White Army Uniform for South American Advisor

[Dave]

Thought nkomo would get a kick out of this one given his collecting interest.

 

Unfortunately, I no longer have my thorough information on him, but his name was LTC Lewis C. Keith. He served in Vietnam and later served as an "advisor" in South and Central America to several countries, working out of the embassies there. If I can find any copies I made of his NPRC research, I'll post it up here.

 

The uniform has an interesting story. LTC Keith lived two houses down from my grandmother in east Los Angeles. My dad was visiting my grandmother sometime in the early 90s (I think it might have been around 1990 or 1991) and saw that this fellow was having a yard sale. As my dad rolled down there, a flea market "scavenger" came out with an entire armload of all of his uniforms...dress blues, class "A"s, fatigues and the like. Well, the one she didn't get (because she was stupid and didn't know uniforms well, evidently) was the white one on the railing. My dad paid a whopping $15 for it "with the stuff on it" (or "$5 without the stuff")! Turns out that LTC Keith was having a moving sale in preparation for moving down to Brazil permanently (where his GORGEOUS wife was from...) where he was going to work for a "security company". Really one of those odd guys who worked for companies that were the precursors to Blackwater.

 

Anyway, it was a fascinating uniform to a fascinating fellow. I think I peddled it on eBay sometime around 1996 or so (when this photo dates from).

 

Enjoy!

 

Dave

[swag]

I love the dress whites, they have such a nice, sharp look to them.

[Dave]

Okay, strangely enough, I was able to find his NPRC stuff. Nothing too in depth, but here is his record of assignments:

 

Nov 68, Commissioned through OCS

Jun 69, MACV III Corps, Xuan Loc Vietnam

Jul 70, HQ Co 2nd Bde, 82nd Abn

Nov 70, C Co, 3rd Bn, 325th Abn

Dec 71, HQ co 2nd Bde, 82nd Abn

Jun 74, VMI (Prof of Mil Sci)

Jul 78, USAFO TRG DET FGGM Brazil

Jul 80, HHQ 2nd Bn, 505th Abn

Aug 81, HHC XVIII Abn Corp

Jul 83, Staff USMA

Sep 85, US Army Attache Mexico

May 86, USAE DAS DIA TEGUCIGAL, Honduras

 

And that's the end...he retired in March 1988 after his tour in Honduras.

 

Interesting!

 

Dave

[Nkomo]

You sold it back in 1996? That is a shame.....because it would have made a great addition to my collection! Seriously, very nice uniform and if you ever have any more uniforms from US advisors in Central America, let me know. Would love to know what he was doing in Honduras in 1986. I have a good idea though.

[Spathologist]

Would love to know what he was doing in Honduras in 1986. I have a good idea though.

 

DAS = Defense Attache Service; DIA = Well, guess.

 

USAE is the standard acronym for US Army Engineers, but this guy was Infantry, so it might mean something else.

[Wailuna]

...DAS = Defense Attache Service; DIA = Well, guess....USAE is the standard acronym for US Army Engineers, but this guy was Infantry, so it might mean something else...

In this context it means U.S. Army Element of Defense Attache Service of the "you-know-what" agency. Generically, USAE is a catch-all unit for soldiers permanently assigned to joint or combined commands. This fellow was probably Assistant Defense Attache in Honduras.

[RKeith]

Hi, I'm Lewis C. Keith's daughter. Is there anyone who might be able to help me find out more information about him? Or advice on how to navigate NPRC? They weren't willing to get me any more than his DD214.

 

At one point I had his OER (officer efficiency reports) which were fun to read but I can no longer find them. I'd love more information about my dad.

 

Thanks in advance. Happy to provide a private email if that is better.

Priscilla

[MattS]

As his daughter, you can request a copy of his full records free of charge from the NPRC using a SF 180 form: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf