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JFK shaking hand of US troop wearing Lizard camo


Norton
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post-37519-1312738962.jpgI found this phot at my mom's house last night

The captions says JFK greets Troops at Hanau Germany June 23 1963

The uniform looks like French Lizard but the hat looks to be Duck Hunter and is that a scarf around his neck? What is with the Iraq war full color US flag on his sleave and Tanker rig on his side?

I blew the photo up and you can clearly see detail. I would understand a US officer wearing a French set in France or SVN.

But in the FDR 1963.

Anyway I just wanted share as it caught my eye

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Maybe they were doing camo pattern field testing, and the flag patch was to denote him as a US soldier to avoid confusion?

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JFK_Hanau_Germany_June_23_1963__400x289_.jpg

What is with the Iraq war full color US flag on his sleave and Tanker rig on his side?

I blew the photo up and you can clearly see detail. I would understand a US officer wearing a French set in France or SVN.

But in the FDR 1963?

 

US troops who were on special missions or deployments often wore a US flag on their sleeve long before Iraq. As stated, it was to make them stand out from soldiers from other countries, especially when you had multil-national, humanitarian, or peace keeping operations taking place.

 

The example below is a Vietnam era Jungle Jacket worn by the 101st sometime in the 1970's.

 

As far as wearing foreign camo...who knows. Joint operations with the French? Or maybe just a special unit that wanted to stand out.

101st_1970__s.jpg

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post-37519-1312738962.jpgI found this phot at my mom's house last night

The captions says JFK greets Troops at Hanau Germany June 23 1963

The uniform looks like French Lizard but the hat looks to be Duck Hunter and is that a scarf around his neck? What is with the Iraq war full color US flag on his sleave and Tanker rig on his side?

I blew the photo up and you can clearly see detail. I would understand a US officer wearing a French set in France or SVN.

But in the FDR 1963.

Anyway I just wanted share as it caught my eye

 

 

If I recall correctly there are pics of a LRRP unit in Germany wearing french camo uniforms, dated from the 1960s

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post-37519-1312747729.jpg

If I recall correctly there are pics of a LRRP unit in Germany wearing french camo uniforms, dated from the 1960s

 

 

Thank you.. I had to post the photo you attached. US troops with M 14s , wearing Lizard.. Note the Birch Stock on M 14 number four. That is why I like this board so much. If I see a interesting photo that could have a story behind the picture, I will hear the details. Maybe tanker rig 45. is their officer

 

Thank you

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Thank you.. I had to post the photo you attached. US troops with M 14s , wearing Lizard.. Note the Birch Stock on M 14 number four. That is why I like this board so much. If I see a interesting photo that could have a story behind the picture, I will hear the details. Maybe tanker rig 45. is their officer

 

Thank you

 

Further down the page, there is another picture showing him briefing JFK, and he ID'd as Captain Carlton.

 

10a17273.jpg

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Further down the page, there is another picture showing him briefing JFK, and he ID'd as Captain Carlton.

 

10a17273.jpg

 

 

Great work! That solves that mystery and all makes sense.

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Regarding the French lizard pattern camo, I just spoke with a buddy who served in 5th Corps LRRP in the 1960's.

He said they couldn't cet cammies through supply as the US wasn't making them yet. They bought local camoflage uniforms- both German camo, as well as the Lizard pattern camo favored by the FFL. Another thing they did was to trake their boots to a german shoemaker and have them re soled with German or other eastern block countries soles so that if they "Accidentally" went on a patrol over the border, their bootprints couldnt be identified as USA. Somewhere in my dungeon, I have a picture of him wearing this same uniform with the huge mountain rucksack and M-14 rifle. Hope this helps.

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One other thing in addition to the above info, sometimes, people would take a normal issued OD patrol cap and use a laundry marker to make it camoflage.

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Regarding the French lizard pattern camo, I just spoke with a buddy who served in 5th Corps LRRP in the 1960's.

He said they couldn't cet cammies through supply as the US wasn't making them yet. They bought local camoflage uniforms- both German camo, as well as the Lizard pattern camo favored by the FFL. Another thing they did was to trake their boots to a german shoemaker and have them re soled with German or other eastern block countries soles so that if they "Accidentally" went on a patrol over the border, their bootprints couldnt be identified as USA. Somewhere in my dungeon, I have a picture of him wearing this same uniform with the huge mountain rucksack and M-14 rifle. Hope this helps.

 

Great bits of information you posted on this topic. Again in 1963/64 the only full sets of camoflage uniforms in the US supply chain would be WW 2 stocks. So a European based LRRP unit wearing in-country purchased European camo would make as much sense as Army Advisors buying Tigerstripe in Vietnam or Marine advisors having Mitchells made on Okinawa 1963/64.

The bootprint part made sense also.

 

I had a late 1950s B&W photo of US paratroops on exercise in Italy wearing a odd looking Camoflage steel pot covers. I thought they were made from a US parachute fabric, but now I wonder if it was from Italian shelter halves.

That would follow suit with your post. Late 1950s few Mitchell camo covers in the pipeline for Army troops.

You have a exercise with Italian paratroops and they give for your unit from their stocks or they let them cut up worn out shelter halves so they would look good offical pictures.

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I have seen pics and film footage of US paratroopers, i think 11th AB in Germany at the airborne school there during the 50s, im thinking it was 55-57 with them wearing WWII German SS camo as helmet covers!...i know it sounds crazy, but i can dig out the link.....mike

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I have seen pics and film footage of US paratroopers, i think 11th AB in Germany at the airborne school there during the 50s, im thinking it was 55-57 with them wearing WWII German SS camo as helmet covers!...i know it sounds crazy, but i can dig out the link.....mike

 

That would be cool! I know I used repro smocks, soft caps and helmet covers a few times when were playing OPFOR internally for my Battalion. You could tell right away who was a student of WW2, as they immediately recognized it for what it was. Of course, I had my commander keeping a close eye on me after that, especially when he asked me if I was a Nazi, or modern Neo type for wearing it :lol:

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  • 7 years later...

I have seen pics and film footage of US paratroopers, i think 11th AB in Germany at the airborne school there during the 50s, im thinking it was 55-57 with them wearing WWII German SS camo as helmet covers!...i know it sounds crazy, but i can dig out the link.....mike

I have seen these pictures, too. Maybe on the War Relics forum.

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