Post Nam Khaki Beret

[Copran]

Hello,

 

I have this Khaki beret I bought months ago, I'm still wondering which unit in the US Army could have wore it since I know that only Ranger used Tan Khaki beret but during the 80s? The beret has a Polyester headband (I was said that issued berets had leather headband until 1978), 2 vent holes, and a small vent hole at the front (where was usually sewn the flash), I supposed the the hole is designed in order to fix the crest or or DUI. It s a first time I see that on the US-Canada berets.

 

Could someone help to identify these mysteries

 

Cheers

[Mitch]

I don't know the codes for that brand beret , but the "76" on the lining could be the year and the it could have been worn by US Army's 172nd infantry Brigade. It looks close to the color and most I have seen had there DI pinned on the flash. In Alaska the 172d Infantry Brigade adopted an olive or brown beret. Members of the brigades 1/60th Infantry wore their brown beret with a light blue flash insignia. It was worn approx 1973-1979.It was soon dropped when the Army standardized headgear policy in 1979 to limit beret wear to Special Forces, Airborne, and Ranger units.

[Laury Allison]

This could be one of the berets from the 172nd Infantry Brigade in Alaska? They wore one in this color a few years ago. I believe the were authorized for local wear only until the beret ban a few years ago. Anyone else have more information?

 

Laury

[Bob Hudson]

I don't know the codes for that brand beret , but the "76" on the lining could be the year and the it could have been worn by US Army's 172nd infantry Brigade. It looks close to the color and most I have seen had there DI pinned on the flash. In Alaska the 172d Infantry Brigade adopted an olive or brown beret. Members of the brigades 1/60th Infantry wore their brown beret with a light blue flash insignia. It was worn approx 1973-1979.It was soon dropped when the Army standardized headgear policy in 1979 to limit beret wear to Special Forces, Airborne, and Ranger units.

 

 

That is a 1976 date code.

[Copran]

Hi,

 

Thank you for your help, can someone show the flash and DI of the 172th ? and pictures of these guys wearing tan beret ?

 

Cheers

[KurtA]

Hi,

 

Thank you for your help, can someone show the flash and DI of the 172th ? and pictures of these guys wearing tan beret ?

 

Cheers

 

Here's an example as worn by a member of the 172nd in the mid 70's. I obtained it in 1980 directly from the vet. I believe the # of stripes indicates the battalion (this is 2nd Bn).

Kurt

 

[Copran]

Hello Kurt

 

Thanks for the pic, could you show the liner of this beret, I d like to know if it s similar to mine, because yours has a leather headband while mine is made in material.

 

Thanks

 

Here's an example as worn by a member of the 172nd in the mid 70's. I obtained it in 1980 directly from the vet. I believe the # of stripes indicates the battalion (this is 2nd Bn).

Kurt

[atb]

Here's an example as worn by a member of the 172nd in the mid 70's. I obtained it in 1980 directly from the vet. I believe the # of stripes indicates the battalion (this is 2nd Bn).

Kurt

 

Maybe for a Regiment, but a Brigade does not have battalions as such like the 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry. There was no 2nd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Brigade. The "Buffalo Chip" (that is what the soldier I got my example from said these brown berets were called) has a light blue flash with a white border. On it is a gold colored pin-on chevron for a Sergeant. No DUI was worn on the beret.

[Copran]

Hello,

 

Would you show your beret ?

 

Thanks

 

Maybe for a Regiment, but a Brigade does not have battalions as such like the 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry. There was no 2nd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Brigade. The "Buffalo Chip" (that is what the soldier I got my example from said these brown berets were called) has a light blue flash with a white border. On it is a gold colored pin-on chevron for a Sergeant. No DUI was worn on the beret.

[atb]

[GIl Sanow]

Has anyone out there got a spare "Buffalo chip" beret? That's one I need!

 

G

[KurtA]

Hello Kurt

 

Thanks for the pic, could you show the liner of this beret, I d like to know if it s similar to mine, because yours has a leather headband while mine is made in material.

 

Thanks

 

My beret is Canadian-made, not a US-issue DSA marked type. I'm thinking that light blue flash with white border may be a "borrowed" Special Forces flash. I think the old style 19th SFG was in that color scheme.

Kurt

[atb]

My beret is Canadian-made, not a US-issue DSA marked type. I'm thinking that light blue flash with white border may be a "borrowed" Special Forces flash. I think the old style 19th SFG was in that color scheme.

Kurt

My beret was given to me by a soldier who had been in the 1-60th INF of the 172nd INF BDE. As you can see, the liner has been cut out so I can't really tell if it was US or Canadian made. The black head band is leather. I left Alaska in 1973, before the brigade started wearing berets.

[Laury Allison]

Here's an example as worn by a member of the 172nd in the mid 70's. I obtained it in 1980 directly from the vet. I believe the # of stripes indicates the battalion (this is 2nd Bn).

Kurt

 

 

This flash is listed in William Hudspeath's "Beret Insignia of the U.S. Army" as being possible worn by the 56th MP Co or some other unit at Fort Richardson, mid-to-late 1970s. It appears to be embroidered on felt which would make it #461A in his book. The size should be 64 X 52 mm.

 

Laury

[KurtA]

This flash is listed in William Hudspeath's "Beret Insignia of the U.S. Army" as being possible worn by the 56th MP Co or some other unit at Fort Richardson, mid-to-late 1970s. It appears to be embroidered on felt which would make it #461A in his book. The size should be 64 X 52 mm.

 

Laury

 

Laury-

That makes sense, as the guy who gave it to me was an MP (at least when I knew him at Ft Hood, Texas in 1980).

