Viet Cong 9mm Pistol

[Steve Brannan]

Brought this VC 9mm pistol home from Vietnam in 1970. Still have the flag but always thought the pistol was ugly and sold it in July 1970 to Major Richard J Keogh at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. I wonder what happened to it. Anyone on the forum seen this pistol. It even has a serial number- 568001.

 

[Steve Brannan]

It took me a whole day to get the paperwork processed to bring this thing back home. Got off the plane at McCord AF in California. Customs agent asked me if I had anything to declare. Told him yes, a pistol. He asked me if I had all the right papers and I said yes. He said, fine go ahead. Never even looked at my papers or the pistol. My things have changed.

[BOLO]

interesting home made pistol, I bet you wish you would have kept it now? when I find something rare or unusual I usually hold on to it for several years before I consider selling or trading it, because some things cant ever be replaced like that pistol you brought back

 

since it's a hand made jungle work shop type of weapon it's probably a one of a kind and rare , very unlikely to see another one like it.

[badash5946]

There's a lot of beauty in that ugliness. I've owned several jungle made VN pistols (still have a 1911A1 copy) and rifles and they ranged from very crude to semi-nice. Too bad that you sold that one as I've not seen another exactly like it. At least you still have the flag and it looks to be really nice!

 

My overseas return customs experience was similar:

 

Agent: You don't have anything to declare do you?

Me: Ummm...

Agent: You DON'T have anything to declare, do you Captain?

Me (finally getting the message): Ahh, no I don't.

Agent: Fine then, go on through.

[Jack's Son]

My overseas return customs experience was similar:

 

Agent: You don't have anything to declare do you?

Me: Ummm...

Agent: You DON'T have anything to declare, do you Captain?

Me (finally getting the message): Ahh, no I don't.

Agent: Fine then, go on through.

 

God I long for those days!!

[firefighter]

Would a 'jungle made' pistol have a serial numbered? It does look rough but went these CHICOM pistols just mass produced? Look's like it's missing the grips?

[badash5946]

Would a 'jungle made' pistol have a serial numbered? It does look rough but went these CHICOM pistols just mass produced? Look's like it's missing the grips?

Very very few had a serial number attached. And if they did, it usually had no meaning other than being a copy of some real pistol

[Jack's Son]

Very very few had a serial number attached. And if they did, it usually had no meaning other than being a copy of some real pistol

 

Thanks for the answer....had me wondering too!

[Steve Brannan]

Yea. I wish I hadn't sold it. Thought it might turn up again some day. It was so unique. It would fire but had to be recharged after every round. The firing pin was made from a nail.

It was found in an arms cache on Dung Island in the Bassac River.

[BOLO]

is the small lever near the bottom of the grip a magazine release lever?

[Jack's Son]

is the small lever near the bottom of the grip a magazine release lever?

There is a 9mm round there, could that be what you are referring to?

 

NO, I enlarged the pic again and it is some kind of loop or lever. Sorry for the confusion.

[Steve Brannan]

Yea, the lever held the clip in. The clip was a modified US .45 clip. The barrel was a pipe and not even rifled. Very crude.

[m151mp]

i remember bringing home an sks, and returning to benning. we went to atlanta to fly out, oct 70, and they had us carry our weapons onto the plane, where they were handed over to the cockpit crew, then we went and sat down. after we landed in san francisco, they handed them back to us and we went into the terminal carrying them. the ever present protestors didn't say much to us as we waited together for our rides to come and pick us up for the last leg home. i think there were 7 or 8 of us in the group, with several rifles. pretty sure it's done differently now.

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

This 9mm pistol was produced in Can Tho and was carried by a VC political officer who was captured by an SF unit in the Mekong Delta in 1967. (Richard Keogh)

 

From a November 29th 2013 article by J. David Truby on Small Arms Review

https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2231

 

[retread12345]

My experience was pretty similar    The pilot requested, if possible , that the bolts be removed from the 

weapons on the flight to the East Coast, and the guns kept in the cock pit.  Remember the pilot remarking

that he was seeing a lot of these coming back

 Returning to KADENA from RVN, all weapons owners were required to bring up the rear of the formation

 on the way. to the  receiving shack.   All went smooth as silk, nobody had a problem.  There were a few

USAF people hanging around trying to buy one. I had an offer of 500 dollars.   Passed, but sold a couple

in country made NVA flags for what I could get. We had heard that the people on OKINAWA were

eager for "SOONENEERS"  A few guys had NVA flags made and traded them or sold them as "REAL"

Hey,  they were made by Vietnamse in Vietnam  Ethics were flexible then

[Backtheattack]

Great theme. Read a lot about the VC made weapons. But never seen an original one.

[WWIIBuff1945]

Nice bring back Steve! I'm doing a book on Vietnam Bring Back weapons. It would be great to have the pistol and your service history in the book.

PM please if interested and we can work out the details? Thanks for your service! Keith