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"U.S. Army" Shirt Tapes Collection


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O.K., O.K. so this might be a silly collection, but it is neat / inexpensive. Some how over time I have accumulated these. I do not actively look for these, but I seem to have "rat-holed" them.

 

As always, ENJOY my friends!

 

First up of the 50's era gold on black style. I believe the bottom one is for a kids jacket, but it fits here.

post-98-1308507377.jpg

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black on OD green tapes from the 60's thru the 80's. Notice the fourth one down is a printed style. Anyone else feel the third one down is theater made? Heck, maybe even #2 is theater made.

post-98-1308507451.jpg

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I like these Mark. I pick 'em up myself too as and when I find them...also personal name tapes. I was interested to see the second gold on black tape...the bordered one. I've got one too but was never entirely sure where it fit time-wise...apart from 50s > 60s that is...as I always assumed that the BeVo style tapes were the norm. Same applies to the similarly made subdued one?! Re the theatre made example, I'd say "probably". Again, I have a similar one, also one embroidered on a strip of jungle-jacket OD ripstop. The multitude of variants are collectible in their own right. Add to that the USAF and USN variants too and it has the making of a nice inexpensive collection.

 

Ian :thumbsup:

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Ian, just a guess but I placed these in the order I suspected them to appear. The bordered gold on black I would assume was just a makers version of the "bevo" or "silky" ones.

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Ian, just a guess but I placed these in the order I suspected them to appear. The bordered gold on black I would assume was just a makers version of the "bevo" or "silky" ones.

 

 

I've also got a really unusual, non-standard black/gold one. The block letters are pretty much as per but the backing fabric is akin to black gabardine! Looks like it could be a tailor-shop job? (Don't forget silky subdued BeVo variants too!)

 

Ian ;)

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I've also got a really unusual, non-standard black/gold one. The block letters are pretty much as per but the backing fabric is akin to black gabardine! Looks like it could be a tailor-shop job? (Don't forget silky subdued BeVo variants too!)

 

Ian ;)

 

Ian, May i call you Ian ? The woven rayon color one is the original one made in around late 1953 and 1954, the embiorderd on twill began to to make its apperance around 1955 it was a private purchase, they where sold i believe at the px, but also army/navy stores carried them, hence the sometimes name of army/navy store type, just like the cotton poplin fatiques of the mid 60s are sometime called.They where an upgrade insignia and many chose to wear them. In the late 50s the army decreed that the manufacturer would be required to apply the us army distiguishing tape to all fatique items at the factory before delivery of these items,this was the woven rayon type which was the goverment issue type, thats why if you see photo's at basic training facities in the late 50s and 60s you see the trainee,s running around with shirts with just the us army tape, these photo's normaly are taken the day they recieved their fatiques and are in a short while going to have there name tapes made and sewn on.The other tape, the one thats has a ribbed like background was another type that was privately purchased, it is indentical to the white tape that was a popular tape for the name to be embiordered on,both these types where from around the early 60s, lets say 1962 on.Would you believe that in may 1982 when i was at ft wainwright we had to go to the clothing sales store to purchase the new BDU's, it was the very first time i steped into the place, the whole company marched in formation there with our barracks bag's. While we where there the cilivlan employee's with a little help from quartermaster soldier's who where detailed to help out started to bring out the uniforms and begin to "sell" the items, we all having to wait our turn, this giving us an opportunity to buy any thing else we wanted, which we where given permision by the 1st sgt if we chosed to do so. I did'nt need any thing myself, but i used the time just browse, i looked once at a rack of OG wool shirts and did a double take, what i saw was that all the shirts which was about 20 to 25 all had the old woven gold on black us army tapes sewn on, i said to one of my buddies HEY look at this, he was a army historicaly inclinded individual like me and the both of us immidiatly reconised the signifcance of this. These shirt's where at least by 1982 any where between 15 and 24 years ago, just how they still where around is fasinating. I only wish i new about looking for dates on these type of thing's back then, alas i only picked up on that year's after i got out of the army and began to collect , i would really loved to know the dates on these unissued og wool shirts.

