Vietnamese-Made Green Beret w/ Hand Embroidered 5th GP Flash
In this article, I will exhibit three more Vietnam era Special Forces berets from my collection. The first one is a Vietnamese made beret with a Vietnamese made, hand embroidered 5th Group flash. The beret has a stiff vinyl sweatband, no vent grommets, silk lining, a plastic diamond with foil maker and size (58) tags, and a thin rayon drawstring. The wool is a bit thicker than some theater-made berets and is constructed from pieces of material sewn together, creating a seam around the circumference of the beret. The flash is wonderfully embroidered on wool and machine sewn to the beret.
Fleur Di Lis Green Beret w/ Okinawa-Made 1st GP Flash
This beret is a scarce 1961 dated Fleur Di Lis Canadian beret with a wonderful 1st variation Okinawa-made flash. The flash is fully machine embroidered with LTC Colonel rank direct embroidered into the gold flash. The shape is slightly smaller than typical flash size and machine sewn to the beret. This beret is part of a White Star uniform group belonging to LTC Edgar J. Albrick featured here.
1968 Dated Goverment 1st Group Green Beret
This is a government contract (Dorothy Mills), 1968 dated EM/NCO Green Beret with a 3rd variation 1st group flash.
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LTC Edgar J. Albrick was a three-war veteran serving in WWII (23rd and 33rd Armored Engineer Bn, 7th Armored Div, 8th Armored Division, and 296th Combat Engineer Bn), Korea (15th Infantry, 3rd Div), and South East Asia (77th, 7th, and 1st Special Forces). His military awards and decorations include: Silver Star Medal, 3 Bronze Star Medals, 3 Purple Hearts, 3 Combat Infantry Badges, 8 Campaign Stars, and Master Jump Wings.
Albrick was also a coach and educator for 28 years, teaching first grade through college. He coached 11 different varsity sports.
LTC “Coach” Albrick died on February 20, 2002.
His uniform items are from the period when Albrick served as Detachment Commander for MTT (Mobile Training Team) Laos during “Operation White Star” (sixth rotation) from 10/15/1961 – 04/13/1962. Albrick is listed as a Major for this assignment in “Who’s Who From Hotfoot / White Star” by Stephen Sherman, but I verified with Sherman that Albrick was actually a LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) before leaving for Laos.
Both utility shirts are half-sleeved which was commonly seen in Laos. One shirt is HBT (herring bone twill) and the other is Sateen material. Both shirts have metal “13 star” buttons as seen on WWII HBTs. Both shirts have CIB’s (Combat Infantry Badges) with 1 star for combat in WWII and Korea. Albrick received his 3rd CIB for White Star later on 8/14/1963.
His ball cap is Okinawa-made and his beret is a scarce 1961 dated Fleur Di Lis with a unique Okinawa-made flash. It is slightly smaller than typical flashes and has the rank directly embroidered on it. The flash is machine sewn to the beret.
In addition to being a soldier and educator, Edgar Albrick was a poet. Below is one of his poems.
How Is Time Affecting You?
The lines in your face grow deeper.
Are you smiles further apart and few?
Are your pains more frequent and lasting?
How is time affecting you?
Many have departed at an early age.
We continue to drop along the way.
How are you reacting to this human pace
Since God allows you to stay?
We watch the young grow and develop
We envy their youth every day.
I hope none of you feel sorry about life
If you didn’t do it your way.
Experiences we try to pass on
To our successors whoever they may be.
But the trip that was made
Can never be replayed; it was made by me.
Our thoughts grow ever deeper
To God, his home and our fate.
We can’t help but keep on thinking
This trip in our future will be great.
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Australian issued items were popular with US Special Forces personnel, particularly the ground cloth because there was no US equivalent and it was much lighter than using a US poncho for ground cover. This example is 1966 dated and came in a large Mike Force group and appears to be unissued. CISO (Counter Insurgency Support Office) procured an indigenous ground cloth used by MACV-SOG, SF, and Indig personnel that seems to be inspired by the Aussie ground cloth / tarp in weight and construction.
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This is a Vietnam War era Indig (Indigenous) sleeping bag as used by MACV-SOG personel on cross-boarder ops in Laos and Cambodia. Many do not realize that in parts of Vietnam the temperature can drastically drop at night. SOG personnel needed something “sterile” (void of any association to the United States) and lightweight to provide warmth. Some troops used the indigenous sleeping bag, while others used indig poncho liners.
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This is a Vietnam War era Indig (Indigenous) poncho liner as used by MACV-SOG personnel on cross-boarder ops in Laos and Cambodia. Many do not realize that in parts of Vietnam the temperature can drastically drop at night. SOG personnel needed something “sterile” (void of any association to the United States) and lightweight to provide warmth. Some troops used the indigenous poncho liners, while others used indig sleeping bags.
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