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101st Airborne Camo Beret - Vietnam


River Patrol
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This salty beret and patch will be on spotlight in the new book. Infantry berets are hard to find, let alone camo berets. The patch is actually one of the few 101st variants made in country, eventhough the division had a large number of soldiers present in theater. This is only the third time I've come across this patch type, and they've all been from veterans.

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This is a picture of some of the guys in my father's platoon in Co. A 1/505th Infantry 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam. The beret being worn by the guy kneeling in the front looks similar to yours. At the time the 82nd was attached to the 101st. Note the guys are also wearing the black neck scarf that has been associated with the 28th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division.

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Back in the early 90's in NYC, I saw a vet wearing exactly the same beret in a small Army & Navy store near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

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Awesome picture of the 82nd guy wearing a camo beret...uber kool!!

 

Yea, it's a patch book on unit used patches in Vietnam. It's written, just no publisher yet.

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Here's another picture of an 82nd guy wearing a camo beret in the summer of 1968. This is an infantry platoon headquarters. The guys are L to R Dennis Sheets (RTO), Bernie Delost in beret (platoon medic), Tim Sprouse (platoon leader), Bob Benson (RTO) and my father, Don McPhail (platoon sergeant). In the background on the hill is Firebase Birmingham on Highway 547 leading to the A Shau Valley.

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This is interesting.....2 different guys wearing the same type of un-flashed beret but on opposite sides....one is left...the other right, suggesting that consistency was not an issue for these guys, unlike the U.S. Army green berets and the U.S. Navy TF-116, perhaps because the beret is "un-flashed".

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This is interesting.....2 different guys wearing the same type of un-flashed beret but on opposite sides....one is left...the other right, suggesting that consistency was not an issue for these guys, unlike the U.S. Army green berets and the U.S. Navy TF-116, perhaps because the beret is "un-flashed".

In the thread about the US Navy headgear in VN, one member shows a TF-116 beret with the badge above the left eye.

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In the thread about the US Navy headgear in VN, one member shows a TF-116 beret with the badge above the left eye.

 

Thanks for directing me to this thread. I do not know if that odd TF-116 beret was acquired directly from the vet or not. I would not put much faith into it. Being the only one that I've ever know to be left flashed, i guess it could be considered an anamoly. I can't imagine this reversal would be tolerated for U.S. soldiers, but maybe for VN/Indigenous soldiers assigned to the units.

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I have picture of a boat crew where you can see a PO3 with a ERDL beret with a small TF-116 pinned over the left eye while another sailor has a tiger stripe beret with the big TF-116 beercan on the right side.

Unfortunately, I can't find it in all my mess...

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I have picture of a boat crew where you can see a PO3 with a ERDL beret with a small TF-116 pinned over the left eye while another sailor has a tiger stripe beret with the big TF-116 beercan on the right side.

Unfortunately, I can't find it in all my mess...

 

Please post it when you find it......

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  • 5 years later...

Infantry berets are hard to find, let alone camo berets.

Would this beret be from a veteran of 1/327th (possibly even Tiger Force)? I only ask because I found a picture of a soldier from HHC 1/327 "Tiger Force" wearing a camo beret with the Divisional insignia and what looks to be the some type of tab sewn on next to the SSI. I have also seen a video from 1967 with soldiers from the 101st Abn's 1st Brigade wearing berets with the divisional insignia as a "beret flash" though there is sadly no info as to which unit was being filmed.

 

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The photo comes from the following website: http://oldsite.327infantry.org/first/tiger_force_photos

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River Patrol

Nothing definitive but I'm right there with you on your thoughts.....more often than not, the recon units would be wearing camo berets and uniforms. Tiger Force is exactly the type of unit which would have used this.

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  • 2 years later...

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