Looking for help

[ncrazor]

I just recently found a photo of my father (the guy on the left of the pic) and am wandering what the patch on his shirt is. He passed away in 2005 and was very quite about his Vietnam years. Can anyone give me information?

[RustyCanteen]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

I am going to move your post into the patch section so that the patch guys can look at it.

 

RC

[ncrazor]

Thanks RC for your help. I appreciate it very much.

 

lr

[vintageproductions]

It looks like ta civil affairs or a signal pocket patch. If you could get a clearer shot it would help

[ncrazor]

Thanks for the info...

 

It's the only picture I have and my brother found it online after months of looking for any information about our dad. I know he served with the Green Beret's so someone suggested that the patch might be MACVSOG patch.

 

Also thanks for uploading the photo on the page. That might help someone.

 

lr

[vintageproductions]

It looks like this one to me and it is regional communications group

 

 

 

[ncrazor]

My dad's MOS was in communication... so you may be right. Thanks.

[gwb123]

It's an interesting photograph.

 

It looks like your father and the other officer are sorting through some sort of wreckage.

 

They are wearing OG-107 uniforms, which were the standard fatigues of the Army at the time. That is in contrast to the jungle fatigues worn by the combat troops. However, it looks like he is wearing a canvas jungle boot.

 

The name and US Army tapes are subdued... this would probably have been after 1967 or 1968. 1968 is when the Army formally adopted subdued insignia, but it was in use before then. In contrast, their rank insignia look to be bright metal. Another indication they were not in a combat area.

 

His .45 holster looks to be brown rather than black. This again is not unusual for support units that were not given the most recent issue of equipment.

 

The uniform in this photo does not suggest he was assigned to a Special Forces unit at the time this was taken. He may have had such an assignment at a later date. Or he may have worked in support of Special Forces units, managing a communications site that supported their operations.

 

It's great that you could find a photo of your Dad while he was in the service. If you figure out who posted it, or if there is an organization that owns the website, perhaps you can find more.

 

Some of our members may be able to advise you on how to obtain his service records. There is also a Vietnam Veterans database that some of our members subscribe to.

[Patchcollector]

"It's the only picture I have and my brother found it online after months of looking for any information about our dad."

 

 

Where online did you find the photo?The site where you found it may shed more light on what he did.

[ncrazor]

I really appreciate your insight. The picture came from a website showing the wreckage after a mortar attack in DaNag. You have given me a lot to consider. My mother has several boxes of military records that she chose to keep quite until now. After my brother found this picture she has decided to let us open the boxes at Christmas. I've spent most of my life not asking any questions because my dad made it plain that this was a chapter he did not want to discuss. Now seven years after his death i have a million questions. Its kind of weird.

 

Thanks again... you have been a great help

 

lr

[ncrazor]

Here is the link http://www.danangsignal.com/danang9.htm

[ncrazor]

The picture is located in danag9 about half way down the page.

 

lr

[Patchcollector]

Interesting site.Thanks for the link.When I first saw your pic,I thought that what I was looking at were the remnants of a "Commo" trailer.Looking at the pics on the website you provided confirmed that.These Commo,or Signals set ups were on many bases in Nam,and some were even in places we claimed we were not! at.See this link for an interesting story about "Lima Site 85",an AF Facility in Laos.

http://www.sgtmacsbar.com/Articles/Site85/Site85.html

 

The Signals units did many tasks,some mundane,others were very "hush-hush" sort of duties.My guess is that your Father was probably attached to the SF doing some of the more classified work.I noticed that among the pics was one of tapes.I know that SF Teams were inserted and sometimes actually tapped into the communication wires that the NVA had laid so that they could be monitored.Perhaps your Father was involved with the taping aspect of these OP's.But I'm just speculating,as I have no facts about your Father's unit.

My advice is to go through his papers' carefully and try and glean what you can.Depending on the level of secrecy surrounding his work,you should be able to find more info about his activities.Look for names,maybe you can find some contacts that worked with him.

Alot of stuff has become declassified lately,maybe you will be able to request some more info from Govt. sources as well.

[Patchcollector]

Here's an image I found on the website from the link that you provided.I still think that the patch that Bob posted looks more like the one your Father wore though.

[ncrazor]

The story about the "Lima Site 85" is incredible... Thanks for the link.

I appreciate your time and information. You have provided some great insight.

My mom has confirmed that my dad did spend some time across the fence but that is all she knows.

Somewhere around 1969 he was in a helicopter crash after being shot down.

My dad survived but was majorly wounded. At this point I do not know any more about that or even the actual dates.

I hope to find that out this Christmas. My dad did recover and eventually retired from Hancock Air Force Base located in Syracuse NY. Even though he was in the Army he spent the last part of his carrier on the Air Force Base.

 

Thanks so much,

 

lr