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    • illegitimi non carborundum
      This was the headquarters of MACV Advisory Team 70 during the war.  You can see the 5th ARVN Division badge in the upper right corner.
    • dhcoleterracina
      What I am used to seeing on a Navy signal flag from WW2 are the ring/buckle combination or 2-3-4 grommets. This attachment looks very new and I've never seen it before. 
    • illegitimi non carborundum
      After searching on Ancestry.com I came across another possibility in the database  "Vietnam War, Awards and Decorations of Honor, 1965-1972".   This one certainly is more direct evidence.     Name: Van Ngoc Nguyen Date Recommended Award Received: 29 Aug 1969 Date Award Forwarded: 7 Sep 1969 Service/Country: RVN Army Command/Staff: III Corps Recommended Award: Bronze Star Medal (Valor) Approved Award: Bronze Star Medal (Valor) Location Award Presented: Award Presented in Republic of Vietnam [South Vietnam] (RVN) Posthumous: Award presented while Living   No rank unfortunately.   The 3rd Corps of the ARVN was based in the region surrounding Saigon.   It was made up of the 5th, 18th and 25th Infantry Divisions.   By July 1969 the process of Vietnamization had begun.   3rd Corps was part of II Field Force under General Julian Ewell ("The Butcher of the Delta").   He began Operation Dong Tien ("Progress Together") by "buddying up" US units with ARVN units.   The most important piece of this operation took place just north of Saigon between US 1st Inf Div (Big Red One) and the 5th Div ARVN.   In addition to fighting alongside the 1ID, the 5th Div was assisted by MACV Advisory Team 70.   It is possible (again now we are back to circumstantial evidence) that Van Ngoc Nguyen earned his BS during this battle.      It is interesting to note that there are about 1000 entries for ARVN soldiers in this database.   Almost all of them are either Army Commendation Medals or Bronze Star Medals (V).   About 10 are Silver Stars.   There are also a handful of Air Medals.  All of them were awarded from Summer 1969 to 1971.   I suppose part of the Vietnamization process was rewarding ARVN soldiers with US awards to encourage their morale.   Many of these units were judged very poorly by US commanders.      Interestingly I learned in poking around for this that only 3 ARVN men earned a Distinguished Service Cross during the war.  One of them was Phan Ngoc Luong during the Tet Offensive.   He was actually originally recommended for the Medal of Honor.  https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-4674/
    • chevy53
      Hi, Hello, I would like to know the designation of the quatermaster ovals and Flashs. Thanks
    • Cadet74
      Hi, Thank you. I’m familiar with the shape and color designations as I used to give tours on a fleet boat museum. I was just curious if the mechanisms may have been different internally. Probably the same just with different data plates. Thanks again.
    • cbuehler
      I believe these are earlier, at least pre ww2, officer badges. Confirmation or any other info much appreciated. Thanks guys!   CB
    • PhilippineBuckles
      A sad thing about the buckles pueblo_collectibles is selling is that they have been cleaned/polished in the past year and the gold wash highlights are gone.  Here are two examples...     Still nice looking buckles, but they are no longer how they originally looked. 
    • blitz67
      I believe everything military is 100% correct 
    • River Rat 1
      The knobs had different shapes so in the dark you knew which alarm it was by feel. The star is for collision. And different colors like red for collision, green for general alarm, yellow for chemical and nuclear attack that was for surface ships submarines set up probably different.
    • KurtA
      That is a really nice all original Sampson Medal in perfect condition.   
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