What Years Were The Different Styles Of Fatigue Shirt Name Tape Used?

[63 RECON]

Nice one, that's a good spread of lots of different styles, some really nice in country ones. Great idea to show lots of styles, I should do this. 

[Raver]

Hi,

I have an M51 with this tape, while it should have been yellow on black in those years.

It has the same traces of use of the rest of the jacket and there are no visible signs of previous removed tape. So what do you think?

Maybe an older jacket used later?

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Raver]

Sorry for the multiple pics, something went wrong when I uploaded it and I am not able to remove them

[patches]

M51s were still being worn well into the very early 80s by those that had them issued to them in the early-mid 60s, here just upgraded with Subdued patches and Tapes, the old Color U.S. Army Tape? it could of been removed, we would have to see rear on area of Tape ,

 

The continued use of these in the main being old timers, as long as it was still Serviceable it could be worn, it could be Faded to a Light Pea Green color, but as long as it was Serviceable. My Platoon Sergeant in 4th of the 9th Inf in Alaska, July 1981 December 1982,, a 9th Inf Div Riverine Combat Vietnam Vet was one such man, he got it no doubt in 1963 when he came in, hell he even used the old WWII. Korean War Vietnam War type Duffle Bag, the one with the Single Web Strap LOL.

[indept]

I've got this gold/black US Navy name tape, but I can't seem to find any period pictures of it in use. 

 

Can anyone confirm what period the name tape was used. Was it worn on OG107 US Army fatiques as well (just as the regular US Army gold/black name tape) in the early 60s?

[patches]

Always got the impression these are Repros based on the Army's one. The Woven quality is much different between the two, these ones have a kind of Faux BeVo like texture to them to me, The Standard GI U.S. ARMY Tape is a Smooth Soft Woven Rayon, these Navy ones and any Army ones that look like it may be Nylon.

 

Here's your 50s-60s GI U.S. ARMY Tape for comparison .

[BeansEnHay]

I don’t have an example, but in the early 1980s, the black and yellow USArmy tapes still showed up sometimes on the wool shirts we wore in the field. They were usually mounted on cotton backings, and then sewed to the shirt. I’m sure some of them had been circulating in unit supply rooms for decades.

 

also a lot of guys did not like the nylontapes being issued with the permanent press fatigues in the late 70s early 80s, and took them to the tailor shop and replaced them with cottons.

I heard the army was thinking of getting rid of the Velcro backed tapes and patches for ACUs back around 2010. Did they ?

Rob

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

On 10/14/2023 at 10:57 PM, BeansEnHay said:

I don’t have an example, but in the early 1980s, the black and yellow USArmy tapes still showed up sometimes on the wool shirts we wore in the field. They were usually mounted on cotton backings, and then sewed to the shirt. I’m sure some of them had been circulating in unit supply rooms for decades.

 

also a lot of guys did not like the nylontapes being issued with the permanent press fatigues in the late 70s early 80s, and took them to the tailor shop and replaced them with cottons.

I heard the army was thinking of getting rid of the Velcro backed tapes and patches for ACUs back around 2010. Did they ?

Rob

They didn't get rid of velcro tapes, but if the individual soldier so desires they are permitted to have their tapes, rank, qualifications and awards sewn on. Sleeve insignia still has to be velcro. 

[patches]

On 10/14/2023 at 11:57 PM, BeansEnHay said:

I don’t have an example, but in the early 1980s, the black and yellow USArmy tapes still showed up sometimes on the wool shirts we wore in the field. They were usually mounted on cotton backings, and then sewed to the shirt. I’m sure some of them had been circulating in unit supply rooms for decades.

 

also a lot of guys did not like the nylontapes being issued with the permanent press fatigues in the late 70s early 80s, and took them to the tailor shop and replaced them with cottons.

I heard the army was thinking of getting rid of the Velcro backed tapes and patches for ACUs back around 2010. Did they ?

Rob

That's interesting, in early May 1982 when we finely got the BDU,s up there in Fort Wainwright Alaska, we of course had to buy them at clothing sales, we marched over there one company at a time during a two day period. When we went, while lolling about while the other guys were getting them, I strolled around the place checking out things, and seen the rack for the OG shirts, all of them had the long since obsolete Yellow on Black rayon woven U.S. ARMY tapes sewn to them, sewn on to the shirt, with no OD Web Tape as seen on the 70s made ones on the other side.

 

I mentioned this in a few other topics earlier on, in that I wish I knew back then about the nomenclature stamps or tags in items, and that I would of love to see the dates of these shirts, no doubt I would of found dates in them (maybe the whole lot with one batch date) from the late 50s no later than 1967.

[VMI88]

On 10/14/2023 at 4:02 AM, indept said:

I've got this gold/black US Navy name tape, but I can't seem to find any period pictures of it in use. 

 

Can anyone confirm what period the name tape was used. Was it worn on OG107 US Army fatiques as well (just as the regular US Army gold/black name tape) in the early 60s?

