The Vietnam War: A Timeline in Uniforms and Equipment
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- Опубликовано: 24 янв 2024
- Hello everyone!
I hope that you enjoy this video! If you’re a Vietnam veteran, we’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. If you’re a new viewer, please check out some of the other content on the channel. This was a fun video to make, and I hope to do more Vietnam content in the future. See you next time!
Cool to see them go from essentially WW2 soldiers to modern soldiers without the newer helms. Truly defined the era as the shift from the old to the new.
its funny how many nations today are about equivalent to the US military in the middle of the Vietnam war in equipment for their infantry. even China and Russia didn't modernize to a standard past that quality until the last 10-15 years.
The WW2 helmet was worn until the mid-80s. Many of them were sold to foreign nations. Nigeria probably still wears them today.
in the final year they all wear like citizen go to bootscamp for first time ever ??
@@kimkhoitruong5991Civilian* not citizen... US Military are cirizens
@@MrAwesomedude96 thank for the info :D
I am a Vietnam vet and I often saw Special Forces soldiers going to the field with Jungle fatigues that they spray painted black stripes on to look like tiger stripes. Few people understand that the uniforms were torn quite easy and specialty type uniforms like the Tiger stripe and camo type were that easy to come by.
That's interesting, I've also heard SF guys would sometime wear simple black died jungle fatigues. Thanks for sharing!
@@ritchhistory1888You said 7.62x55, not 7.62x51
The Navy: SEAL & UDTs Special Boats(later called SWCC) used Levi blue Jean 👖. Some SEALs & Force Recon used black dye, later Levi jeans 👖 gave Navy & USMC troops black jeans. Many MAC V SOG & LRRP units wore panty hose too 😉 it helped repel bugs, insects. The late Richard NMI Marcinko US Navy O-5 ret explained a lot of weapons uniforms. Rogue Warrior.
@@ritchhistory1888 Tiger Stripes were used often by SEALs UDT, Marine Force Recon.
That's a very cool piece of information! Thank you for your service!
Vietnam vet here, 1/C/1/12 Cav, 1 Cav Div (airmobile), 1970-71. A few uniform tidbits: The white tee shirt used early in the conflict was quickly replaced by a green or brown one largely because the white triangle where the tee shirt showed above the buttons of the front of the fatigue shirt gave snipers a good aiming point. Towels were worn around the neck to mop sweat and sometimes to sit on during a break to avoid land leeches. Bands were worn just below the knee to keep creepy crawlies out. The bush legend was that land leedhes would crawl up your leg and get into your urethra or butt. Subdued patches (black on OD) and pin on black insignia quickly replaced the full color patches of the early '60s. Fatigue uniforms with full color patches had a resemblence to a gaudy Christmas tree. The M-1 steel helmet offered less protection than the modern composite helmets but you could do a lot with a steel helmet with the liner removed like boil water, dig in, soak your feet, sit on it, or even pop popcorn in it.
i salute you for your service
Welcome home
@@RootinNRuttin Thanks. It's hard to believe that it was 54 years ago. The memories are just to vivid and fresh.
@@georgem7965 You left the jungle but the jungle never left you
@@sisamusudroka3000 You can take the man out of the jungle but you can never take the jungle out of the man. It's hard to believe that all this was 53+ years ago.
I was in the Army '71-'73 and there were two things I never saw during my time in the Army, a general or a 30 round magazine.
the 30 round magizine was in service by then...pouches for the magizines....not so much.
@@badgerattoadhall I did not say they were not in service, I said I never saw one. I got out in June 1973.
It would be interesting to see the evolution of South Vietnamese uniforms during the Vietnam War
I’ve had multiple comments suggesting a part 2, I’ll definitely consider ARVN!
It would be costly.
@@ritchhistory1888 I have a lot of friends in the ARVN reenacting community if you need help.
Tiger strips
Didn't they generally wear US supplied uniforms and equipment.
Why does this video only have 140 views, it deserves 140,000 views
14 million
Three days later already up to 11k
PROBABLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY MISTAKES AND THE NARRATOR CAN'T GET BASIC PRONUNCIATION, MODEL NUMBERS, AND CARTRIDGE DIMENSIONS RIGHT. A SIMPLE PROOFREAD OR EDITOR WOULD TAKE THEM TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
@@DowntownDeuce2 yo, I read that like you were yelling. Ain't gon lie I didn't watch the whole thing I had to jump in the shower and turned on a podcast
@@hippiemoses336 the mistakes were in the beginning of the video, which means you just didn't know any better, not that you didn't have time.
I have to use capital block letters for the learning disabled people who use "yo" and "gon." Research shows that fatherless, public school types respond best to simple words and block letters. You know the type...
