LRRP's in Vietnam
 

Heres a writeup I did for DonP's newest site www.Loadoutlist.com, posting it here as well.

Instead of starting a new thread, I figured I'd throw my photos in here. Shooting for a '67(ish) LRRP kit.

Moores tigers, boonie and boots.
OG web gear, SKS chest rig ('76, cheating I know), holster, and CIDG rucksack.
Classic Army XM177E2 (will be making way for a G&P E1 soon)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...6/IMG_1657.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...6/IMG_1655.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...6/IMG_1654.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...6/IMG_1658.jpg

Also just learned that photobucket has editing options now, so I tried to make a couple 'old' photos.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...IMG_1657-1.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...IMG_1655-1.jpg

Hope you enjoy,

Graham

Planning on getting a WE M16A1 open bolt from Garrison airsoft and a full VN war ''grunt" era kit from Moore.

I know it's not Lrrp but... No traffic on other VN thread. But i might get a tigers tripe bdu to.

Will probably be the only player in Quebec province with one...
I might be ready to play with it next September.

I'm kinda tired of the modern look... One of my other kit is 101e para.

Hey Shakal,
I'm in if you want to do a Vietnam loadout. I like the early tiger stripe like this one (original lrrp photo form 67-68). It's the same typed used in Apocalypse now the movie, on the poster they have the John Wayne Dense version:) I have no idea what the pants are but a lot of that stuff was custom made in Vietnam in small shops.

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/1...mgsealwatc.jpg

I'm in. ;)

Alway's was an history buff about Viet-Nam war.
But right now I'm on a tight rope as budget goes... Hope to get all my stuff somewhere on September or October...
I will get a ''grunt'' load out first and go from there.

BTW; Nice, really nice Stoner on the pic :)

psst thats a SEAL...not a lrrp Sorry :P

good eye ex

... Was thinking the same... ---Stoner---

But i did deviate the thread a little about getting a ''grunt'' kit.

Do we really have to ask???

Damn! post them... PLEASE! ;)

Seal it is:) Dont know why I wrote lrrp, tired I guess.

post up Skeletor

Sorry tu burst your buddle but bruce and I have played wiht tiger stripe on and off. Mostly early 2000 and for a few seasons. I sill have my set..... Somewhere.

No bubble to burst... Never said i would be the first, just that i will probably
be the only one playing with one in the next seasons.

I just never saw anyone in Quebec playing a VN era grunt.


Skeletor; Thanks for the great pictures

THE book to locate if you wanna put together a accurate Vietnam US Army impression is a book by Shelby Stanton;
Amazon.com: U.S. Army Uniforms of the Vietnam War (9780811725842): Shelby Stanton: Books

Osprey also has some very good publications for uniform references for LRRPs, Abn, mudbellies, jarheads, green faces, MACV-SOG etc etc.

Definitely recommend you guys give them a look, absolutely invaluable.

I dunno if he still does, but Porkchop on the boards used to come here from QC for our Nam games ShaKal, he had an excellent Vietnam War ANZAC loadout.

I miss LRRPing with that man. The FAL he had makes the impression.

Nice to know; Porkchop is a great guy :)

Stop spreading lies, I am not dead yet.
Still sweatin' the NAM

Hahaha there's our boy!

currently working on the hand guard and stock of the SLR.
The two uniforms for the AATTV impression are coming along nicely. Just need to find some SVN rank insignia for the indig uniform. Used it last year in Virginia. Great stuff.

Porkchop aint dead, just extended his LRRP tour.

He is the craziest German living in Quebec dressed as an Aussie I know =P. And the more guys who join the Nam the merrier.

Now literally sweating the Nam. Man, it's humid out there.
Suzy Rottencrotch is coming out of the woodwork

Ok, a few weeks back a couple of us Albertan 'Namsofters got a chance to play together for pretty much the first time. You'll recognize BoomHower, the skinny dude with the thompson is Kris (not sure if he's ever taken my advice yet and signed up on here or not) and myself. The photos were shot after my club's Season Ender game and I think out kits went over well with the 'unwashed masses". Booms and myself are going for '67ish LRRP kits while Kris usually rocks as an earlier adviser, but wished too fit in with tigers this time around. Now, we know our kits aren't 100% but we're working on 'em so constructive criticism is welcome. Photos by David (CanadianPsycho)

Anyways, enough blabbin', here's the photos.

