pre-PV2 rank insignia change..

 

 

 

 

 

The lead PFC in the first photo looks like Tom Hanks! 

[patches]

Full Color Corporal Stripes, Dated February 1969.