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173rd ERDL Camo Jacket.


silkroad
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Hello,

 

I bought this ERDL Jacket last week.My first named 173rd.All tag missing but I think it pre 1970.

Can get some info of this jacket.

 

Thanks you.

Silkroad.

post-162137-0-64486100-1516273070_thumb.jpg

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Nice looking shirt! Looks like a 1968 ERDL shirt with all in-country made insignia. I had a subdued 173rd ABN patch similar to the one on this shirt that was faded in a very similar way.Congrats on your find!

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Great uniform. I did a quick check on the Internet and although MILLER is a common last name I did find three different 173rd Abn Brigade soldiers with the last name of MILLER who were KIA in 1967. Two of the soldiers with the last name of MILLER were killed together on the same mission on the same day. Your uniform is probably older than 1967 but I understand that subdued insignia was replacing color insignia in 1967 and that ERDL was being worn as early as 1967 but I don't know how widespread this was.

 

Final Mission of SP4 Louis C. Miller

POSTED ON 7/6/17 - BY [email protected]

PFC Clarence A. Miller Jr. and SP4 Louis C. Miller were infantrymen serving with B Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry. On November 6, 1967, B Company, 4-503rd, was combat assaulted atop of Hill 823 in the jungles of Dak To Province to accompany their sister companies who were already deployed nearby. Fourth Battalion was attempting to locate elements of the NVA’s 66th Regiment which had infiltrated from Laos. An NVA force had been on Hill 823 before B Company’s arrival, however, they were smashed by preparatory artillery fire on the hilltop before the assault. The shattered force abandoned the peak, leaving behind broken rifle stocks and rucksacks. While B Company was establishing defensive positions on the hill, PFC Miller and SP4 Miller (they were unrelated) were instructed to set up an observation post 100 meters down the western slope to provide an early warning along one of the likely avenues of approach. As the two Millers moved down the hillside, an enemy ambush of platoon size caught them from their right before they covered half the distance to their objective. Both paratroopers were fatally wounded when they were struck by a violent fusillade of small arms fire delivered at close range. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and “Three Companies at Dak To” by Allan W. Sandstrum from the book “Seven Firefights in Vietnam,” Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army]

 

Corporal Jerry Robert Miller

Birth 7 Mar 1948

Death 7 Apr 1967 Tay Ninh, Vietnam

On 7 April 1967, Private First Class Jerry Robert Miller was serving with B Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam.

On that day, PFC Miller was killed in action when he sustained multiple fragmentation wounds. His body was recovered. He received a posthumous promotion to Corporal.


Badge and Medals


Combat Infantryman Badge
Purple Heart
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal

Honors

The name Jerry R Miller is located on Panel 17E Line 117 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

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Great uniform. I did a quick check on the Internet and although MILLER is a common last name I did find three different 173rd Abn Brigade soldiers with the last name of MILLER who were KIA in 1967. Two of the soldiers with the last name of MILLER were killed together on the same mission on the same day. Your uniform is probably older than 1967 but I understand that subdued insignia was replacing color insignia in 1967 and that ERDL was being worn as early as 1967 but I don't know how widespread this was.

 

Being ripstop material I would think the shirt would date to 1968 time frame at a minimum.earlier ERDL was poplin.ERDL wasn't issued widely early on as well.

 

looking at the post of the back I would go with the name Jim Miller

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