Vietnam
Gallery 7
|
|
| | | | | |
This uniform was worn by Specialist Overton Cleveland as a member of the 36th Signal Battalion, 2nd Signal Group, 1st Signal Brigade. From 1967 to 1968, Specialist Cleveland was stationed at Camp Bearcat (previously called Camp Martin Cox) 20 miles northeast of Saigon, which served as the headquarters for the 9th Infantry Division. The First Signal Brigade was activated on April 1, 1966 in the Republic of Vietnam. Its mission was one of the most complicated ever given to any signal unit in the history of warfare: to originate, install, operate, and maintain a complex communication system that integrated tactical and strategic communications in Southeast Asia into a single, unified command, providing communications to forces scattered over more than 60,000 square miles of torrid jungle, mountain ranges and coastal lowland - much of which was under-populated and enemy-infested. |
|
|
| | | | | |
Close up of the 36th Signal Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, or DI on Specialist Cleveland's overseas hat. This DI is an example of the "beer can" style insignias locally produced in Vietnam, so-called because they were made from thin, stamped metals and hand painted or enameled. Approved on 10 February 1965, orange and white are the colors traditionally associated with the Signal Corps. The lion is from the Arms of Normandy, location of the first campaign in which the battalion participated in World War II. The heraldic fur known as "vair," resembling blue and white bells, refers to signaling. |
|
|
| | | | | |
Souvenir "tour" jacket. Specialist Cleveland related that he had this jacket made for his Vietnamese girlfriend, but brought it back with him when his tour ended. Locally produced in a wide variety of styles, they can also be found made from the issued quilted poncho liner. The reverse side of the jacket shows a hand embroidered map of Vietnam, along with dates of his time in-country and where he served. The backs of these jackets can also be found embroidered with any number of phrases, usually along the line of "I've done my time in Hell". |
|
|
| | | | | | Uniform worn by a Specialist who served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division "Big Red One". The Big Red One was the first division deployed to fight in Vietnam; advance parties from the 2nd Brigade landed at Qui Nhon on June 23, 1965, and the division's first operation began July 22, 1965 when Company B, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, conducted a search of the area around the base camp at Bien Hoa. After five years service in Vietnam, the division returned to Fort Riley, Kansas in April 1970. The division suffered 3,151 Killed In Action, with it's members being awarded 11 Medals of Honor. |
|
|
| | | | | | Draft cards were required to be carried at all times but were frequently burned in protest as America's involvement in Vietnam grew more unpopular. There were 22 possible classifications, ranging from 1-A (Available for military service) to V-A (Registrant over the age of liability for military service). The bearer of this card was classified 1-H or "not currently subject to processing for induction". The draft actually predated Vietnam by nearly 30 years; President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 to create the first peacetime draft and formally established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency. On December 1st, 1969 the first draft lottery held since 1942 took place to determine the order of induction for men born between January 1, 1944 and December 31, 1950, affecting men between 18 and 26 years old. Congressman Alexander Pirnie (R-NY) of the House Armed Services Committee drew the first number, September 14th, from a large glass container holding 366 blue plastic balls containing every possible birth date. The draft ended in 1973 with the creation of an all-volunteer military although registration was resumed in 1980 in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. (Note: the social security number on this card has been redacted for this photo.) |
|
|
| | | | | |
This Special Forces beret flash was worn by members serving in Operation WHITE STAR. Prior to US forces being committed to Vietnam, US Army Special Forces soldiers conducted three years of intensive operations in Laos. From July 1959 to October 1962, SF soldiers rotated through the country as mobile training teams or MTTs, supporting the Royal Laotian government's battle against the communist Pathet Lao insurgency. The first rotation of Americans arrived in Laos in July 1959. Called HOTFOOT and led by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons, the contingent consisted of 107 Special Forces soldiers from the 77th Special Forces Group. Wearing civilian dress and operating in a clandestine manner, Simons' men trained members of the Royal Laotian Army in counterinsurgency tactics. The operation was subsequently renamed WHITE STAR in 1961 and the SF soldiers began wearing their military uniforms. Operation WHITE STAR formally ended with the declaration of Laotian neutrality in July 1962. Many of those who served with the WHITE STAR teams went on to play prominent roles in the SF operations in Vietnam and in various operations afterward. (Donated by Gilla Martin)
|