 

I haven't seen a Navy tape like the one you posted, but I do have a clearly original shirt with a very similar US Army tape.  I posted it on the forum years ago but never did find out anything about it:

 

 

 

[MinutemanEMTer]

Early 80s Air Force name tape was cotton/poly and embroidered and sewn to the fatigue OD pickle suit. The Air Force tape was nylon or rayon or another thin material. Looked like it might have been printed, but could have been embroidered too. I can't remember fully how that type was put on the tape.

[patches]

13 hours ago, VMI88 said:

 

I haven't seen a Navy tape like the one you posted, but I do have a clearly original shirt with a very similar US Army tape.  I posted it on the forum years ago but never did find out anything about it:

 

 

 

Yes I remember this one as I linked something similar, sure wish I Copied and Save item and posted it in your topic.

[Vanderbilt]

On 10/14/2023 at 11:21 PM, patches said:

Always got the impression these are Repros based on the Army's one. The Woven quality is much different between the two, these ones have a kind of Faux BeVo like texture to them to me, The Standard GI U.S. ARMY Tape is a Smooth Soft Woven Rayon, these Navy ones and any Army ones that look like it may be Nylon.

 

Here's your 50s-60s GI U.S. ARMY Tape for comparison .

....another example of a repop....I know it's in the wrong position for a jungle jacket but this is my surviving shirt and I just replaced the subdued tape that I had on it....the only patrolling it does nowadays is taking the dog for a walk in the woods or maybe a day at the range, lol....

[patches]

12 hours ago, Vanderbilt said:

....another example of a repop....I know it's in the wrong position for a jungle jacket but this is my surviving shirt and I just replaced the subdued tape that I had on it....the only patrolling it does nowadays is taking the dog for a walk in the woods or maybe a day at the range, lol....

From what we can se from this is it's one of those Army -Navy Store Type Embroidered U.S. ARMY Tapes on Black Twill with Border, a totally legit one, thee start to be seen in the mid-sh 50s, though the 50s into the early 60s have a slightly different look to them then the mid late 60s made ones.

[Vanderbilt]

....what's funny, I remember one of my buddies from Ft Hood in 1981. Had enlisted in 1969, he talked about the old timers from his day still wearing their old fatigues complete with the gold and black tapes.....I'm not clear, were the black on white background name tapes on the same timetable for authorized wear as the US Army tapes?

[patches]

16 hours ago, Vanderbilt said:

....what's funny, I remember one of my buddies from Ft Hood in 1981. Had enlisted in 1969, he talked about the old timers from his day still wearing their old fatigues complete with the gold and black tapes.....I'm not clear, were the black on white background name tapes on the same timetable for authorized wear as the US Army tapes?

White Tapes start to be worn in and around 1951, really late 51 say, when and if worn they were worn on the left side, in late 1953 the Army comes out with the Yellow on Black U.S. ARMY Tape, this to be worn on the left side, here the NAME Tape moves to the right side. White NAME Tapes are out in the Summer of 1966, OD NAME Tapes takes its place with the full color U.S. ARMY Tape retained.

 

See here for examples of OD NAME Tape with full color U.S. ARMY Tape.

 

 

 

[patches]

Here's but another example, the old 191st Infantry Brigade of the Reserves out west, worn  from around mid late 1966 on, up till the brigade is inactivated in early 1968 lets say.

[Vanderbilt]

....thanks, wasn't clear on the black on white nametapes.....wonder when the wear out date actually was? May be wrong but think I've seen them being worn on early Nam photos? 

[patches]

16 hours ago, Vanderbilt said:

....thanks, wasn't clear on the black on white nametapes.....wonder when the wear out date actually was? May be wrong but think I've seen them being worn on early Nam photos? 

Yes the Full Color ones were indeed worn in Vietnam in the Advisory period through mid 66, by that time subdued are the norm.

[patches]

Here's a collection of three groups of Issue Stamped NAME Tapes on the OD Web from the mid summer of 1966 to say sometime in mid 1968, here we see obviously some were used and uniform removed, giving them various degrees of fading. Point being, that here we see the innumerable size TYPE that were used in stamping these, this also pertains to the matching U.S. ARMY Tapes as well, loads of different sizes are found, thin, thick, large letters small letters etc, Some tapes of different size and style letters no doubt were found on the same fatigue item, in example a U.S. ARMY Tape with small thick-ish lettering along with a NAME Tape that's thin large-ish lettering.  It also was the same with the White NAME Tapes from like 1954 to 1966, lots a various TYPE sizes.

[Raver]

On 10/9/2023 at 6:37 AM, patches said:

M51s were still being worn well into the very early 80s by those that had them issued to them in the early-mid 60s, here just upgraded with Subdued patches and Tapes, the old Color U.S. Army Tape? it could of been removed, we would have to see rear on area of Tape ,

 

here is the internal area of the US ARMY tape, with wrinkles, the same is on the internal side of the nametape, no signs of previous stitching.

This M-51 has also a zipper tape that is more kaki than olive, I don't know if this was common at some time.

The faded print on the internal right bottom says "pattern date 13 sept 1951

 

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