Looking for a suitable LZ
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1195-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1192-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1201-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1206-Copy.jpg

LZ located, time to get out
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...4_IMG_2088.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._2065-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._2032-Copy.jpg

Back at the FOB, calling in what we'd found
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1240-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1238-Copy.jpg
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1236-Copy.jpg

All in all, a good day!
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._1234-Copy.jpg


One last photo for the road. We call it "Booms had TacoBell for lunch"
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y..._2047-Copy.jpg

Nice pics,
just one thing, I would take off the the big watch, it looks really out of character. Unless you are carrying an AK 47, I would not put on the chicom bra. Love the fact that you have the 20rd mags and not the 30rounders. Oh, and face paint is your friend ;)

Good job. Looks strack!!

Thanks! I told Kris to cover up his watch and tattoos but he went on about being "gangsta" or something, I dunno *shrugs*

He used the chicom so he could carry more Tommy mags for the game. When he plays in his advisor kit he only used the WW2 Thompson pouch on his belt there.

I know 30rnd mags were common after '69, but personally I love 20rnd mags and they go hand-in-hand with the "year" I'm going for. As for facepaint, I'll do it at large milsims but it seemed too "hardcore" for that day :)

Nice picture. It's nice to see some activity in the Vietnam section. I'm buying my kit in the next few months and it's cool to see what you did. I'm trying to build a small Vietnam community in Quebec city to play a couple of games on my field next summer. I hope to have some pictures to share next spring:)

Fais un jeu pendant l'été. Ça sera fun.
Hitting the J in the big Q, ;)

I think you will love that
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2521/dsc02556g.jpg

2 ERDL Uniform
M56 Webgear
Type 56 Chicom
Romanian style AKM¸
ALICE Rucksack (not pictured)

Can't find my bandana at the moment.

J'ai l'intention de faire plusieurs parties Vietnam pour encourager les joueurs qui aimes ce type de partie. Si tout va biens on va on va avoir un bon petit groupe d'ici la fin de l'été:)

I hope to host several Vietnam games this summer so that players who like the style have a place to go. Hopefully we will have a nice little band of players by the end of the summer.

A+

I like your kit very much. I remember when you first came to a game with that kit, it was really cool and it helped me make up my mind that I wanted to promote Vietnam games.

Graham: Your 1 friend is using a tan .45 holster. Should be black as far as I know.
otherwise, what Porkchop said :)

The Keiichione:
Your uniform is early woodland. NOT ERDL.
Chicom: OK.
AK: Use type 56 or 47. No vert grips or (romanian) wire stocks. No polymer/bakelite mags. Steel only.
M56 gear: Looks OK from what I see.
ALICE Ruck: Did not exist in the 'Nam. Lightweight ruck, CIDG, or ARVN ruck.

You have a general idea but still a-ways to go :)

^ Indeed, this is ERDL.
http://www.3rd-force-recon-company.com/erdl001s.jpg

Early US Woodland (late 70's early 80's)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...attern.svg.png

Could be using old stock of WWII holsters?

I know some WWII holsters were painted/polished black for Vietnam.

Romanian AK is no go as are the Bakelite mags. It is also false to believe LRRP used AK. SF-SOGs-SEALs yeah, LRRP nope. I've been active for a number of years on the 101st ABN LRRP association board and C Co Rangers and all vets confirmed me they very seldomly used AKs and if so only the pointman would be.

Same situation for N Co Vince. Pointman, sometimes with black PJs for that extra second of "wait that guy isnt asian"

Boyso - Painted being the key word :D

Hehe, we're on the same line!

Thank you for all those replies,
I do believe that the Shirt on the Left is ERDL brown dominant (I have a Green dominant pair of trousers to go with that)
The Shirt on the right is most likely Early Woodland (thanks to Mr evolution)
I will work on this kit.

Very nice pics GRAHAM, glad to see all the proper Tiger Stripe pattern on display, looks like a mean unit!

Keiichione: It's not early WL pattern, this is an RDF shirt from late 70's

http://i51.tinypic.com/29pdqq1.jpg

Tried to give it a bit more old school flavour.

Good eye, Vince.


The original slant-pocket M1967 jungle uniforms were only sanctioned for use by US military personnel deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Once the war ended, the original ERDL uniforms saw only scattered usage, primarily by the US Marine Corps and US special operations community. Beginning in 1979, however, the DOD again reconsidered camouflage uniforms for issue to military personnel, and designed the Hot Weather Uniform (in a slightly varied cut from the Vietnam era jungle uniform) utilizing surplus stocks of green and brown dominant ERDL camouflage. Subsequent textile production for this uniform saw a distinctive color change from the Vietnam era ERDL patterns, creating what has come to be known among some historians as "transitional ERDL" or "ERDL 2nd generation." This pattern features mid-brown & grass green organic shapes with black "branches" on an light olive green background. This 2nd Generation ERDL uniform was primarily distributed to members of the Rapid Deployment Force and the USMC (along with some special operations personnel), but was officially only in production from 1979 to 1981.( thanks to ICUS)

sawheet. When you getting your kit going?!

