Vietnam War Navy UDT Junge Fatigues

[FT.Monmouth1943]

Recently picked up these jungle fatigues. It's a 1st pattern jungle jacket and 2nd pattern jungle pants. It has theater made tapes, directly embroidered Commander ranks, and what looks like US made jump wings. I believe they belonged to Captain Ted R Fielding who was in UDT 1, 11 and 12 from Korea to the late 1950's. I believe he did a couple of tours in Vietnam doing intelligence work with MACV. There is a lot of information online about a Teddy R Fielding and Theodore R Fielding who both go by Ted and seem to fit the same profile, so I think they could be the same sailor. Any information and comments are welcome.

 

[FT.Monmouth1943]

[doyler]

Very nice shirt.

 

Great vietnamse embroidery

[River Patrol]

Nice uniform....something I would add to my collection.

[kammo-man]

At least its real.

owen

[FT.Monmouth1943]

Thanks! I was very happy to add this piece to the collection.

[skypilot6670]

Looks like a laundry tag inside near the collar. Were there state side style laundry’s in country ? We just gave our laundry to Mama San where I was. I did port security in Da Nang ( guard duty Deep water pier , Tien Sha and Bridge Ramp plus camp Baxter and the special forces camp at Marble Mountain ) and I know the navy ate good and had nice quarters. But I don’t remember laundries. The Jump Wings are very cool. How would he get Army Certified Airborne ? Ron Doyler is spot on ,that is beautiful needle work and a truly great shirt. Thanks for posting. Mike

[Salvage Sailor]

Almost all (if not all) USN ships have a laundry aboard for their crews and attached personnel. This includes all of the LST brown water navy tenders, salvage barges (i.e. YRST-1), lighters, etc.

[skypilot6670]

Thanks for explaining that Salvage Sailor. I forgot the Navy brings all there stuff with them. Mike

[sigsaye]

Almost all (if not all) USN ships have a laundry aboard for their crews and attached personnel. This includes all of the LST brown water navy tenders, salvage barges (i.e. YRST-1), lighters, etc.

. That would have been from an on base laundry. It was the only time I ever got those in my stuff. Never had a shipboard laundry use a special tag. As enlisted, your stuff went down on Divisional day, or departmental (size of ship). As a CPO, we had a mess cook who took out khakis down. Officers had Stewards.

 

The tag you see is temporary. They were basically glued in with starch. We pulled them out, because as you sweated, they would come loose and Itch. Not all base laundries used them. In Sunil, they just wrote random numbers in your stuff every time you sent it in. They would line out old numbers and write in new ones.

[sigsaye]

Looks like a laundry tag inside near the collar. Were there state side style laundrys in country ? We just gave our laundry to Mama San where I was. I did port security in Da Nang ( guard duty Deep water pier , Tien Sha and Bridge Ramp plus camp Baxter and the special forces camp at Marble Mountain ) and I know the navy ate good and had nice quarters. But I dont remember laundries. The Jump Wings are very cool. How would he get Army Certified Airborne ? Ron Doyler is spot on ,that is beautiful needle work and a truly great shirt. Thanks for posting. Mike

. As for the jump wings. For a long time, the Navy did not have its own jump wings. Since all military parachutists go through the same Army jump school, they initially got Army jump wings, as that was all there was. Eventually, the Navy came up with their own wings and said that everyone who had Army wings was to change over. Not sure when that was. Many chose not to. And few chose to inforce it. I was an instructor for a while. All prior Army with the CIB, were to stop wearing that, and switch to the Navys Combat Action Ribbon. I never inforced that. I know what a CIB means. All my books are about 10 hours away in a storage unit.

[FT.Monmouth1943]

. That would have been from an on base laundry. It was the only time I ever got those in my stuff. Never had a shipboard laundry use a special tag. As enlisted, your stuff went down on Divisional day, or departmental (size of ship). As a CPO, we had a mess cook who took out khakis down. Officers had Stewards.

 

The tag you see is temporary. They were basically glued in with starch. We pulled them out, because as you sweated, they would come loose and Itch. Not all base laundries used them. In Sunil, they just wrote random numbers in your stuff every time you sent it in. They would line out old numbers and write in new ones.

That's exactly what they are. Both the jacket and pants have the same laundry tag on them. The pants have the tag on the outside, so I'd imagine he never wore them after the last time they were laundered and those tags were put on.

[skypilot6670]

Thanks to all for the explanations. That is one cool uniform. Thank you very much for posting. Mike

[CROC]

Hi,

Your officer should be Teddy Roosevelt FIELDING, born in 1920. He was a 1100 Special Warfare qualified Officer. He was promoted Cdr on 1 july 1960 and Capt on 1 july 1969. He earned a navy cross as Lt with UDT 1 for action on 2 dec 1951. In may 1970 he was CO of NavSpeWarGru 1.

If I well see, the last digit of the laundy number is 4, the three prior should be 758.

Best

[FT.Monmouth1943]

Thanks, that's the hit I got too. There's a portrait of him in a cruise book that I'll post later.

[Tonomachi]

Great uniform and did you see this on the Internet:

 

Teddy Roosevelt Fielding

DATE OF BIRTH: 1921 HOME OF RECORD: Washington, D. C.

 

Navy Cross AWARDED FOR ACTIONS
DURING Korean War Service: Navy GENERAL ORDERS:

CITATION:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Teddy Roosevelt Fielding (NSN: 0-3602993), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Reconnaissance Swimmer of Underwater Demolition Team ONE, during an amphibious raid against enemy aggressor forces on the northeast coast of Korea on the night of 3 December 1951. After the boat in which he was riding grounded on some rocks close to the enemy-held beach, Lieutenant Fielding with courageous skill and utter disregard for his own safety, dived into shallow water to disarm a demolition charge which had been thrown overboard, thereby averting an explosion that would have resulted in the loss of the boat, her crew, and the troops aboard at the time. This act of spontaneous heroism reflected the aggressive and fearless spirit which he displayed during the entire operation against the enemy. During both raids on the nights of 2 and 3 December, Lieutenant Fielding coordinated his bold and daring work in conducting reconnaissance of the assault area, with that of the 41st Marine Commandos, and persisted in his efforts until a thorough reconnaissance of the target beaches was completed and this vital intelligence delivered to boat and troop personnel. His relentless fighting spirit and courageous devotion to duty, maintained with complete disregard for his own safety, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/5871