I was a Marine from 97-03. Military gear changes much faster now. If you consider, the M1 helmet was used from 1941-1985, when it was replaced by the PASGT. The PASGT is the one we wore. I believe there have been two or three helmets the Army and Marine Corps have adopted since 2003. It seems like the military has gotten more fast and efficient at making changes and implementing them on a large scale.
what are your thoughts on how our closest near peer adversaries continued to use steel helmets like the old M1 up until about 10 years ago? I think its kind of funny that prior to 2012-2014 the Russian and Chinese militaries were only really on par with 1970s US military standards (for china) or 1980s standards (for Russia).
@@dominuslogik484 I think it's crazy how fast the Chinese military has modernized in the last 10-15 years. I don't consider the Russian military a near-peer adversary. It has modernized in some ways, but the corruption and stale doctrine is the root of their ineffectiveness.
@@magtafcmdr8621 The Chinese military has shown signs of widespread corruption of a very similar kind to the Russian military. though I recognize its never a good idea to make the assumption that nothing your adversary uses works but China is still largely using equipment that only meets the standards of quality and capabilities the soviets had in the late 80s.
everyone in the slightest know new this about russia
>no NCO corps at all
>no light infantry at all (a leg battalion attached to each motor rifle regiment ("mech brigade") sure would have help with screening for atgm, skirmishing and cities
>god awful logistics dependent almost entirely on rail.
>few support troops.
graft early on
*but unlike the media would have you believe they are learning.
Semper Fi dude, Were you in the 1st Marine Division by any chance
I read one of the surprising things that helped prepare soldiers for street fighting during the Tet Offensive was the TV show Combat. In the book Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War, the TV show which showed soldiers fighting during WWII, actually had realistic methods for fighting in urban areas. The soldiers who watched the show used what they remembered from the show and apparently it worked.
Looking back at Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of kids probably learned fighting by watching Black Hawk Down, on both sides lol
I remember reading that in the mid 70s and thinking "No Way!" but apparently TV is good for something afterall.
My father just passed away last week in his home surrounded by family.
When he was deployed for his second tour the seargent held up an m16a1. He said, "marines this your new fighting weapon, you may not know it now but it will become very familiar with it soon". Dad had fond memories of his m14 (as good as a recon marine who was riddled with both PTSD and grenade shrapnel could have I assume) , which at one point was fired so profusely in a firefight that the barrel glowed red hot and the handguard smoked. The m16 was basically a terrible memory for him as he got no advanced training in using it in actual combat. He would come to know the 'Mattel gun' intimately as it would consistently jam and as he put it would be the cause of several good friends deaths. His machine Gunner friend told me he picked up an ak47 in place of his m16, when not using his m60.
He had 13 confirmed kills but due to his recon marine status he could of had countless more (as many of his records were blacked out from marsoc status). Some of these kills were up close and personal with his kabar. This scarred him greatly along with the fact that many of his unit while he was in infantry were killed after rotating back. He made sure that he got 13 vets enrolled into the va to get benefits. The horrors of war never left him but he did find some comfort in his later years. Mom says his flashbacks were down to one a day not counting night terrors. When I grew up with him he would yell, "cover" and hit the deck when thunder occurred. I'm glad he found some level of peace finally.
Another story... I'm just dumping now to honor him and I realize I'm not even attempting to talk about uniforms. He definitely hated me talking about him being a hero but in this case a hero did wear a uniform. anyway back to the story.... One time he was chasing an nva soldier during a firefight. The nva soldier popped behind a tree with his ak47 and my father with a Thompson... As they popped out to mow the other down a curious thing happened... Both guns jammed. Now my father like many other soldiers was a weapon with or without his rifle. However, they both chose to go their separate ways shocked by the gravity of the situation.
During a firefight against with an nva battalion he had to run to get more 30 caliber ammo cans. He had both hands loaded down and was sprinting back to the machine gun. An nva soldier was firing at the machine gunners position and he had no weapon. He had a job to do and used the ammo cans to save his fellow soldiers once again with his hands.
His several man recon squad was tasked with forward observing and calling in airstrikes. White phosphorus terrified him more than napalm bc of the results of the blasts and the horrors it left behind. He called airstrikes in on an nva regiment he observed so closely that he could feel the blast of heat. Now mind you the maps they used weren't always completely accurate and some of them actually dated to french colonial times. Every airstrike was risking their position being bombed I'm sure. They spent the next 3 days evading the several thousand nva who were trying to find those responsible for calling those devastating airstrikes in on a position not near any regular us units. He spoke of being able to see their uniforms as they hid in the bush.
