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Vietnam "Bringback" French Bugle


1srelluc
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I stopped by a yard sale this morning and saw a tattered SKS sling attached to something on a table. When I got there I saw it was attached to a French bugle.....$10.00 later it was mine.

 

I asked the lady where it came from and she said that her late husband brought it back from Vietnam as a souvenir.

 

The French military bugle is dated 1932, you can tell by the 32 in the flaming bomb. The maker is Couesnon & Co., Paris which was a common maker for French military bugles.

 

Of course buy the bugle and not the story but it seems plausible. ;)

 

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I totally buy the story. Sling and bugle combo match the story. Not advertised as such. Just $10. The ol' "if it could only talk" certainly applies here. Great find.

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By the way. You should go back and see if you can get info on the vet. When he served/unit. A photo of him would be great. That would really add to the value/collectability/history, etc.

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USCapturephotos

I was just going to say it and saw that Kurt already has. Go back and ask about photos of her husband etc. you never know where this could all lead. Good luck!

Paul

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By the way. You should go back and see if you can get info on the vet. When he served/unit. A photo of him would be great. That would really add to the value/collectability/history, etc.

 

I seldom do that in the "yard sale game" because people will think that they got cheated (even though they set the price) if you come back asking questions.

 

I found a M-44 Carbine a couple of years ago that was refurbed by the Soviets, sent to a client state (Vietnam), captured, and brought back buy the seller's brother. The guy thought he had the paperwork on it and told me to check with him the next day.

 

I went back and he proceeded to give me a raft of BS about how he should not have sold it and actually wanted me to return it saying it was not a legal sale (it was) and how I cheated him. I just turned around and walked off.

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Nice find and totally plausible story. I have one where the strap is made from a canteen sling. ,

You got a deal! I'd still go back - the upside is so much greater than the downside of maybe getting a raft of crap from the seller.

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Nice find. The movie We Were Soldiers has a few scenes where a North Vietnamese soldier is using a bugle. If my memory serves correct, in the begining of the movie a North Vietnamese Soldier gets a bugle from a French soldier.

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Bugles were used by the Chinese and North Koreans as well in Battle.Spoke to several vets who recall hearing bugles.

 

Typical way of signaling on the field

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A friend of mine works yard sales hard. There is undoubtedly more, and a group is much better than a single item. He pays reasonably to families, enough below retail to do ok if he had to sell it. If there is more, maybe pay up for that and it'll all balance out. Not a bad price to pay to preserve history.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice find. The movie We Were Soldiers has a few scenes where a North Vietnamese soldier is using a bugle. If my memory serves correct, in the begining of the movie a North Vietnamese Soldier gets a bugle from a French soldier.

You are correct Wahooman. The bugle was used by French soldiers who were slaughtered at the beginning of the film. Did you notice that that bugle was picked up at the end of the film by a trooper in the First Calvary? The NVA also used whistles at the beginning of am ambush...

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