A Vietnam Special Forces Uniform

[kyhistorian01]

Here is another fairly recent find - Named to a Major Norman. I would love to find out more about him but all I have is his rank and last name. A nice addition to my Vietnam display.

 

Pic 1

[kyhistorian01]

2

[kyhistorian01]

pic 3

[63 RECON]

Nice looking shirt. strange but not crazy strange mix of full colour insignia on a rip stop shirt especially for a posting to JFKSW centre. I like how the jump wings are set out a bit so they can be seen from under the collar

[MattD]

Looks put together

[Andrei]

Looks put together or a veteran reunion uniform.

[kyhistorian01]

While the uniform is new to me, it came from a collection that was put together from the mid 1970s through the early 1990s, so if it is a put together it was done a long time ago. It could be a reunion piece but I have no idea, the insignia looks to have been on the uniform for a long time.

[patches]

Have to agree, those TAPES look like they're Nylon Web, something as far as we know not seen during the period of the 60s into the early 70s, even into the early 80s. Though all the rest of the cloth insignia are certainly period early 60s late 60s, too bad the Viet Vet Data Base is now defunct, could looked for him.

[63 RECON]

There is only one Norman I've found and he was an LTC in ,67 so that doesn't work.

[kammo-man]

Agreed .

Its so ugly that it is fancy dress

[gwb123]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with the naysayers. If someone was going to dummy up a Special Forces uniform, they would not have put the JFK Special Warfare school on the the left shoulder. If they were going to go to this much trouble, they would have used another Special Forces patch.

 

The same logic goes for a reunion uniform.

 

School cadre tended to wear color insignia well after the troops in the field switched over to subdued. And name tapes were made from a variety of materials.

 

I think this one is fine.

[63 RECON]

Gil may be right on a few levels. still i think strange to have nearly all full colour on a ripstop shirt.

 

could we see pics of the inside of the shirt were the insignia is sewn please.

[packratt713]

Gil make some good point. But I would say it a put together as for the name tapes they look Korean made and that style was used on BDU till where faded out around 2004/6. Also an officer would not mix New and used BOS / Rank / Badges. Also the jump wing are folder strange large amount of cloth to the left and less to the right. One has to remember the tailor that sew the insignia on hundreds of uniforms a day and none that I have ever meet, would allow that to leave the shop. There is the possibility that it was not done by a tailor,. but that goes back to that he is an officer in a school where the staff is there to set the sanders. So the mix match of used and new insignia is not becoming of an officer at a school. So I would say it put together.

[63 RECON]

That was my thoughts.

 

Mix of insignia for an Officer at the JFK SW school also the CIB being so far away form the US Army tape is strange. But again, hes a major so he may have thought he could get away with it.

 

Also the tapes do look like the embroidered nylon ones used late 70s early 80s. Some close ups might help.

 

Plus....and I know there are exceptions, every JJ I own has the CIB/CMB above the jump wings not like this.

 

what is the date on the shirt?

[63 RECON]

While the uniform is new to me, it came from a collection that was put together from the mid 1970s through the early 1990s, so if it is a put together it was done a long time ago. It could be a reunion piece but I have no idea, the insignia looks to have been on the uniform for a long time.

 

 

could we see some pics of the inside of the shirt please?

 

cheers

[Kadet]

I know little to nothing about VN era uniforms, but I always get a chuckle out of the assumptions that collectors make about officer uniforms somehow being a cut above...more perfectly sewn, absolutely correct in every regard etc etc. I was an officer for 30 years in units that wore camouflage utilities almost exclusively. I recycled old insignia almost every time I got a new uniform,often many times over. Why?..because it was cheaper and easier than buying new stuff and/or having new name tapes made. This was resolved later in my career when our unit began providing uniforms sewn up with or names and the correct insignia, but was definitely the case earlier in my career. Heck, when I was promoted to 05 I got an old set of the correct cloth oak leaves from another guy in my unit and put them on my cover with my wife's hot glue gun. It actually looked just like it was sewn, and I wore it for a year before getting it done the right way. Just sayin'!

[Beau-Brummel]

Indeed!

I know little to nothing about VN era uniforms, but I always get a chuckle out of the assumptions that collectors make about officer uniforms somehow being a cut above...more perfectly sewn, absolutely correct in every regard etc etc. I was an officer for 30 years in units that wore camouflage utilities almost exclusively. I recycled old insignia almost every time I got a new uniform,often many times over. Why?..because it was cheaper and easier than buying new stuff and/or having new name tapes made. This was resolved later in my career when our unit began providing uniforms sewn up with or names and the correct insignia, but was definitely the case earlier in my career. Heck, when I was promoted to 05 I got an old set of the correct cloth oak leaves from another guy in my unit and put them on my cover with my wife's hot glue gun. It actually looked just like it was sewn, and I wore it for a year before getting it done the right way. Just sayin'!

 

[63 RECON]

I will have to agree, You always see uniforms with various insignia but the recycled insignia isn't the only thing that is on discussion.

 

I'm still keen to know the date of the shirt and see pics of the inside.

[12A54]

Those tapes may not even be nylon. I had some cotton (?) ones like these with a heavy weave. The highlights come from wear and pressing. These photos may only make these look like they're nylon versions.

 

And I'll echo what others are saying - I routinely used a mix of reused/old/new insignia on uniforms.

[packratt713]

I know little to nothing about VN era uniforms, but I always get a chuckle out of the assumptions that collectors make about officer uniforms somehow being a cut above...more perfectly sewn, absolutely correct in every regard etc etc. I was an officer for 30 years in units that wore camouflage utilities almost exclusively. I recycled old insignia almost every time I got a new uniform,often many times over. Why?..because it was cheaper and easier than buying new stuff and/or having new name tapes made. This was resolved later in my career when our unit began providing uniforms sewn up with or names and the correct insignia, but was definitely the case earlier in my career. Heck, when I was promoted to 05 I got an old set of the correct cloth oak leaves from another guy in my unit and put them on my cover with my wife's hot glue gun. It actually looked just like it was sewn, and I wore it for a year before getting it done the right way. Just sayin'!

 

Were you in the Navy.

[M60 Driver]

Looks like a shirt that an instructor or supervisor might indeed wear in the field while training others to remind those trainees of his experience: "combat patch" on right sleeve while "flaming piss pot" JFK school patch on left sleeve.

[e19]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with the naysayers. If someone was going to dummy up a Special Forces uniform, they would not have put the JFK Special Warfare school on the the left shoulder. If they were going to go to this much trouble, they would have used another Special Forces patch.

 

The same logic goes for a reunion uniform.

 

School cadre tended to wear color insignia well after the troops in the field switched over to subdued. And name tapes were made from a variety of materials.

 

I think this one is fine.

I was at Bragg/JFK when the changes in insignia to black/og took place. Name and Army Tapes went to OG during '66. Badges went to black in '67. This was the case in the SFGs (3rd, 6th, 7th) and at JFKSWC. Color SSI went out in late 67 or in 68 (I can't recall that for certain). I don!t recall ever seeing rip-stops with color badges.