USMC mid 1960's uniform question

[collector]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

[USMCRECON]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

I don't have access to mine as my old sea bags are in storage so can't photo the couple remaining issue utilities of mine.

 

As for the jungle utilities, the Marines were issued exactly the same ones as the Army. In some instances, the individual Marine got his hands on an iron-on EGA and applied it himself but the application of the EGA was not required. I only had an EGA/USMC stencil on one of my non-camo jungle utility jackets and it was the one I usually wore on the combat base.

 

The green 2-pocket short and 4-pocket cotton utilities were also exactly the same pattern as the Army ones. The only difference is that they had a small blotchy EGA and USMC on the left pocket. By the time we were out of boot camp, the issue EGA was just about invisible and, again, the individual marine usually bought an iron stencil from the BX and applied it over the ink-spot EGA himself.

 

I was in Marine boot camp in 1966. The attached picture was scanned out of my boot camp "year book" and shows some of the soon-to-be Marines in my platoon in the mess hall. The scan is not the best but you can see the EGA and USMC on the pockets.

 

[USMCRECON]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

The picture below (from the same book and not a good scan, I'm afraid) was taken four weeks later, during the 7th week inspection. While a poor scan, you can see that the insignia is considerably less pronounced.

 

[Bob Hudson]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

The Marines used the so-called "Gomer Pyle" shirt and pants (1958 pattern) going into the 1960's and then started using the same cotton sateen shirts and pants as the Army, Air Force and Navy and they did have the EGA's stenciled on them.

 

I happened to have two photos handy showing a 1958 pattern shirt and a couple of the later cotton sateen shirts. These were ones that had been modified by Marines to have short sleeves:

 

Here's a Gomer Pyle shirt (so-called because they were worn on the TV show Gomer Pyle USMC):

 

 

Here's one of the later types worn by all services:

 

 

And one in normal long sleeve:

 

 

Navy corpsmen serving with the Marines had US NAVY stamped in place of the EGA:

 

 

Here's one from the Navy SeaBees:

 

 

Here's one from the Army:

 

 

 

The Air Force adopted these uniforms after wearing sage green fatigues:

 

 

 

The other universal uniform utility uniform of the Vietnam era was the so-called slant pocket "jungle coat" and pants. I have found a lot of the shirts but maybe only one pair of the pants.

 

 

Here's one worn by Vietnam by a Marine NCO who was commissioned while in Vietnam:

 

[USMCRECON]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

Below are a couple shots of one of my Marine jungle utility jackets. As you can see, there's no EGA/USMC on the pocket. For privacy reasons, I've obscured part of my Marine service number that's stenciled on the back. The lable pictured was sewn on the backside (inside the jacket) of one of the lower pockets

 

 

 

[USMCRECON]

Below are a couple shots of one of my Marine jungle utility jackets. As you can see, there's no EGA/USMC on the pocket. For privacy reasons, I've obscured part of my Marine service number that's stenciled on the back. The lable pictured was sewn on the backside (inside the jacket) of one of the lower pockets

 

 

 

 

Here's the last picture; the lable sewn inside the edge of the jacket (it wouldn't fit with the other three).

 

[USMCRECON]

The Marines used the so-called "Gomer Pyle" shirt and pants (1958 pattern) going into the 1960's and then started using the same cotton sateen shirts and pants as the Army, Air Force and Navy and they did have the EGA's stenciled on them.

 

I happened to have two photos handy showing a 1958 pattern shirt and a couple of the later cotton sateen shirts. These were ones that had been modified by Marines to have short sleeves:

.......................

 

Here's one worn by Vietnam by a Marine NCO who was commissioned while in Vietnam:

 

 

Where'd ya' get Peepsight's shirt?

[Bob Hudson]

Where'd ya' get Peepsight's shirt?

 

 

 

I sold his old seabag contents for him last year, including that shirt and several HBT shirts and pants.

[collector]

Thanks very much for the replies, the pictures really do the trick. I have my fathers 1956 pattern HBT shirt, and some items from the 50's/early 60's. He was in Vietnam in 1960 doing what his service records called 'extensive reconnaissance'. I'd like to flesh out the collection a bit, and your posts have really helped.

[beezman]

As a brief summary, the Corps always used EGAs on all uniforms, except on the jungle jackets (Olive Green and ERDL camo) and Field Jackets (M-51, M-65) in Vietnam. The only EGAs seen in Vietnam on jungle jackets were privately applied.

