Vietnam Uniform Question

[NamHelmet]

Did most U.S. soldiers wear the "Army Trouser Belt" during the Vietnam War (the black belt with brass buckle)? The pants were more adjustable during the later part of the war, plus there was less regulation, so I assumed the belts became less necessary as the war went on.

[K-DOGG]

Did most U.S. soldiers wear the "Army Trouser Belt" during the Vietnam War (the black belt with brass buckle)? The pants were more adjustable during the later part of the war, plus there was less regulation, so I assumed the belts became less necessary as the war went on.

Iwasnt there,but would assume they did as it was part of the uniform.

[craig_pickrall]

I think it would be more likely to see the open face black buckle.

 

 

[Sabrejet]

I agree with Craig. For field use the WW2 style open face buckle was commonly used...though that's not to say that the standard roller buckle was never used. As the jungle jacket covered the belt completely obviously impossible to see. Your best bet is to look up pics of GIs back in camp in just OD t-shirts or stripped to the waist.

 

Sabrejet

[elbertson]

Black open face was worn with fatigues, brass roller buckle with class As & Bs.

As with anything military, there were exceptions.

[12thengr]

Post Viet Nam, Late 1970's the open face black buckle was used for field,(fatigue) wear, the closed,(brass) buckle for wear with the class 'A' and 'B' uniforms.

[pmanton]

I sure used a belt to keep my trousers up As I remember it was the black guy pictured above.

 

Paul

Salome AZ

RVN 101st Abn 1968

[patches]

Did most U.S. soldiers wear the "Army Trouser Belt" during the Vietnam War (the black belt with brass buckle)? The pants were more adjustable during the later part of the war, plus there was less regulation, so I assumed the belts became less necessary as the war went on.

 

12thengr is correct. After years of studying photos from the war, i can tell you that Brass buckle was the standard issue buckle. It was worn in the field as well as in garrison. the black open face was not issued again till the post war period.In that time period the black flat face open buckle was worn with fatiques whether in the field or in garrison. I know its hard to believe, but its true. the brass buckle being worn on/with the fatique,s in the 60s was an offshoot of the 50s, when a general sprucing up of the fatique uniform came in to being. The wearing of the brass buckle in the field was immensely unpopular as it would get dirty during the time out in the field and when a soldier returned to garrison it was just one more thing to do before he could relax, that would be cleaning and brasso-ing that buckle. As these buckle,s where worn every single day, your heads up GI's would simply buy or aquire a second buckle one for the field and one for garrison. Falling out the next day with an unshined brass buckle was a chewing out offense in any period in the army history, no less the army of the the 50s-60s. As far as the marines in this time period im not quite sure of as of this writing.

[gunbunny]

We wore the open faced belt buckle in 'Nam. I can't remember whether I brought one with me or was issued a new one before I was sent over. Some guys may have opted not to wear one just as some guys went without underwear. We never had any kind of inspection to check what we were wearing. Back in the States the open faced buckle could be worn with the OG107 fatigues but I was told it had to be either all black or polished.

[atb]

From my own experience in the Army-- I got my first subdued, open-faced belt buckle issued around May of 1970. Before that I wore the gold colored metal, solid faced buckle with fatigues.

[seanmc1114]

The best evidence is always period photographs. Here are some pictures of some of the guys in my father's platoon in the 82nd Airborne between May 1968 and March 1969. Some wear the solid brass buckle, some wear the open-faced brass buckle and some wear no belt at all. I could not find any pictures of black open-faced buckles. At first I thought the brass open-faced ones might have originally been black and the paint rubbed off, but if you'll notice, the tips are brass too so I think they were issued that way.

[seanmc1114]

More 82nd photos

[seanmc1114]

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[seanmc1114]

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[seanmc1114]

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[seanmc1114]

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[K-DOGG]

AWSOME pics. They state the facts. Thanks for shareing.

[patches]

More

 

Touche.I will admit that the open face buckles where worn, the photo's prove it. It would seem however that it was seen more and more from 1968 on.But we also see that the brass buckle predominated, or as we seen some guys wore no belt at all.

[SKIPH]

Had to respond! I was in Basic Training from mid-May to July 1970. Checked out the photos I have, and we all had brass belt buckles on with fatiques. Now, the Army went from colored insignia to subdued during basic, and some guys wore mixed uniforms. I looked at another photo from Oct 70'. I was wearing a subdued belt buckle w/ and the belt had a brass tip. As I recall it was a transitional time, and we may have been able to still have the brass tipped belt w/ subdued buckle, and/ or, we were also spray painting or using "Magic Markers" to blacken the tips, and it wore off. Something we did for my whole 20 year career. I can't exactly recall the official change over date. Hope this pins down at least a time frame. SKIP

[patches]

Had to respond! I was in Basic Training from mid-May to July 1970. Checked out the photos I have, and we all had brass belt buckles on with fatiques. Now, the Army went from colored insignia to subdued during basic, and some guys wore mixed uniforms. I looked at another photo from Oct 70'. I was wearing a subdued belt buckle w/ and the belt had a brass tip. As I recall it was a transitional time, and we may have been able to still have the brass tipped belt w/ subdued buckle, and/ or, we were also spray painting or using "Magic Markers" to blacken the tips, and it wore off. Something we did for my whole 20 year career. I can't exactly recall the official change over date. Hope this pins down at least a time frame. SKIP

 

That about right, the open face was most likely a priviate purchase item, in the mid to late 60s and could if you so chosed, be worn only in the field. I to remember the old magic marker trick, i used it not only on the frame buckle but also on the hardware of my LBE, and occasionily on my subdued rank pin's. You statement on the insignia was spot on too, i allways asserted that although the army started to wear all subdued insignia on fatique item's in late 68 outside of south vietnam, and was autherised to be so , that the full color insignia still could be seen in large numbers, only with subdued us army and name tapes and subdued qualifiction badges IE CIB'S well in to 1970 this pratice of wearing subued tapes and colored shoulder and rank with color qualifcation badges started in mid 1967 and with the subdued qualifction badges still in color as late as 1969.

[atb]

July 1970 was the date that full subdued insignia was supposed to be mandatory, if I am recalling correctly. Mixed insignia was supposedly not to be worn after that. I never saw mixed insignia in the states or overseas after that, but that is my experience.

[Tanker1]

During the 67-68 time frame in Nam, we worn about everything, as we took our jungle fatigue issue as well as our regular fatigues from the states. Mixed subdued and color, open face buckle that we were issued, and brass face, some wore SSI and some not as we had no way to sew them on, and once we had a field DX there was nothing sewed on. Some drew on SSI and rank with the old majic marker. We picked up subdued rank pins, "beer can" type made in country that were much larger than the army issue collar pins.

[Tanker1]

do

[Tanker1]

last

[patches]

During the 67-68 time frame in Nam, we worn about everything, as we took our jungle fatigue issue as well as our regular fatigues from the states. Mixed subdued and color, open face buckle that we were issued, and brass face, some wore SSI and some not as we had no way to sew them on, and once we had a field DX there was nothing sewed on. Some drew on SSI and rank with the old majic marker. We picked up subdued rank pins, "beer can" type made in country that were much larger than the army issue collar pins.

 

HELLO TANKER1. I see by your avatar that you where in the 2/1 cav, as they fought with the 4th div in the central highlands. Can you answer a question for me ? Where you an original member of this unit when it was assigned to the 2nd armored divison at fort hood texas, and thus was with it when it was reassigned to south vietnam ?