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O.K., O.K. so this might be a silly collection, but it is neat / inexpensive. Some how over time I have accumulated these. I do not actively look for these, but I seem to have "rat-holed" them.

 

As always, ENJOY my friends!

 

First up of the 50's era gold on black style. I believe the bottom one is for a kids jacket, but it fits here.

Not at all is it a silly collection , you have a nice array of insignia that is an important part of the army's fatique uniform items, it spans, my friend, nearly 60 years of the army's history.

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Is the first one here for the helmet band?

 

Yes, they are used on helmet bands, but also on the sleeve pockets of the Gortex jackets. With that said, I have never seen anyone put a U.S. Army on either. Hard telling what this is and since it is a mis-spell, I am betting it is theatre made and never used.

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Ian, May i call you Ian ? The woven rayon color one is the original one made in around late 1953 and 1954, the embiorderd on twill began to to make its apperance around 1955 it was a private purchase, they where sold i believe at the px, but also army/navy stores carried them, hence the sometimes name of army/navy store type, just like the cotton poplin fatiques of the mid 60s are sometime called.They where an upgrade insignia and many chose to wear them. In the late 50s the army decreed that the manufacturer would be required to apply the us army distiguishing tape to all fatique items at the factory before delivery of these items,this was the woven rayon type which was the goverment issue type, thats why if you see photo's at basic training facities in the late 50s and 60s you see the trainee,s running around with shirts with just the us army tape, these photo's normaly are taken the day they recieved their fatiques and are in a short while going to have there name tapes made and sewn on.The other tape, the one thats has a ribbed like background was another type that was privately purchased, it is indentical to the white tape that was a popular tape for the name to be embiordered on,both these types where from around the early 60s, lets say 1962 on.Would you believe that in may 1982 when i was at ft wainwright we had to go to the clothing sales store to purchase the new BDU's, it was the very first time i steped into the place, the whole company marched in formation there with our barracks bag's. While we where there the cilivlan employee's with a little help from quartermaster soldier's who where detailed to help out started to bring out the uniforms and begin to "sell" the items, we all having to wait our turn, this giving us an opportunity to buy any thing else we wanted, which we where given permision by the 1st sgt if we chosed to do so. I did'nt need any thing myself, but i used the time just browse, i looked once at a rack of OG wool shirts and did a double take, what i saw was that all the shirts which was about 20 to 25 all had the old woven gold on black us army tapes sewn on, i said to one of my buddies HEY look at this, he was a army historicaly inclinded individual like me and the both of us immidiatly reconised the signifcance of this. These shirt's where at least by 1982 any where between 15 and 24 years ago, just how they still where around is fasinating. I only wish i new about looking for dates on these type of thing's back then, alas i only picked up on that year's after i got out of the army and began to collect , i would really loved to know the dates on these unissued og wool shirts.

 

Hi there Patches. I have one of those OG wool shirts with the gold/black tape as you described, together with the matching wool pants. I think they're '53/'54 dated? The stock / size/ care details for the shirt are printed directly on the green wool in red ink which has a tendency to fade with wear and laundering. That's why some used ones appear to have no labels at all!

 

Ian

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O.K., O.K. so this might be a silly collection, but it is neat / inexpensive. Some how over time I have accumulated these. I do not actively look for these, but I seem to have "rat-holed" them.

 

As always, ENJOY my friends!

 

First up of the 50's era gold on black style. I believe the bottom one is for a kids jacket, but it fits here.

From what I can tell, the timeline for these is roughly 1954 when they were worn with either black on white nametapes or, in some cases, nametapes with various branch colors. After about 1958 or so I think the Army clamped down on all the non-standard nametapes and only allowed black on white to be worn with the gold on black Army tapes. This lasted until around 1966 when the subdued black on olive green name and Army tapes were introduced. However, even after that, it was still very common for the black and gold Army tapes to be worn.