Hey I remember all about my 'Nam days ;)

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...rsoft/erdl.jpg

-m16 bandolier with no mags :(
-Jungleboots
-CA M16 Chicom Sling.
-M56 Webbing With shit ton of tape to make it quite :P. 2 AR ammo pouches, 2 canteens pouches, I will replace my M61 pack with 2 more canteens and a Indigenous Rucksack replica. http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/combat-ge...cksack-od.html
-M7 M7 Bayonet
-ERDL 70 issued or 69.
-Will get black gloves, smoke grenades, M26 grenades and a XM177.

You look like a ARVN ranger good job!

Opps I usually don't button it up but I was cold :P.

Early 70's 75th Infantry lrrps!

https://www.sealsactiongear.com/cata...?idProduct=351 this tape right?

you know what? i dunno if it was cooney or not but i remember telling him to put guntape to the stock and handguard of his m16... ERDL FTW!

Cooney, looks ok but a little bland. Maybe too bland for photos.

One of those 5qt canteen / flotation devices attached to the rucksack works. Maybe use a canteen cover on your midsection for extra 20rd mags. The canteens you drink from can be attached to the rucksack. Having one 30 rd mag in the mix is accurate. 75th insertion teams would have had access to 30 rounders in 70-71.

Also, a SDU-5/E 100mph taped to your harness would help. So would a D ring on the harness.

M16 is fine. Don't bother with a CAR-15. Get a M79 for some extra firepower. A claymore and the M18 bag wouldn't hurt either.

I know it's bland, I like more criticism on what I should get or not get. I will get a chance to get those ACM M18 claymores later on.

Company I'm not sure.

If you are going for an inserted LRRP impression numerous canteens and the distress strobe are necessary.

5qt canteen / flotation devices go for ~$20 on ebay. Period made non functioning strobes are <$50. Gulf war era ones are even cheaper. Either one will do the trick as long as you use 100mph tape to conceal its bright colour.

Not so sure about the bayonet. Maybe a M42 machete or a resin copy of one in a 1967 sheath.

This thread on another forum has some pics that might help those of you doing a VN loadout.

Not LRRP, but it would be interesting to see someone do an American "advisor" look with the old school "duck hunter" camo:

http://i28.tinypic.com/14sigwp.jpg

http://www.dontgivvafuq.com/misc/pic...sor_on_pbr.jpg

Notice the very early model M16 without a forward bolt assist.

Or maybe Australian troops in Vietnam:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/ffxi...00patrol,0.jpg

very nice kits. On par with what I'm going for. I gotta say, fingerless gloves are definitely something that completes the LRRP package. Also which other units besides SEALs, Rangers, and SOG(?) were issued tiger camo in vietnam?

related question: Do SEALs have a beret? If so what color is(was it in vietnam) it? I thought they do, and thought it was black but can't seem to verify that with a good source.

roger that skeletor. My boonie hat just doesn't sit right with my goggles, and wearing glasses is not always permitted so I was thinking of maybe getting a black beret.

Came across the tiger beret last night and tbh that was the first time i'd seen one. Pretty cool stuff. I'm piecing my kit together little by little... just ordered a brown u.s.-army ka-bar sheath a couple days ago for my rubber knife. :) And a double vietnam era mag pouch which should complete my webbing.

What Nam SFs were issued and what they wore in the field had very little to do with each other. SOGs and the other Green Berets didnt usually wear their berets in the field (until they were told to stop wearing them around the early 70s). SEALs never had a issued headgear, and the tiger berets were something they came up with for camo. They also had them made locally by local tailors, just like their ERDL boonies and headwraps of various camo, SEAL vest in either OD or camo etc. For the most part all the "special " hats like berets that say this soldier is SF were just for on base because SFs men had bounties on their heads big enough to feed a Vietnamese family for a year.

interesting, ts10z. Makes sense. Your last line made me laugh because I remember reading a SEAL book which talked about signs the SEALs would see in the jungle like, "YOU DIE SEAL!" lol... "men with green faces" were definitely to be feared.

