Please ID Vietnam patch "SRF"

[cbuehler]

I presume this to be an "in country" made patch, but not sure just for what. Thanks folks!

 

CB

[cbuehler]

reverse

[River Patrol]

PRU - Provincial Recon Unit - ARVN unit usually led by American Advisors.

 

That skull sure is smiling!

[River Patrol]

Do you think it's authentic to the time period?

[Bill Scott]

My opinion is its not a period piece I hope Bob gives his opinion.Scotty

[gwb123]

After digging through various reference books, I am wondering if the design itself is bogus, let alone this particular patch.

 

It appears in Ian Sutherland's book on page 540 and is identified as Special Recon Forces with the initials standing for Luc Luong Tinh Bao Cac Biet (reportedly Special Forces Intelligence).

 

The fly in the oinment is that it was donated by a well known reproduction artist. Both the one in the book and this one look like his work.

 

I dug deeper into Cecil Smyth's books, including his ones on Regional Forces and ARVN Rangers. This design is nowhere to be found.

 

The design apears to mimic the Binh Dinh Provence PRU shown in Sutherland's book on pg. 539, as well as a variation of the Kien Hoa Province PRU shown in Smyth's book.

 

One thing that makes the submitted patch subject as a PRU patch is the use of English. In the dozens of examples of other units in both of these books the only English that is used is the abbreviation PRU.

 

Unless someone comes up with an authenticated example, I suspect this is a fantasy patch created to fool collectors.

[vintageproductions]

My opinion, for what its worth, is it is not real.

All of the real ones I have handled in collections that were put together during Vietnam, this patch is always printed.

Maybe if I saw it in person I might feel differently, but from the scans I don't get that warm fuzzy feeling.

[Bearmon]

look at post #8 on this thread...http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/214977-a-few-of-my-early-collected-vietnam-patches/&do=findComment&comment=1711466

 

[cbuehler]

Thanks all! The only thing I do know is that this patch came from a from a collection over 30 years old. The owner is adamant that it is vet aquired along with other items, so if this is indeed a fake of some sort, it was made a long time ago and appears to have gotten into at least one vets effects.

 

CB

[cbuehler]

Here is a close up of the construction. Hopefully this will help seal its fate!

 

CB

[vintageproductions]

look at post #8 on this thread...http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/214977-a-few-of-my-early-collected-vietnam-patches/&do=findComment&comment=1711466

 

mannyc's pru.jpg

 

I don't trust any of these.

[MFT3]

Here is the print version.

[all-bull]

Can we see a close up of the back like you showed a close up of the front? That would tell us a lot. Even if it is a pittensbaugher (I'm sure I messed up spelling) he would have made copies 30+ Years ago by now

 

In having said that the stitching on your front looks quite perplexing in one way...

 

And the symmetry, spacing , and style of text says another.

[gwb123]

Here is the print version.

 

Thank you for the photo. Do you have a positive ID on the unit? For reasons stated above, this does not track as a PRU patch.

[River Patrol]

Well it's S.R.F = Special Recon Forces ....I've always equated them to PRU, eventhough they are sometimes listed as "unknown PRU".

 

There is a tear drop shaped S.R.F patch in black with a bird spreading its wings....

[gwb123]

Thanks all! The only thing I do know is that this patch came from a from a collection over 30 years old. The owner is adamant that it is vet aquired along with other items, so if this is indeed a fake of some sort, it was made a long time ago and appears to have gotten into at least one vets effects.

 

CB

 

CB,

 

This has happened a lot, and will continue to happen.

 

The fake artist who made these was operating in the 1980's and 1990's. So it is quite possible that the patch has been in a collection for 20 to 30 years at this point.

 

As far as it being in the effects of a vet... also believable. I had a close friend who gave me a Taiwan postwar made 46th SF company beret flash along with the words "this was my unit". Like many vets he had either bought it because he could not find an original or he did not want to pay the high price that they bring on the collector's market.

 

Assuming this sold in the 1980's, they were still going for between $35 to $75 when being sold as "originals".

 

If you think this is bad, I've got photo copies of a collection from an estate in Canada that must of had 70+ patches from the same source... all neatly organized like they were the real thing. I also have copies of some of the receipts that were paid. I really felt sad for the collector, especially if he left this world thinking they were the real thing.

[Longhorn92]

In Smyth's Special Forces in Southeast Asia he has it listed as "Unknown Mobile Strike Force."

 

I always think PRU first when I see a bat, though that may not always be the case.

 

If it was a real unit, I'd go with PRU before MSF or anything else.

[gwb123]

In Smyth's Special Forces in Southeast Asia he has it listed as "Unknown Mobile Strike Force."

 

I always think PRU first when I see a bat, though that may not always be the case.

 

If it was a real unit, I'd go with PRU before MSF or anything else.

 

Thanks for adding that. I do not have a copy of Smyth's Special Forces work.

 

Not to be contrary but since Cecil included it with the SF stuff, that might be a closer identification. I go back to the fact that if you look through Cecil's book on PRU and RF patches, none of them have an English legend on them... they are all in Vietnamese.

 

Also, Cecil actually worked with the regional forces I believe. I think he would have known if the SRF patch belonged to one of those units.

 

But I agree... the bat and skull is a common design for the PRU.