Saigon/ HCM City 1995

14,892 · April 9, 2017

But why buy something that is all beat up and grungy when you can have one that is brand new and unissued?

The opening photo was taken at the Long Binh Army Depot, or what remained of it.

This is one myth that was actually true. There were still boxes and boxes of material in there. Some of it was spotless, others were succumbing to the tropical environment. You can see helmets in the other box that look like they have been collecting rain water.

As I recall, it took Louis a couple of years before he made the connections to get into these warehouses. It was not something that just open to anyone who asked.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

More gear at Long Binh.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Of course, there were many other things at Long Binh other than field gear.

These are aircraft loading ramps. As of 1995 the Vietnamese were still trying to figure out what they were made of, possibly so they could scrap them properly.

Note the storage locations in the background full of unknown items. I have other photos just showing packed and crated materials going on for yards at a time. I am sure there were millions of dollars worth of equipment still sitting there unused. Presumably by 2017 its either gone or found a use by now. But yet, it wouldn't be surprising if some of it was still there.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

One last piece of gear. This appears to be a US Army issue short wave radio. This is proof that the military was still in a WWII mindset where there had to be a military model of everything they used, rather than just buying an equivalent civilian model off the shelf.

April 9, 2017

Thanks for sharing these photos, they're very interesting to look at!

1,345 · April 9, 2017

A wonderful Sunday morning read. Thanks for taking the time to post it all. Looking forward to the next chapter.

April 9, 2017

fantastic topic, i used to live in Saigon in 1995, unfortunately i had not the money for collecting at the time, it is so difficult these days to find original patched ARVN shirts, in 10 years of collecting i might have 10 in total, these are so rare, i don't care much for paras and elite troops and so on, a normal shirt named and patched with ranks any branch will make my day.

6,015 · April 9, 2017

Great stuff! Thanks! Bob

14,892 · April 9, 2017

So let's turn to insignia now.

Despite the hopes of many, there appears to have been very little in the way of local made US unit patches. None of the Airborne/Ranger/Air CAV/MP/Tank Killer patches that everyone likes to collect these days.

You will notice a lot of collar and branch insignia, as well as wings an CIB's. I was never sure if these were vintage or freshly made, as there seemed to be a lot of them.

Given that color insignia went out of style for fatigue uniforms in 1969, it seemed odd that there were so many of them. These were hand embroidered.

The 1st Signal Bde patches had velvet panels, and look like they could have been made during the wartime. In fact, I have seen period uniforms with similar patches.

(Sorry about the darkened photos, but I had to reduce the brightness. Otherwise the white embroidery would have just blobbed out with no details.)

14,892 · April 9, 2017

It's hard to see, but this 196th Inf Bde patch is on velvet material.

The Bao Chi (Newspaper or Correspondent) tabs are doubtful.

One thing to keep in mind when looking at these patches is that reference material was sparse back in 1995. This especially applied to ARVN patches which were often based on some distant memory of what they were supposed to look like. This often resulted in reproductions that were pure fantasies.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Not the best photo, but these are ones that got away to another dealer.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Sorting, wheeling and dealing.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Vendor's board of DI's and Medals. There are a number of Purple Hearts showing here without ribbons.

There were few gems to be found in the mix, like these Air America badges.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Some pickings from one of Louis' trips.

The best item here is what looks to be a bib scarf or something similar for an ARVN and US Air Cav counterpart unit.

I ended up with the red and yellow Philippine Forces in Vietnam patch.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

While the pickings were slim for better quality US patches, it was a different story for ARVN patches and insignia.

For the metal rank insignia, Louis literally found piles of these. Many were in bad shape, but he typically picked out the better examples.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

While some ARVN insignia were in good shape, others had suffered wear over time.

Some of the larger strips and sheets of insignia had been re-purposed after the war, and used for such things a lining curtains and other fabrics.

Others may have been systematically stripped from uniforms.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

While not exactly insignia, there was a fair amount of custom made jewelry to be found.

Note the US Special Forces insignia on this ring.

14,892 · April 9, 2017

In addition to ARVN and US items, there were of course French Indochina badges to be found as well. However, these had to be approached with caution.

What we see in this photo is a supposed collection of French badges that had been "hidden away". The vendor wanted $30 each for them, which was top of the market at the time.

It was later found that some of the French badges that were being found in Saigon in 1995 were actually restrikes! The only way they could have gotten there was if they had been imported at some point from France. It became evident after a point that some of the vendors were actually importing militaria in order to sell it to the tourists as "still found in Vietnam"!

14,892 · April 9, 2017

Plaques, plaque pieces and commemorative items...

The Vietnam War was particularly notable for the wide use of plaques as end of tour gifts or exchanges between counterparts. Given that many tours were only six months to a year, there was a constant market for such items.

Here are few that were still there to be found, either in pieces or in whole.

(Not too many of these were brought out due to the weight.)