After the war, the Corps stamped huge quantities of late 60s dated ERDL jackets. These are the jackets with EGAs you find everywhere on ebay. They are wartime made, but the EGAs were applied post-war.

[USMCRECON]

I have been told that the Marines used the Army combat uniform after about the mid 60's, and there would not have been an EGA stencil on it as well. If this is true, would somebody please post pics of uniforms in their collections that would have been used by Marines in Vietnam. I'm familiar with the HBT uniforms, it's the sateeen and later I would like info on. I'm interested in the non-camo ones. And please post shots of the labels if you can. If there is a reference thread on this I can't find it. Thanks in advance.

 

I couldn't seem to attach photos to a PM so am going to have to post them here to provide more info for you.

In this first one, Willie Green on the left (KIA 20 Jan 67) and Jibs Burns on the right (whereabouts unk) are wearing the standard, stateside utilities. "Roddy" Rodriguez in the center is wearing issue jungle utilities.

 

 

In this one, taken very early in my tour, I am wearing a standard jungle jacket with stateside cotton utility trousers.

 

 

This one was taken after I started carrying the M-60 and we're waiting on the LZ for the helos to arrive to take us to our patrol area. I'm wearing standard jungle utilities except that, as I mentioned in the PM, I'd removed the lower pockets and am wearing the jacket tucked into the trousers.

 

[USMCRECON]

 

In both the pictures below, I'm also wearing standard jungle utilities but removed the lower pockets on this shirt as well and am wearing it tucked in the trousers to keep leeches, spiders and snakes, etc out of there. Neither of these have the EGA/USMC on the pocket. In the bottom picture, taken about Nov 67, I'm wearing a Vietnamese ERDL-pattern shirt purchased from the local Vietnamese barber/tailor/souvenir seller/nighttime VC . I'm wearing them with a pair of issue ERDL trousers. Notice no EGA on the pocket.

 

 

 

 

I hope these answer some of your questions about wear of the jungle utilities.

[USMCRECON]

One last one. This is the last ERDL camo jacket I was issued in Vietnam. Notice that it has an EGA on the pocket. The EGA, however, was not worn while I was in Vietnam. I applied it from a stencil I had lying around several years later.

 

The area inside the neck looks funny because it's on the same hanger as one of my standard issue jungle utility jackets; it's the standard jacket you see showing in the open collar area.

 

[Greg Robinson]

The utility shirts I was issued at Parris Island in the Summer of 1967 were the generic all service type and at no time were they ever stamped with "USMC" or the ega. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing a "boot" at PI with such markings on his shirts. Granted, we seldom wore the shirts since it was darn near 100 degrees most days I was there and uniform of the day was utility trousers and white t shirts. The only Marines at Parris Island that I can recall consistently wearing USMC marked shirts were the senior NCO's....the WW2 and KW vets.....who still wore the herringbone twills and nobody, not ever the officers, told them they wearing non regulation uniforms.

 

Later, in my Reserve unit I seldom saw USMC and ega marked utility shirts. I recall taking some flak for wearing one of those so called gomer pyle shirts.

 

Greg

[nguoi tien su]

USMCRECON, I am glad you could not PM your photos ! Thanks for sharing and for the confirmation about the EGA added after your time in VN.

[collector]

I see the last ERDL camo jacket Bill was issued in Vietnam is rip-stop, were the rip-stop green only jungle jackets commonly seen, or just the poplin?

[DiGilio]

Heres a M-1956 and M-1958 USMC utility uniforms. The M-1956 is the exact same design as the M-1958 but is made of HBT instead of cotton sateen. M-1956s were only made for 2 years but some of the older marines still had them when they went to Vietnam. Because the USMC switch to Army utility uniforms was right around the time they went to Vietnam, they went there with a mix of USMC M-1958 (some M-1956) and army utility uniforms. The 8 point utility covers worn with the utility uniforms were made in HBT untill around 1959, when they were switched to cotton sateen too.

 

M-1958 is on left, M-1956 on right.

 

M-1956 HBT Trousers

 

M-1958 Cotton Sateen Trousers

 

Early on some early 2nd pattern army utility shirts were used by Marines too.

 

Heres a 2nd pattern USMC army utility shirt.