Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Share #1 Posted July 16, 2015 Hello Everyone, Just a few quick snaps of a recent direct-from-the-family's-estate grouping. These items belonged to to a Staff Sgt. who was in South Vietnam sometime around 1963 or 1964. This vet joined the Marines in late 1946, and was actually looking to retire when he was killed in a car accident in California in 1965. It seems that for most of his career, his MOS was listed as "cook", however I don't have much information pertaining to his service in Vietnam (his niece told me he was a mechanic, however, I have not yet verified this). I'm fairly certain he served with one of the helicopter squadrons that operated in Vietnam during Operation Shufly. Anyway, he brought back some interesting items: - USMC/USN issue Beo Gam pattern flight suit (Takashimaya Co. Ltd. contract) - USMC/USN issue khaki flight suit (well used, leg cuff zippers removed, laundry number in collar matches vet) - Matching early contract (black 13-star metal buttons) Beo Gam pattern jacket & pants (red/white size tags nearly completely gone) - Set of black Vietnamese "pajamas" (includes shirt and pants) - Large black w/ white stripes thin cotton blanket/ground cover that came with PJs (fabric weave is fairly coarse) The khaki flight suit is neat, as it appears to have been recycled and repaired a few times, the leg and arms have been shortened and cuff zippers moved, and eventually the leg cuff zippers were taken off. It also appears to have a Vietnamese name of one of the prior users written below the spec tag. Haven't been able to find much out about the PJs, as there aren't many legit examples I've seen online to use for comparison. Anyway, just thought it was a cool little uniform grouping. Looking back, I should have picked up the orange flight suit as well, which would have given me a nice set of early 1960s USMC/USN flight suits, but I'm still super satisfied with what I picked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted July 16, 2015 More Pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted July 16, 2015 More Pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted July 16, 2015 More Pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted July 16, 2015 More Pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted July 16, 2015 More Pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bareknuckleboutique Posted July 16, 2015 Share #7 Posted July 16, 2015 Nice! Love the Beo Gam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
American Graffiti Posted July 16, 2015 Share #8 Posted July 16, 2015 Outstanding group! AG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat123 Posted July 16, 2015 Share #9 Posted July 16, 2015 Very cool! Congrats on the find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted July 16, 2015 Share #10 Posted July 16, 2015 Thats a great find. Everything is really really good. Did you get photos of the vet also or paperwork ? Can you go back ? Congrats owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 RECON Posted July 16, 2015 Share #11 Posted July 16, 2015 Nice stuff! Is that a Montagyard shirt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share #12 Posted July 17, 2015 Thanks for the comments! Owen: There were no photos or paperwork available. All of this was in the estate of his brother-in-law, and this appears to be all that was there (other than a few small items and the orange flight suit I referenced).I appears that most of the personal items (metals, photos, paperwork) have been scattered during the 50 years since this veteran died. I did find a set of his ribbons, but no other items were available. I spoke with the family member that was present at the sale, and she gave me his name and as much information as she knew. It would have been great to get some more documentation for this grouping, but alas, it doesn't always happen. 63 Recon: I believe you are referencing the black shirt posted above? This is a comment garment worn by the locals in Vietnam, and isn't specific to any particular group. They were worn by a LOT of the people in Vietnam though they are commonly linked to the Viet-Cong, but it could have just as likely been worn by a South Vietnamese farmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 RECON Posted July 17, 2015 Share #13 Posted July 17, 2015 cool, sorry i meant the folded garment to the left of the pants in the first pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovmilinsig Posted July 17, 2015 Share #14 Posted July 17, 2015 Interesting! Great find! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted July 17, 2015 cool, sorry i meant the folded garment to the left of the pants in the first pic. That item is a large blanket/sheet/groundcover, and appears to be made of thin coarse-weave cotton fabric. I'm not certain what it was used for, and I'm still in the process of researching this item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBT Posted July 18, 2015 Share #16 Posted July 18, 2015 Excellent score. Thanks for sharing! ---Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly USMC Posted July 20, 2015 Share #17 Posted July 20, 2015 Great Items!!! That Camo Flight Suit is Very Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 20, 2015 Share #18 Posted July 20, 2015 Great find. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimp Posted July 20, 2015 Share #19 Posted July 20, 2015 Wow, really nice items! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted July 25, 2015 Share #20 Posted July 25, 2015 The leopard cammo 2 piece suit is first pattern. Its a matched set. I my opinion VERY rare in this print fade. A true USMC museum worthy set. I would love to include this grouping in my upcoming Nam Cammo 2 volume book. Is this something you would be intrested in sharing? owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefallenbuddha Posted July 25, 2015 Share #21 Posted July 25, 2015 Great items! I like the Takashimaya label. I was just in one of their department stores today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly USMC Posted July 26, 2015 Share #22 Posted July 26, 2015 Owen (or anyone else who knows), Who else used this style camo set? Was it exclusively USMC? I believe that the flight suit was USMC only, but don't know about the Leopard camo two piece suit. Thanks, John The leopard cammo 2 piece suit is first pattern. Its a matched set. I my opinion VERY rare in this print fade. A true USMC museum worthy set. I would love to include this grouping in my upcoming Nam Cammo 2 volume book. Is this something you would be intrested in sharing? owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted August 19, 2015 Share #23 Posted August 19, 2015 The 2 piece suit is typical 1st issue to USSF type personal. It would be great to hear how he got it. That said some early USMC advisors got some of the suits also. owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsmancollector Posted August 20, 2015 Share #24 Posted August 20, 2015 Outstanding group of items! Beogam flight suit is fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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