I'm still thinking of a black beret after seeing this guy

Some of the SOGs and Green Berets did wear their berets in the field, but not for long and mostly only AFTER they had been ordered to stop wearing them on base. So they all started wearing black basebal caps on base and some wore their berets out as a sort of screw you to the upper brass. SEALs wore ehatever the hell they wanted, and not just on their head. I kid you not, but I have seen a picture of a SEAL coming back from a day patrol(kinda rare for SEALs) wearing his blue t shirt with the gold SEAL trident on it, his od swim shorts and flip flops. He was arrmed to hell and back( a 60 and a LAWS rocket) but didnt exactly seemed dressed to fight, but maybe he was gonna be in a swamp all day. For head gear I have seen pictures of varios camo berets, camo and od boonies, camo and od "fishermen hat" style boonies, wead wraps and tshirts tied on their head, or quite often nothing

Jeans as well

Jeans are a given, Seen a couple hundred pictures of them in jeans, but cmon a tshirt and flip flops? I know some of the SOGs wore Ho Chi Minh sandals because they didnt like leaving Army boot tracks, not that the size 10 sandal in a country full of guys that weigh 100 pounds wouldnt give them away. But SEALs took it to a whole new level. They used whatever guns, equipment, gear and clothing they felt like. And if they couldnt find one they like they found someone to make it. Kinda like that China Lake beast.

rgr that on the jeans and custom gear. I was very surprised by that the first time I read it in one of Daryll Young's books. He loved his blue jeans and I always thought to myself, "why the hell would someone wear jeans in such a hot and humid environment?" Oh well, worked for him because he did a few tours and came back alive. lol.

http://www.mwweb.com/ndc/SwiftBoats/images/pop.jpg
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8...ylyoungiy2.jpg


this is what I have so far. I'm missing a double u.s. army vietnam era mag pouch, and a brown u.s. army ka-bar knife sheath for my SF knife. Also I want to customize my M4 in some old fashioned way. I guess green tape in all the right spots like the first photo in this thread would work.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...9/IMAG0092.jpg

Might try the blue jeans combo just to see what it looks like.

Jeans were part of a sailors work uniform in those days, so they were easy to get and screamed NAVY!

Jeans can be hot and they are heavy when full of water but everyone as a really comfy pair of jeans and jeans were used by cowboys and workmen before they were fashionable. 60's and 70's jeans are work pants with plenty of room, not the designer jeans we have today. Jeans offer good protection when waking in heavy jungle/woods etc, if it's good enough for cattle rustling, it's good enough for combat.

About the flip flops, everyone as seen SF pictures from Assghanistan. Some SF troops look like hippies with weapons:) Beard, baseball cap, large glasses, sports team shirt....

that's a good point 5kull. I hadn't considered the cultural significance of blue jeans.

alright alright. Given our discussion, I think I might go with blue jeans.

Forgive the crappy photos. Hopefully you guys get the idea.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...9/IMAG0126.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...9/IMAG0130.jpg

Why don't you guys start a SEALs in Vietnam thread?

edit: wait i think I'm wrong. lrrp although also a mission type refers to a regiment right?

will do, EX, once the rest of my stuff comes in. sorry for derailing. one idea leads to the next...

thx skeletor. I thought about that after, so I stand corrected. Again sry for derailing, I do that a lot. :( You see should what it's like to have a conversation with me in real life. One minute we're discussion guns next you're giving me your opinion on earthquakes.

did the 101st wear tiger camo in veitnam? Did pretty much all special forces wear it?

edit: I've googled it a bit but wanted to get some idea from you guys.

editx2: k, I think I found the answer and that is yes. I wanted to know if I could sew on this patch to my tiger camo shirt
http://www.adrena.com.br/loja/config...irbone_big.jpg

editx3: do you wear the same patch on both arms?, or vary it up?

Attention la 101ème au Vietnam n'était pas comme la 101ème de la seconde guerre mondiale, elle n'était pas une division d'élite mais une division d'infantrie aéroportée qui attaquaient les Vietcongs directement dans leurs zones d'influences. Il ne faut pas les mélanger avec les MACV-SOG qui incorporent les meilleurs éléments de toutes les divisions (air, mer, terre).

Par défaut les membres de la 101ème au Vietnam portait l'uniforme OD normal, mais avec un insigne de couleurs. La division a refusée de porter l'insigne subduded pour honorer leurs traditions issues de la deuxième guerre. Mais il est possible que certaines unités dans la 101ème aient portées du Tiger Stripes, mais cela serait une exception.

Un seul insigne et il est placée sur la manche gauche, centré Ã* un demi pouce sous la couture de l'épaule. La manche droite est libre, Ã* moins d'être membre d'un régiment qui s'est distinguée au combat et ayant reçu l'honneur d'avoir un insigne de régiment.

Merci beaucoup pour un tres bon explication! Ok alors, ci je veut etre comme une commondo dans veitnam avec les BDU tigers stripe ca besoin quel-que chose comme ca https://www.vetfriends.com/catalog/I...1263_pic_2.jpg oui? Ou ca http://www.nexternal.com/armynavy/im...word-patch.gif?

