Need some guidance on how far I should go in making my VN grunt impression "Unique while also plausible""

[ShibaLegend]

I've been putting together a "Standard VN Grunt" impression,  not really going for any unit or division in particular, just a general impression, with maybe some hippie aspects added.

 

I've looked at a lot of era photos, and looked at a lot of impressions. Something I have always noticed with VN (and maybe other eras too) is that a lot of the people making impressions of normal soldiers (not SF, ranger or other specialty soldiers, just normal infantryman) often seem to stick to just "the normal kit" which is 2 canteens, 2 mag pouches, suspenders, bandage pouch, buttpack, then maybe a bayonet. Yet, when I look at photos and even film from the time, I see guys with odd combonations like not wearing suspenders,  3 ammo pouches, 2 or more bandage pouches, gear attached however they could, WW2 gear in use, no ammo pouches instead using bandoleers, and I could probably keep going. Hardly what people doing impressions are wearing or using. I've also read from veterans who say that they would do stuff like put their cigarettes in their bandage pouch, tape their bayonets to their suspenders, and use the jungle jackets pockets which seemingly go unused in most impressions. I am aware guys changed what they used depending on where they were at, but it just seems to me there wasn't any kind of standard for what kind of setup was used in VN.

 

I guess the point is, it really seems like guys used what they had and made their gear work for them knowing various aspects like rain, mud, enemy interference, and really survival. Unlike most impressions which seem to use the same exact template that ignores useful aspects of the gear. Obviously there were certain things that were done that were "popular" like 2 canteens and using bandoleers that come up a lot, but you also get guys that didn't do any of that.

 

 

The reason this trips me up is that when it comes to my VN impression, I like to think, "If i was there, what would i do with my gear? What would I use and not use?" Problem is, how much should I "personalize" my loadout? At what point should I look at myself and say "you look more like a art project then you do a soldier" I have a fairly strong desire to represent history accurately, so to me I feel weird using a standard template knowing guys personalized their loadouts way more. 

 

 

 

 

Below are have some examples of what I am talking about. Sorry if this feels a bit scattered, this has been on my mind lately, and its a fairly complicated topic. 

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

The amount of gear really just depends on the years you are wanting to portray… I can help you with that once you narrow it down

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Still wondering? A year really helps…

[ShibaLegend]

9 hours ago, USMC_COLLECTOR said:

Still wondering? A year really helps…

I've mostly found where "the line" is for authenticity to my satisfaction. So not really wondering anymore.

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Great.