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New MACVSOG Recon Team Insignia Book COMING


18-Echo
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Howdy everyone. My name is Aric Gingo, I’m a long time collector and a long time lurker here. I am an art director (sometimes called a commercial artist or graphic designer) and for the past several years have had my dream job of designing Jason Hardy’s “MACVSOG” series of books. I’ve been collecting for some 35+years, concentrating on US military elite forces insignia.

A few weeks back (before the craziness and social distancing set it) I read a post which mentioned this book and desperately wanted to chime in. I had to wait for approval from the mods and for things to settle down in general. I also wanted to check in with Jason before posting this.

After some 3+ years of hands on work, backed up with 25+ years of research, interviews and connecting dots, we are proud to announce:

US Army Special Forces Insignia of the Vietnam War - The Definitive Collectors Guide: The MACVSOG Recon Teams

We had sample copies of the book at the Show of Shows this year, and someone asked, “Is it REALLY the DEFINITIVE guide?”

Without a doubt, yes it is.

Coming in at over 400 pages, this book gives the collector and historian everything he could possibly need to make informed decisions when it comes to this special insignia.

• FULL COLOR throughout, with very large scans of original insignia. Every piece of insignia has been color corrected, cleaned up and optimized to show you every minute detail, when possible. For the past several years, there have been few resources - mostly in black and white or with tiny photos. This book is completely designed for the collector - GIANT photos with every stitch visible (when possible) (Seriously, when I got my first edition I was STUNNED at HOW FRICKIN GIANT everything was - and I stared at it for 3 years!)

• Period photographs of the insignia being worn - when possible. Most of the insignia is shown during the war, with a few exceptions when none was available.

• History of the insignia - when the insignia was used, who designed it, where it was made

Every Recon Team patch known at the time of publication - this is tricky as things pop out of the woodwork some 50 years later (we had a VERY COOL RT Georgia come in as final design work was happening - it happens and will happen again) - fronts and backs for most insignia

• Collector copies - Cecil’s, Cheap Charlies - whatever you want to call them - all are shown, including the many variations of each.

• A VERY comprehensive history of MACVSOG patches. There has always been confusion - the word “minefield” used freely when it comes to these patches. The history is traced including places where the patches were manufactured - styles of manufacture are clearly shown - fronts and backs, and any variations are pointed out when possible

• One “behind the scenes” moment - it became very clear that there was a big story to tell with collector copy patches when we had a LOT of them right in front of us. It quickly became apparent that there were several distinct styles pointing to production in different shops. This is covered in great detail.

So - to bottom line -

• if all you want to do is look at GIANT FULL COLOR photos of very rare insignia - this book is for you.

• If you want to know every detail regarding the history of this very rare insignia - this book is for you.

• If you are a patch or militaria collector - this book is for you - it is unlike ANY other collector guide on the market.

This book is due for arrival in the next 2 months, although the current COVID 19 situation can blow that timetable to hell. Check thedogtag.com frequently for updates - it will be listed for sale as soon as it arrives (This date keeps moving due to current circumstances) Please note, there will be a limited quantity available, and once they are gone, they are gone. Sutherland’s book sells for up to $300 on the secondary market (quickly!) Don’t miss your opportunity here.

We’ve also got some more collector focused projects coming up - watch the interwebs!

Please excuse the poor photography - I'm trying to get you all a SMALL flavor of what to expect. IT'S MASSIVE AND BEAUTIFUL AND DROOL-WORTHY. Pics below:

post-492-0-81359600-1587492620.jpg

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vintageproductions

I have seen this book in person and helped go through all the insignia.

 

There is nothing else like it in the world and there will never be a more definitive book done on this hard to understand subject of militaria.

 

The original thought on the book was" If it doesn't look like one in the book then you are probably buying a fake". After seeing the book, I can agree with this statement 1000%.

 

Bob

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Thank you for your post. I followed the link to thedogtag.com I am not currently seeing any information about this book listed there. You might suggest that it be added.

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In my excitement to post about the newly arrived first edition, I neglected to mention that we scoured the community for Recon Team insignia - collections of many heavy hitters. We also leaned heavily on a few key individuals - Bob being one of them. This book is something I dreamed about since the late 90’s, and I personally am beyond stoked that it now exists. Working on some marketing materials for it as we speak, as mentioned, delivery is nebulous at best right now so we don’t want to go nuts if it takes 4 months to actually get here. It is printed, it is shipping. When it arrives you’ll know! I really personally believe everyone will be blown away not only by the images but also by the avalanche of information in a one stop shop. Wait til Bob gets the photos up - I sent him a bunch and they really don’t even start to scratch the surface.

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I'm excited.

 

I have relied on Sutherland's book for years, even with a few imperfections. And Harry Pugh's book despite the fact it is in black and white. It will be good to see something up to modern standards.

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Bob and Gil - I was SUPER careful not to besmirch Pugh and Sutherland's works - they have been bibles for us for so long and were really the only game in town, coupled with poor photocopies of Cecil's publications and anything else you could find - which we all inevitably tried to piece together to make some sense. That is where the new book really shines - sure, it has great pictures to drool over, but the story / history is laid out if you take the time to read) and it all begins to make sense. We went into this with the goal of laying out the history first and foremost. Having access to some of the best collections and minds in the hobby helped greatly. Slow boat from China still on the way...

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10 hours ago, 18-Echo said:

Bob and Gil - I was SUPER careful not to besmirch Pugh and Sutherland's works - they have been bibles for us for so long and were really the only game in town, coupled with poor photocopies of Cecil's publications and anything else you could find - which we all inevitably tried to piece together to make some sense. That is where the new book really shines - sure, it has great pictures to drool over, but the story / history is laid out if you take the time to read) and it all begins to make sense. We went into this with the goal of laying out the history first and foremost. Having access to some of the best collections and minds in the hobby helped greatly. Slow boat from China still on the way...

Oh I am sure.  

When I started in this hobby, we traded photocopies between collectors to try to piece this all together.  Let's not forget Clem Kelly's and Cecil Smyth's Vietnam Insignia Collector's Newsletter, which is shown above.

This just looks like the next evolution.  I always figured we'd see something of this quality eventually.  

EDIT:  I just noticed a copy of Smith's sales list of patches sold to collectors...  you have been thorough!

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vintageproductions

Eric sent me many more photos to post and I will as time permits.

When you get to see the finished product, you will know this will be the tell all of original RT patches.

Jason said to me early on that he wanted the book to be a must have / go to publication. He said early on that if a collector has a patch that does not look like one in the book, then he has a fake. I told him that's a mighty bold statement. After seeing the completed book and every known variant from veterans and collectors, I will say he and Eric came through with that promise.

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River Patrol

Looks great!! I saw it at SOS....it was stunning to see. I look forward to getting a copy!

x71.jpg

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The patch posted is not specifically covered. However, there are a few "team patches" using this same exact design. We cover these variations and connections with some examples that tie everything together (Off the top of my head I'm thinking Special Projects was under OPS-34 which was not a "American Boots on the ground" section) As Bob noted, our goal was to provide the collector specifically with a total and complete information dump organized in a logical manner to make educated decisions. We really left no stone unturned during the production of this book, and it took quite a few twists and turns during its' evolution. It is everything that I as a collector would look for - but I'm a total nerd when it comes to the historical stuff (as I believe many of you are.) It is quite unlike anything that is out there. Still waiting for that slow boat to arrive ;)

 

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vintageproductions

I made the mistake and answered my phone today when Jason called. 45 minutes later...........

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