A-L Tiger Stripe set brought back in '69

[m38matilda]

I'm trying to identify the actual pattern and type of this set. The story on where they came from is my stepdad brought them back when his tour was over in 1969. When I found them 6 years later there were two full sets, each in sealed clear plastic bags

packed in a box along with some of his jungle jackets, a grenade vest and a worn out pair of jungle boots. I asked if I could have them and he told me he forgot he had them and "Sure take them. They might even fit you (I was 15) I remember I got them for the Vietnamese I had working with me." Originally he had quite a few sets (along with some electronic gear and other stuff but he didnt say what that stuff was) he aquired "in appreciation" for Carbines and M-16's he released to some Green Berets assigned to a South Vietnamese unit. They said the soldiers who were new recruits would throw away their weapons and take off the 1st time they came under fire. They didn't want to catch a batch of sh*t having to explain why they needed to keep reissuing rifles so they made a deal with my stepdad who at the time, was the security officer for a small USN river base. He issued all but the two sets he brought back and that's how I got one of them (my brother took the other set).

 

Not knowing any better I later used them as work clothes while helping out a buddy with his landscaping business (it was 1979 when people actually used to hire the local neighborhood kid to cut their grass in the summer.) but after two days I stopped because the damn crappy Sears string trimmer made some rips on the bottom of one of the pants legs and a button came off the shirt because the thread was loose and I was opening and closing it to get my cigarettes over and over (also in 1979 when teenagers smoked. Something I don't miss one bit) I actually decided to put them away not because I figured they would ever have value but because I'd just gone to see "The Deer Hunter" and DeNiro was wearing what looked like the same camo pattern in the scene where he's torching a villiage with a flamethrower. It impressed me to not ruin them, for whatever reason. After that I wore them a few more times, then left them at home when I went to college and forgot about them. 30 years later when my stepdad was selling the old house, I was helping him move and discovered them in a footlocker that had all my old military school uniforms in it.

A bit long winded but hopefully interesting story. Any info on value would be great because theres no way in hell these will fit me now so I'm thinking I might just sell them.

[vintageproductions]

silver pattern

[kammo-man]

Mis matched set.

[m38matilda]

Actually they arent mismatched. The photo editor auto contrast made one look darker than the other.

[kammo-man]

Pants are vat dyed black synthetic ink

Shirt is vegetable black dye natural ink

 

Mis matched

Same basic pattern

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[m38matilda]

You are absolutely right.One pattern looks black and the other more blue. I absolutely never noticed that before. I am guessing when my brother and I got them, we unknowingly switched the tops and bottoms while trying them on. I'll never know because his kids wore his set and his wife said she threw them away at some point when they no longer fit.

Would there be a difference in year of manufacture based on the type of dye method used? Would mismatched sets ever have been issued?

Thanks. I much appreciate the info.

[vintageproductions]

Probably made at the same time.

 

When they were handed out these were GI's not collectors, they really didn't pay attention if they matched or not.

[doyler]

Lots of sets dont match.

 

Some items faded more than others.I have a set from a Marine and he either wore the shirt more than the trousers or had a spare set/replaced them.The shirt has really faded.

[doyler]

As Bob stated most were not collectors or concerned if they had the correct pattern.I still have a hard time sorting the patterns out.

[doyler]

Here is a set to a veteran that came together