Vietnam Made Shoulder Boards

[smwinter207]

Would these have been worn by US personnel in country?

 

Thx

 

 

[Bearmon]

I don't think so, the wide and narrow stripes are reversed for US Navy officers and the anchor is not on US shoulder boards. I do not know if US Naval officers were authorized to wear VN ranks though. I believe these are Warrant Officer boards.

[gwb123]

Those are Republic of Vietnam Navy shoulder boards. I don't believe US officers would have worn them. They would have worn their US rank on their shoulders. They might have worn an local rank device on their shirt.

 

An interesting thing I read... as the remnants for the RVN Navy were gathering their ships packed with refugees at sea for turn over to the US Navy, the officers threw their rank and shoulder boards into the sea.

[patches]

Maybe these are for the South Vietnamese Merchant Marine?

 

Because these appear to be Warrant Officer shoulder boards.

 

 

 

[smwinter207]

They came with the Riverine patches I posted. Maybe a bring back?

[doyler]

I posted these items and they all came together.

 

Not uncommon to find SVN insignias in Groups.Many gift exchanges went on between the SVN Forces and Advisors as well as between US Forces.I have a Task Force 116 beret from a local army Officer and he told me when he was an advisor to a Vietnamese rural force they would get resupplied often by a river boat and often the boat crews spent time near the area he operated in.On one of the last meetings with one of the Navy officers he was given a beret from them.

 

Its hard to say how the boards got in your group r in mine.some guys collected stuff even then.May have had a meaning to the vet maybe not.

 

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/209293-viet-nam-beret/?hl=%2Bnag+%2Bberet