 

My father went in the Army in June 1967. I have looked through all of his Army pictures and here is what I have noticed. In all of his basic training photos from Fort Benning, every recruit was wearing subdued nametapes and black and gold Army tapes while some of the DI's were wearing both subdued name and Army tapes. By that point there is no evidence of any black on white nametapes. In his AIT photos from Fort Polk most of the trainees wore black and gold Army tapes, but a few had subdued ones. I'm thinking this may be because they took basic somewhere where the subdued Army tapes had already been issued to the troops. In NCO school at Fort Benning from October 1967 through February 1968, every student seemed to wear subdued name and black and gold Army tapes. When he went to Fort Gordon as an assistant DI in an AIT unit for the second phase of NCO school from February through April 1968, he transitioned to the woven black and olive green Army tapes while some of the trainees were still wearing the black and gold tapes even at that late date.

 

Hope this helps.

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Hi there Patches. I have one of those OG wool shirts with the gold/black tape as you described, together with the matching wool pants. I think they're '53/'54 dated? The stock / size/ care details for the shirt are printed directly on the green wool in red ink which has a tendency to fade with wear and laundering. That's why some used ones appear to have no labels at all!

 

Ian

 

I was issued an OG wool shirt in 1974 in Germany from CIF, if I remember correctly it made the gold/black tape then.

 

Mike

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Hi there Patches. I have one of those OG wool shirts with the gold/black tape as you described, together with the matching wool pants. I think they're '53/'54 dated? The stock / size/ care details for the shirt are printed directly on the green wool in red ink which has a tendency to fade with wear and laundering. That's why some used ones appear to have no labels at all!

 

Ian

This is true, those early one's had their nomenclature stamped inside under the collar, the marking tended to last a bit longer,but not that much longer, because the prescibed method of cleaning was dry cleaning this was because of the wool content, the shirt is always referred to as the og wool shirt but does in fact have a content of 85% wool and 15% nylon. This shirt is a familar item to me, it was worn everyday by us, in the winter month's in alaska, garrison and field, but by then it might have had a normal cloth tag, i sure wish i was able to examine those shirts i seen from the 60s but as i mentioned, i had no inkling about dates and the like back then. But in truth most of the time we did'nt bother taking the shirt to be dry cleaned when it needed to be cleaned and just threw it in the laundry machine with everything else. But im sure in the 50s and 60s when many barrack's did not have laundry room's that if the og wool shirt had to be cleaned it went to the px dry cleaners/tailor, or if it was done by the QM,they would clean it by seperating these type of wool item's and dry clean them. I have a minty og wool shirt worn by a 25th inf div PFC, it has the 25th div patch the od on blue stipes with the woven color army tape and a hand embriodered name tape black on white twill, its info in the inside is readable, but i can see where it, not so much faded away but rather would fall away, on mine all you really need to do is run your fingernail along the wording and it comes off. The shirt is obviously post korean war and was worn either when the division was still on duty in south korea or was a part of the uniforms of this guy when the div was in hawaii, i say hawaii as this type of shirt may have been issued and kept in the wall locker in case of redeployment back to south korea whether for training purposes or god forbid a recommencement of hostilities.

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From what I can tell, the timeline for these is roughly 1954 when they were worn with either black on white nametapes or, in some cases, nametapes with various branch colors. After about 1958 or so I think the Army clamped down on all the non-standard nametapes and only allowed black on white to be worn with the gold on black Army tapes. This lasted until around 1966 when the subdued black on olive green name and Army tapes were introduced. However, even after that, it was still very common for the black and gold Army tapes to be worn.