Celles la.

Moi j'irais pour la subdued (a droite)

http://www.mooremilitaria.com/Reg.%20Patch%20SF.JPG

ok parfait! Je sais ou l'achetez! merci!

Un nouveau site pour les 75th Ranger / Lrrps:

http://www.suasponte.com/vietnam.htm

good site!

Yes the subdued patches were issued to the division, but the 101st and others refused until the end of the war to wore them.
Look at this post.

You guy's in Ontario will organized Vietnam games in the future?
I know when i started in 2005, there was a team based in the Vietnam era (there was none in Quebec province).

What happen to them?

Thank you for once again gracing this thread with your knowledge Skeletor. I'm going to give some thought as to whether I'll wear the patches. If I do it'll be the one Shakal recommended. So long as I get my jungle boots tomorrow I should be ok in terms of an authentic look. Can't wait to play!!!

Not at all, poor choice of words if anything but I was being quite serious. My first question was directed at you. :)

I don't need to, but I like the idea. However I enjoy staying authentic and from what I notice most SF guys in Vietnam had no patches.

Anything more "special" then Airborne didnt usually wear patches. Usually LRRPs, SOG, Green Beret and even SEALs wore completly sterile fatigues. No unit patches, no name tags, sometimes not even dog tags, no ID of any kind. Not even the (although it was obvious) US Army name tape. Made it hard for the enemy to figure out who they were and where they were operating out of.

makes sense. Thx.

For all the ones who do LRRP loadout or impression :

http://www.historynet.com/life-and-d...con-patrol.htm

ALSO : http://www.vhpa.org/stories/lrrp.pdf
If I recall corectly, Marines Grunts also wore sterile uniforms.

Nice website, interesting facts.

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7340/dsc03236j.jpg

Kit list :
ERDL issed,
Repro boonie
Repro CIDG ruck
M56 web
CA/Custom Xm177 E2
Jungle boots

Sorry for the background, There is a little bit of snow outside you see !

Also excuse the finger on the trigger, don't know what happended there...

Is that a Brown dominated ERDL or post Vietnam war ERDL?

Looks like Brown dominant.

Super cool:)
toujours un plaisir de voir des photos de nos joueurs:)

A+ 5kull

I have 3 m67 pouch and one m56 with a m56 base


I got a repro CIDG ruck on !

Bad repro ERDL

From left to right : 2X M67 20rds, Cantene-----Canteen, M56 ammo, M67 30rd. I have a bandolier but my 20 rouders are in there pouches

Will sure do

[quote=-Skeletor-;1745124]Well, the Marines really don't have any insignia too wear. And the insignia they do have(pin on rank and qual badges*) seems to only be worn in garrison. Not sure how common it was to have the EGA stamp on the shirt pocket though, seems pretty mixed(of having/not having) in the photos I've seen. I think they only started wearing USMC tapes and name tapes on their uniforms in the '90s.

Thanks for the Info ! I never saw any EGA on marine shirt in VN.


Its a brown dominant shirt (1970) and a green dominated trousers (1969).

found a picture on veitnam gear.com
http://www.vietnamgear.com/Imagevwr....t_vcbunker.jpg

Caption: A tiger stripe clad reconnaissance team member of the 101st Airborne prepares to blow a bunker as part of Operation Van Buren.

Photo taken: February 1966

there. case closed. again.

Also have a low-budget vietnam loadout I could post if anyone is interested

Its tigerstriped and i do have a 101st ABN patch on it.

Slick.
I'm working on getting a loadout together.
Got a few things on the way...
'69 Dated ERDL (Brown dominant Pants, One of the half and half Shirts)
'56 Web Belt, Compass/First Aid Pouch
'61 Buttpack
'67 20rd Mag pouch x2

I'm still piecing my loadout together are there any other sites I should know about to find the small additions I'm missing?
Hollywood and Bravo-One Six have given me a 2. Mostly missing a flack vest and .45 holster.

Ok. I'm still trying to figure out what unit to portray after doing some in depth research.

AIRCAV!

Apocalypse Now/Ride Of The Valkyries - YouTube

I have a bunch of duckhunter/beo gam camo, I know advisors wore it quite alot before the tigerstripe was readily available. Purchasing a car-15/xm-607 asap, and I already have a fal. I'm not sure what I portray but it looks pretty bad ass nam-esque other than I have 82pat webbing. Sometimes I just chuck mags into a od gas mask haversack type thing and omit the 82 pat. Ill post a pic sometime when I get near a camera