WarRelics Posted May 25, 2023 #1 Posted May 25, 2023 I purchased this older pair of air assault wings with oval. My question is about the oval. I don’t have a question about its authenticity. My question is what unit does it belong to. The pair were listed as belonging to the 5th Special Forces Group but from what I can find that’s not correct. It appears the oval is for the 101st Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade. For the most part it seems to be a match. Where my confusion comes in is with the black on the oval. Some places I have looked the oval for the 101st CAB appears blue instead of black with a gold slash and gold trim. My question is am I right about it being for the 101st CAB or is it for some other unit. I thought that maybe the older ovals for the 101st CAB were black and later transitioned to dark blue. Then again it might be my eyesight and the sources actually show them as being black! Any thoughts members have on this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. WR
Tolzer Posted May 26, 2023 #2 Posted May 26, 2023 Your oval looks like a U.S. Army, 1st Special Forces Group. Here are a couple of cut edged ovals.
WarRelics Posted May 26, 2023 Author #3 Posted May 26, 2023 Okay and thanks. I knew that they weren’t 5th Special Forces Group but the next best one I saw was for the 101st Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade but after looking further I didn’t think that they belonged to them either. The color on theirs appears blue and not black! At that point I was at a loss. Thanks for the info.
WarRelics Posted May 30, 2023 Author #4 Posted May 30, 2023 I received the oval and wings today. The oval is actually blue instead of black with a gold slash and trim. Those are the colors for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, not the First Special Forces Group. It turns out that the sellers photos weren’t that good. It’s not a deal breaker. Either way I find the pair interesting. Thanks for the input.
WarRelics Posted June 6, 2023 Author #5 Posted June 6, 2023 Today I found an old thread on the forum discussing ovals. From the information provided there it turns out this blue and gold oval is a general airborne oval worn by almost all special forces during the Vietnam War from the 1960’s to the early 1970’s. I didn’t want to leave my erroneous conclusion uncorrected. The strength of the forum is the exchange of accurate information to collectors. I would be doing the founders a disservice to not correct a mistake I made.
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