He hated the purple heart he recieved and though he considered himself lucky it would lead to survivors guilt.The grenade had killed two friends and left him wounded. Pieces of that grenade would come out of his hand from time to time. It's ironic his recon units callsign was, 'mr Lucky'.
Incredible read mate. We also had a relative who served but in the Australian Army. They used the SLR but occasionally get their hands on the M16 . I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and hearing about your father . Thanks from Australia
@@bertmeyers thank you for the read and the comment. I had no idea the FAL was also called the SLR, so thank you for teaching me something new! I hope the SLR was slightly more reliable than that m16! I'm sure he would be honored to know you appreciated reading part of his story so thank you again.
@user-pe2rz5wb9p the SLR was an amazing reliable weapon. 7.62 mm round was absolutely devastating. It was a large heavy weapon but it definitely did the job.
If you ever get to Australia, go to Canberra and visit the Australian War memorial. They have an amazing section dedicated to the War and have many amazing displays and a massive collection of weapons from both sides. It's well worth a visit or to even google it . On top of that I have some personal photos of his time in Vietnam as he took many photos of day to day life whilst on tour
@@bertmeyers well I thank and appreciate what your relative had to go through for his country. He was definitely a brother in arms to my father and many others. Yeah, the m14 was chambered in 7.62 as well and had selective fire. My father hated the transition to 5.56 for sure and I can most certainly understand why. The m16 would just jam from the natural mud conditions but the m14 was so much more robust (and reliable).
CA National Guard here (‘56 - ‘67) I remember the “riot” load out vividly, during the Watts riots, we actually put up standing posters that advertised a “try two” deal, 2 years in the Guard..that’s all, and wouldn’t ya know, we actually had 87 guys sign up that way, throwing bricks one minute and off to basic a week later, wild times. Left for awhile, but figured I’d finish what I started and make it to that “20 year” holy land, went Reserves from ‘74 - ‘83.
My dad (USMC) had 3 tours to VN; first tour, he had retread OD type 1 jungle fatigues; tours 2 and 3 he had ERDL (my favorite). I love the evolution of uniforms during that period. Happy to email/send pics.
A man I knew who was among the first to Vietnam in the early 60's with an airborne unit told me they arrived in their starched and pressed uniforms and polished boots and all clean shaven and smart looking wearing a quart of after-shave lotion and said the VC could smell them a mile away in the field. He said they woke up fast.
Yup the MACV SOG guys started to eat the local food and smoke the local cigs only to blend in even farther wild how honed their senses got living in the jungles
Only thing I would correct is I think you accidentally said the M14 was chambered in 7.62×55, not 7.62×51.
Love this video so much.
Amazing video, I was looking for something like this! Hope theres a part 2, maybe include uniforms from US allies like the ARVN or Aussies. Again, great video and hope the channel blows up.
That would be super cool! We’re hoping to do a part 2.
My dad was in Vietnam from 65-66. He took a troop ship over from SF. He was issued the jungle fatigues but he said when he first got them he couldnt pull them over his hips as they were too small. By the time his unit laned in Qui Nhon they fit as he had lost so much weight being sea sick on the trip over by ship.
Don't forget, actual Marines were deployed stateside in a police capacity, my dad being one of them. I think he had 6 months to go and they transferred him after over a year in Vietnam to the Marine Reserves, from there he was sent to quell riots - it would have been nice to see what the Marines wore stateside to stop the protests.
That's true, my Grandad was active Army and was sent to quell riots too.
The M14 was actually chambered to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO centre fire service rifle and machine gun ball cartridge. I have never heard of the 7.62x55mm cartridge.
Dog tags were never worn around the neck in my unit. One dog tag was placed in the lacing of each boot. If you blew up, there was a good chance they would find one of your boots with a dog tag. 2/327th Infantry (No Slack), 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile)
In Iraq, we wore one around the neck and one in our left boot, clearly for the same reasons.
@@jamessandoval5843 In Iraq you hid on FOB’s lol 🤣!!
A lot of the advisor’s duck hunter camo actually came from magazine catalogs, like Sears. Surplused WWII duck hunter had become popular enough by then that the pattern was produced commercially
This is an awesome video and the M14 brings back memories of talking with veterans because it was the preferred weapon for really reaching out and touching someone!
Great Video, Vietnam and how our returning soldiers were treated when they came home is practically all i remember seeing as a kid growing up in the 60s
Artists / film makers / enthusiasts everywhere thank you for a quick 6 min video to get going
This is so good! I've been looking for a video like this one forever!