 

My father went in the Army in June 1967. I have looked through all of his Army pictures and here is what I have noticed. In all of his basic training photos from Fort Benning, every recruit was wearing subdued nametapes and black and gold Army tapes while some of the DI's were wearing both subdued name and Army tapes. By that point there is no evidence of any black on white nametapes. In his AIT photos from Fort Polk most of the trainees wore black and gold Army tapes, but a few had subdued ones. I'm thinking this may be because they took basic somewhere where the subdued Army tapes had already been issued to the troops. In NCO school at Fort Benning from October 1967 through February 1968, every student seemed to wear subdued name and black and gold Army tapes. When he went to Fort Gordon as an assistant DI in an AIT unit for the second phase of NCO school from February through April 1968, he transitioned to the woven black and olive green Army tapes while some of the trainees were still wearing the black and gold tapes even at that late date.

 

Hope this helps.

Absoluty right my friend , this period is known by student's of u.s. army uniform histories as the transitional period,from 1966 to around 1970 when an array of both colored and subdued insignia was worn on fatique item's. It pertain,s primarily to uniforms worn army wide, and to a smaller degree to one's worn in south vietnam and thailand.

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Capt.Confederacy

I'd say #2 and #3 are theatre-made. #2 looks like a Korean-made one I have and #3 has the same style as a South Vietnamese-made one I have.

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  • 5 years later...

post-34986-0-12442300-1471999598.jpg

One SFC Laurence Young, Drill Sergeant Fort Dix New Jersey 1975-77, as we see the 1968 Nylon U.S. ARMY and ribbed NAME tapes could be worn by seniors NCOs into the 70s, and not just by trainees, though by the late 70s it had that "Trainee" stigma right? I know it did in early 1980.

 

 

Young was a Son Tay Raider.

 

 

Laurence Young was born on August 30, 1945, in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 31, 1964, and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in November 1964, receiving training as a cook at Fort Polk, Louisiana, between November 1964 and January 1965. His first assignment was with the 1st Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from February 1965 to May 1966, and during this time he completed airborne training and deployed to the Dominican Republic from October to November 1965 in support of the invasion there. Sgt Young deployed to Southeast Asia in June 1966, and served as a cook and then as an infantryman with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam from June 1966 to February 1967, and then as a team leader with the 503rd Infantry Regiment in South Vietnam from February to May 1967.

 

He then completed Special Forces training and served with the 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from May 1967 to May 1968, followed by another tour in South Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group from May 1968 to April 1969, during which time he was wounded in action. After recovering from his injuries, Sgt Young served as a light weapons instructor and senior instructor with the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance at Fort Bragg from August 1969 to October 1974. During this time he participated in the Son Tay Raid, a clandestine mission to rescue American Prisoners of War held in North Vietnam, on November 21, 1970.

 

His next assignment was as a light weapons leader with the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from October 1974 to April 1975, followed by Drill Sergeant School and then duty as a Drill Sergeant at Fort Dix, New Jersey, from June 1975 to July 1977. Sgt Young served as a light weapons leader with the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from July 1977 to October 1980, and then served as a light weapons leader and operations sergeant with the 10th Special Forces Group in West Germany from October 1980 to September 1982. His final assignment was as an operations sergeant back with the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from October 1982 until his retirement from the Army on October 1, 1984. Laurence Young died on August 6, 2009, and was buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts.

His Silver Star Citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Laurence Young, United States Army, for gallantry in action on 21 November 1970 as a member of an all-volunteer joint U.S. Army and Air Force raiding force in the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed heliborne assault mission to rescue United States military personnel held as prisoners of war at Son Tay prison in North Vietnam. This valiant effort was motivated by deep compassion for his imprisoned fellow men-at-arms, and by a strong sense of military duty and national pride. Sergeant Young, after debarking from the assault aircraft, immediately came under fire from an enemy force armed with automatic weapons. He immediately returned fire, helping to suppress the enemy's fire, and continued to his objective. After moving a short distance, he came under heavy fire from a building complex. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he assaulted and neutralized the enemy position. Sergeant Young's compassion for his fellow men and his fearless attitude in combat enabled his element to successfully complete its mission. Sergeant Young's daring skill, extraordinary heroism against an armed hostile force, and extreme devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself and the United States Army.

 

 


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