Kurt

[Laury Allison]

Laury-

That makes sense, as the guy who gave it to me was an MP (at least when I knew him at Ft Hood, Texas in 1980).

Kurt

 

The colors match for an MP unit as well.

 

Laury

[MPage]

Rather than start a new thread I thought I would add to this one.

 

This beret I recently picked up, and am stumped as to what the beret's flash represents. I've looked through Hudspeath's beret insignia book to no avail, and have looked at many foreign, state guard and civilian designs and have come up with nothing. The 172 Inf Bde nd did not have all its related flashes identified in Hudspeath's book, and I think this likely is one of the flashes that has been as-yet unidentified. Also, C/60th Infantry's flash (see poster atb's photo), was the same as this but without the red triangle.

 

The Bancroft label states "over 50 years" which should put it closer to the 70s time frame that this beret would have come from, if it is from the 172nd.

 

The beret's leather band has wear to it, and there is evidence of insignia having been pinned to the flash.

 

Thoughts?

 

[J_Andrews]

I was in Alaska in Jan-Feb 79 for Exercise JACK FROST. The 172nd has "lost" its khaki berets the previous October (1978).

 

Each Inf Bn in the Bde had its own flash. I am not familiar with any others, but they probably existed.

 

The flashes were made by the base tailor shop (run by imported Koreans) or made in Korea and brought in by the tailor shop (I heard it both ways, from the Koreans).

 

The flashes were all larger than the normal SF or Lower 48 Abn units.

 

The Pathfinder section of the Avn Bn (designation not recalled) at Ft Wainwright wore the big flashes on maroon berets.

[MPage]

I was in Alaska in Jan-Feb 79 for Exercise JACK FROST. The 172nd has "lost" its khaki berets the previous October (1978).

 

Each Inf Bn in the Bde had its own flash. I am not familiar with any others, but they probably existed.

 

The flashes were made by the base tailor shop (run by imported Koreans) or made in Korea and brought in by the tailor shop (I heard it both ways, from the Koreans).

 

The flashes were all larger than the normal SF or Lower 48 Abn units.

 

The Pathfinder section of the Avn Bn (designation not recalled) at Ft Wainwright wore the big flashes on maroon berets.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

In looking at Beret Insignia of the US Army, the 172nd's flashes all appear to represent certain companies, e.g., C/4/23, C/1/60, the HHC, etc. I read somewhere that there was a 452nd MI Detachment, but I don't know if that would have had its own flash. There evidently was an armored battalion for a while, which is not listed in the book.

[atb]

Stein's book shows this flash as the 38th Regiment of the North Carolina State Militia with no other informaton than that.

 

Rather than start a new thread I thought I would add to this one.

 

This beret I recently picked up, and am stumped as to what the beret's flash represents. I've looked through Hudspeath's beret insignia book to no avail, and have looked at many foreign, state guard and civilian designs and have come up with nothing. The 172 Inf Bde nd did not have all its related flashes identified in Hudspeath's book, and I think this likely is one of the flashes that has been as-yet unidentified. Also, C/60th Infantry's flash (see poster atb's photo), was the same as this but without the red triangle.

 

The Bancroft label states "over 50 years" which should put it closer to the 70s time frame that this beret would have come from, if it is from the 172nd.

 

The beret's leather band has wear to it, and there is evidence of insignia having been pinned to the flash.

 

Thoughts?

 

[J_Andrews]

Your reference may show the Company C's because those were the AIRBORNE companies, and their flashes may have carried over onto maroon berets.

 

Alaska has had Airborne units since the late 1950s. Under the Battle Group system, the 23rd Inf had Company F (Fearless Fox). In 1962-1963, the Battalion system came in and Co F morphed into Co C, 4th Bn, 23rd Inf, and one Inf Bn in each Brigade (4-23rd,172nd based at Ft Richardson/Anchorage and 4-9th,171st at Wainwright/Fairbanks) got a "Charlie Airborne" company.

 

The 4-23 and 4-9 left Alaska for RVN (as part of the 25th Inf Div) in early 1966, and their places were taken by newly-formed 6-23 and 6-9. After VN, these returned and the "6ths" inactivated. The other elements of the 171st/172nd and later 6th Inf Div changed around, with unacccustomed regtl numbers showing up. I do not have an O/B for the 6th in Alaska, but the 60th and IIRC 17th were among them.

[MPage]

Stein's book shows this flash as the 38th Regiment of the North Carolina State Militia with no other informaton than that.

 

Ahhhh - what a come-down! http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=6992...=o.280183623508

 

Thanks for the identification, though.

[steeve555]

On 2/1/2008 at 9:05 PM, Mitch said:

I don't know the codes for that brand beret , but the "76" on the lining could be the year and the it could have been worn by US Army's 172nd infantry Brigade. It looks close to the color and most I have seen had there DI pinned on the flash. In Alaska the 172d Infantry Brigade adopted an olive or brown beret. Members of the brigades 1/60th Infantry wore their brown beret with a light blue flash insignia. It was worn approx 1973-1979.It was soon dropped when the Army standardized headgear policy in 1979 to limit beret wear to Special Forces, Airborne, and Ranger units.

I think the original berets issued to 172 in 1975 were made in Canada.  Maybe some one here can verify that.  Its comig from my memory!

[AHR]

HI ALL 

I WAS LOOKING UP BERET'S AND FOUND THIS TOPIC  TALKING ABOUT ALASKA BERETS

HERE'S A PIC OF MY BERET I AQUIRED IN THE 80'S WHEN I WAS HUNTING INFO ABOUT ALASKA A/B AND RANGER UNITS.

THE  FL. &  D.I.  ARE FOR  172ND INF. BRIG.  

THANKS FOR THE ADDITIONAL  INFO.  

A H R