Awesome video. Let's see a part 2 with Army Aviation Uniforms, US Army Nurses and SOG please. Thanks
If I can find a nurses uniform! More SOF and Aviation stuff was decided to be saved for the next part…
MACV-SOG is badass
Great video, Ritch. Content like this is really professional and informative. A lot of misinformation and tropes out there that need more clarifying videos like these.
Very informative! As a non-American Vietnam War enthusiast, this video gave me some much needed knowledge into the standard equipment throughout the war! Thanks!
I have a cousin on my dad's side who served in Vietnam. My dad was telling me this story about one time he was visiting that particular side of the family, and his cousin had a mark on his face. When my dad asked about it his cousin responded with, "It's just a bit of shrapnel working its way out." What happened was him and his buddy were out walking patrol and his buddy stepped on a trip wire. His buddy was obviously didn't make it, and the explosion sent shrapnel into his face. He was on medical leave for a bit before he had to go back to Vietnam.
The Air Cav unit I was in, 7/17th Air Cavalry 101st Abn Div was the last Air Cav unit to leave VN Feb 28, 1973
Damn I'm happy the algorithm gave this to me. This is awesome! Subscribed!
3rd Batt. 7th Marines ChuLai, RVN 10/65-11/66
my 13 months there, we wore utilities, i carried an M-14 and a .45 side arm...
Welcome home brother ❤️
@@Dulex131 Thank You
Love to see this, keep up the great work!! Very informative
This channel is very underrated, loved this video!
Great video! There is a couple late war things I would’ve loved to see. Like 101st grenadier with ERDL and M16A1/M203 combo and the fall of Saigon/ Koh Tang Marines with ERDL helmet cover and utilities or OG 107 with the transitional gear into the ALICE system.
I can hear my CSM screaming about Eyepro. Times have changed. He took a mortar in the face that would have blinded him without eye pro.
Outstanding video! I like the 1st ID impression. My Vietnam reenactment group portrays the 1st ID, 28th Inf. Rgt. "Black Lions"
Why on earth would anyone want to reenact a pointless war the U.S. lost after 10 years of getting its ass kicked by a bunch of rice farmers? Thats just silly.
Love the M65 field jacket forever, one of the most useful pieces of gear i ever had, mad respect for all the veterans
If you post more often and consistently with content like this your channel is going to blow up. Very good video
Awesome video but I have one recommendation; if you could just keep the title for each soldier and time period up for just a bit longer. I found myself needing to rewind and pause a couple of times to read them. Keep it up man, your vids are great! Just wanted to give that suggestion : )
Wow what an amazing video! Good job!! Keep up the good work!!
Love those slant pockets!
You model Mike was very pro in his weapons handling and gear wear and use. Well done.
Vietnam gear hands down coolest
And wow this channel is so cool
Excellent video! Very informative!
Honestly, the fact that they included the national guardsmen and on base uniforms are really really cool to me. This should be played in museum, lobbies, and high school history classes.
Fantastic video, keep it up!
This is a really great little video. Happy to give you a sub 👍
Świetna robota. Bardzo dokładnie i obrazowo pokazałeś jak się to wszystko z biegiem lat zmieniało. Dzięki 😊
Many years ago, I was working construction and went out the back gate on Ft Wainwright, Alaska. I saw some GI's with just OD uniforms on, vintage VN. As soon as they got into the vegetation, they disappeared. I couldn't believe it. One minute they were there, the next, gone. I was thinking those uniforms were better than camo.
Loved this great job
Great presentation Thank you
Very good video! Not a Nam vet but Desert Storm. Kind of interesting how the Guard & Reserves functioned off of the RA cast offs. What was used clear up into the 90s was what was issued by the end of Vietnam.
Very interesting content. My Dad served in 1965 as a truck driver for the US Army in Vietnam. His younger brother also served in 1969 with the 101st Airmobile earning the Bronze Star,.
Bronze Star Medals were handed out like candy in Vietnam.
I like how you got the helmet bands correct. The Army was issued OD green, woven bands made for this purpose while Marines were issued a piece cut off a truck tire. You can always tell Army from Marines in photos from the Vietnam era by this detail.
Really enjoyed this
Congrats! You've earn my subscription!
Excellent work
My prayer finally answeres
Thank you for the effort put into making this video.
I used to collect militaria when I was a kid. In the late 1990s I would go to used clothing stores and there would be racks of dozens of Vietnam era BDU uniforms for sale for like $8/each, and a lot of WWII stuff too. Such things are probably a lot more rare and valuable nowadays. Only once did I ever find an old school pre-woodland USMC camo tunic, those were apparently always very scarce.
The M1 carbine was issued to officers who were not deployed to the front thru out the war. The M14 is still used today.
technically it is, but when he says shortest lived service rifle, he means as a standard service rifle.
