Jump to content

Vietnam souvenirs


iron bender
 Share

Recommended Posts

A close family friend of ours who served with 1/7 cav in Nam 1970-71 brought this stuff home. I'd like help with the flag identification and what are the miniature boots that wouldn't fit my 7 year old? Obviously the canteens are what they are and one of them met an unfortunate end. I like the kanji on the cork topper. His 1st cav pocket hanger look in country made too.

 

post-166807-0-52485400-1517767274_thumb.jpg

post-166807-0-41182600-1517767289_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A close family friend of ours who served with 1/7 cav in Nam 1970-71 brought this stuff home. I'd like help with the flag identification and what are the miniature boots that wouldn't fit my 7 year old? Obviously the canteens are what they are and one of them met an unfortunate end. I like the kanji on the cork topper. His 1st cav pocket hanger look in country made too.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_1545.JPG

attachicon.gifIMG_1546.JPG

 

I think the writing on the flag translates something like "To the memory of Tran Hung Dao". Mộc Hóa is a rural district of Long An Province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

 

Tran Hung Dao was one of the first great Vietnamese military strategists. His use of guerrilla warfare to harass and eventually defeat a more powerful enemy provided a model for communist guerrilla warfare in the 20th century.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s so cool that you can see the red dirt ( laterite ) on the jungle sneakers. The Cav operated in the A Shau valley which was hilled in with mountains of it. Nice grouping .Thanks for posting Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

USCapturephotos

Wow. I absolutely love this grouping. So great that you have the info of your family friend which helps put everything in context.

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice group.

 

The boots look like the type typically seen worn by the ARVN or CIDG soldiers etc.

 

Often called "BATA" boots as the company BATA made them.

 

The NVA wore a short canvas sneaker/boot that was similiar

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice group.

 

The boots look like the type typically seen worn by the ARVN or CIDG soldiers etc.

 

Often called "BATA" boots as the company BATA made them.

 

The NVA wore a short canvas sneaker/boot that was similiar

 

I think Ron nailed it.

 

Of course, they could have been "liberated" for use by a VC, which would explain why they came home as souvenirs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think Ron nailed it.

 

Of course, they could have been "liberated" for use by a VC, which would explain why they came home as souvenirs.

 

I agree.I was going to mention that but thought Iron Bender may have more info

 

Many things often crossed hands and were used by the VC/NVA.As they say when opportunity knocks....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doyler, these are well used but identical to the boots in your second link. The only marking is 6W on the sole. Interiors are natural white canvas. This is a nice lot including a Chinese? SKS chest rig with ammo still remaining on strippers, lots of his personal items and one complete set of his in country fatigues. 1st Cav patch is US made type, but tapes and rank are in country made. Sadly there was a completely bullet destroyed SKS but somehow went missing when this guy perished. Something tells me it's hanging up in a lawyer's office in Alabama right now. One of these days I'll post the whole lot. I thought these particular enemy items and a couple of his personal items are really cool. Thanks for the comments and info

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

...The boots look like the type typically seen worn by the ARVN or CIDG soldiers etc.

 

Often called "BATA" boots as the company BATA made them.

 

Speaking of which, on tangent:

 

http://www.batashoemuseum.ca

 

"The collection which became the Bata Shoe Museum was started by Sonja Bata in the 1940s. As she travelled the world on business with her husband, Thomas J. Bata of the Bata Shoe Company, she gradually built up a collection of traditional footwear from the areas she was visiting.

In 1979, the Bata family established the Bata Shoe Museum Foundation to operate an international centre for footwear research and house the collection. From 1979 to 1994, the collection was stored at the offices of Bata Limited in the Don Mills area of Toronto. In June 1992, the Bata Shoe Museum opened a gallery on the second floor of the Colonnade, an office and retail complex in downtown Toronto, where it remained until November 1994. On May 6, 1995, the current museum opened its doors to the public in its own newly constructed building."

(t.f. wikipedia)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That wallet!

 

Just last week I received a package from an old friend, and mentor, who was a Combat Medic in 1/7 Cav Vietnam '71-'72.

 

He sent me a few items of his from the war, including the blue plastic fiber net hammock he (and most other troops) locally bought and used.

 

One of the items he sent me was the wallet he carried. In his letter, he stated that he bought this at a PX over there, and that most Cav Troopers carried them.

 

Here's mine:

 

 

 

 

 

post-152877-0-98817000-1517897404.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aren't the canteens WW2 Japanese?

I'm not that familiar with Japanese gear, but I guess they could be. I'm also not familiar with NVA/VC/Vietnamese gear either. The one with engraving and no harness is screw top, the other is cork top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aren't the canteens WW2 Japanese?

 

If these canteens are Japanese, I'd think that the "cool" factor would really increase, as Japanese troops occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) during the Second World War.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

vintageproductions

The canteens are Chinese or Korean.

 

The Japanese canteens would have a cork stopper not a metal screw type.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...