This is really well done
Very interesting.. thanks for uploading it for all of us to view.
I spent four years in the 'Nam
I witnessed the destruction, the fear in the eyes of the locals, the misery and hopelessness of their situation
I emigrated in 2004 and have never returned to visit Dagenham
Brilliant video really well done 👏
Interesting, thanks for posting!
That was excellent
Nice vid. Great collection.
I just love the bright white undershirts that defeat the camo color
Would be cool to see the Navy river patrol uniforms next if you have those. Great stuff.
This was great, thanks. Im happy soldiers have more armor available to them now and i guess the molle system came about later in time
very good, got all that kit myself! all the best from the UK
Great vid!
Going to have to subscribe!
the most ironic part is - Dac Cong(Todays Vietnamese Special Forces)adopted a similar cammo pattern from the 63 Us Advisor...maybe is something found on abandoned former MACV s base locker room,some vietnamese official found that uniforms and said - hmmm this cammo is good...lets adopt it.....
The Tiger Fatigues are my fave camo pattern!!!!
I was in 1/7th Cav in 1972 and did not leave until Aug 1972.
Excellent video. You deserve far more subs. More subs than I deserve for sure.
Excellent video.
Great video! I have been re-enacting WW2 German for over 30 years and collecting over 40 years. I have recently begun collecting French Indo-China uniforms and equipment as well as Australlian during Vietnam. I never really collected G.I. stuff though, I think because I spent half of my life in the US Army and USAF. 🤔🤔🤔🤔
Amazing presentation bro.
Excellent video. I’m certain it took a lot of research to accurately recreate the uniforms you presented.
Love my M14. I love my M1a/14
Same, I knew several dudes who carried in West Germany while on occupation because the M14 was still in use with units outside Vietnam until the early 70s
I heard those Duck Hunter Camos were comfortable.😊
Epic video man
Really amazing is that even us soldiers, airmen and Marines who served in the early 80s were issued literally 40s,50s,60s,70s and finally early 80s gear, uniform's and even boots.
As a soldier who went active in 83 I was issued the new woodland bdu uniform and caps, the o.d. M65 field jacket and Chevron soled dms boots. We wore steel helmets with erdl covers, TA-50 gear was a mixture of old and new, I think at one point i had worn 3or 4 types of pistol belt, actually had h harness nylon dated 67 and canvas butt pack. The uniform for hot weather was the Vietnam dated jungle uniform which was common stateside in units rotating in and out of Panama and central america Honduras. O.d. green jungle boots, i saw both panama sole and the vibram soled boots. Some of our officers got shoulder holsters for their .45s and they were rawhide color, some .45 holsters issued were brown, remember guys being bummed because they were ordered to dye them black. 5 quart jungle canteen bladders. The steel M1 helmets in most if my schools had the replacement chin strap which clipped on, but i remember some and even had a nice 67 dated Vietnam M1C with new liner and chin strap before switching out to the Fritz helmets in Late 84? Or early 85 in 3/502nd inf,
My brother up in to the earl 80s was still wearing the pickle suit and Mitchell cover and 56 web gear in the Michigan national guard.
The o.d. cold weather gear and uniforms abounded, it was and always has been a transitional military. The erdl uniform didn't last and the RDF didn't either but we saw soldiers who had been issued them and could still wear them doing it.
Loke the vid. The grunt units in the Army and Marines up to 86 should be a good thing photographically to check out. You'll see some interesting stuff. Great vid......
I served in Panama and Honduras in the mid 80s, it was an interesting era.
Cheers
I served with the army in 1969. I remember the uniforms around that time having name, and branch in yellow letters which was pretty easy to see even from a distance. I think they were phased out in 1968-69 with black lettering replacing the yellow.
Very well done video!
Excellent knowledgeable video!!!! And nice job properly saying “Navy Cross Recipient” and not Navy Cross “Winner”
👍👍👌👏👏
Keep the years up longer!!!
Good stuff. Would love to see some MACV SOG included as well.
Glad to see you mention Air America - too bad you didn't include CASI (Continental Air) and their respective uniforms.
Great video!
Hey man love the video but I was wondering why you mounted you lightweight lower on the frame for the 1972 first cav impression
Nice video Thank you for share.
Awesome video
Make more video like this. Vietnam war was always an intersting topic for me.
The algorithm has smiled upon you. This will get you past the 1k subs goal. I believe it
And it has
@@bolnolI showed up when it had like 378 views, so… yeah
Very cool!
the OG-107 always stuck out to me for some reason
Cool video. I was with the 9th marines out of Okinawa..