Green Beret
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.
Posted in Militaria Articles by Era, Special Forces & MACV-SOG, Vietnam War Militaria | No Comments »
Green Beret
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.
Posted in Militaria Articles by Era, Special Forces & MACV-SOG, Vietnam War Militaria | No Comments »
Green Beret
Vietnam militaria has been my primary collecting focus since I entered the hobby and Special Forces berets rank high on my list of items I will never grow tired of collecting. With all the variations of flashes (shield shaped beret insignia), makers, and DI’s (Distinctive Insignia), one could easily spend their lifetime collecting green berets alone! I will be sharing berets from my collection in a series of articles. Some are dolled up, some are named, most are just honest Vietnam era berets from the various Groups and time periods.
1968 Government Beret w/ Machine Embroidered 5th Group Flash
This is one of the first berets I acquired and it remains one of my favorites. The nomenclature is virtually gone, but if you hold the beret at the right angle, you can see remnants of a DSA-68 code. The 5th SFGA flash has darkened from sweat and soil, and the “D-22″ marked DI has an arrow broken off, giving the beret much character. I particularly enjoy the build up of green verdigris following the outline of the harp. The beret has a great drape and is perfectly salty!
FANK Beret with Quilted Flash & Embroidered Liner
It’s been my experience that berets with fancy embroidered liners of tigers, dragons, shell bursts, etc seldom appear to have seen much use. This is not the case with this beret. The lining is nice and salty and shows notable use, yet it does not detract from the beautiful embroidery work. The FANK / UITG flash is equally beautiful (and used). It is the hand embroidered, quilted variety that some claim to be the 1st variation, with the later versions being embroidered on twill. I haven’t confirmed this distinction.
1967 Dated JFK Special Warfare Center Beret
This is another beret I’ve had in the collection for a long time. When I purchased the beret, I was pleased to discover the vet had painted the leather tab inside the beret white and printed his name and Social Security number over the white. I was able to research the veteran and learn he had a lengthy career in Special Forces with multiple tours in SEA (South East Asia). The beret is 1967 dated and government contract through Dorothy Mills, Canada. It has a machine embroidered JFK Special Warfare flash and DI.
Posted in Militaria Articles by Era, Special Forces & MACV-SOG, Vietnam War Militaria | 4 Comments »
Green Beret
This year’s 2009 Kansas City military collectibles show did not disappoint. I met several new collectors and dealers, visited with friends I don’t see often, ate some ridiculously delicious barbecue, sold several items, and even bought a few things for the collection. The gloomy economy seemed to spare this show because most of the dealers I spoke with were either buying well, selling well, or both.
The Internet is a powerful tool for researching and acquiring military collectibles, but it cannot compare to the tactile experience of being at show, holding the objects in your hand and having face to face dialog with dealers.
Vietnam militaria has always been my primary collecting interest, but it does not surface as often as militaria from other eras, particularly WWII. I was elated to find two nice pieces of Vietnam headgear at the show this year.
The first item is a wonderful 1962 dated Fleur Di Lis green beret w/ an early, unmarked “skull harp” DI (distinctive insignia) and a red 7th Group flash made from red satin. Judging by the early date and the unique flash, I would not be surprised if this was beret was actually worn by an early advisor in Vietnam. The other piece of headgear I purchased at the show was a Vietnam bush hat in an interesting variation of “pinks” camouflage. Bush hats are still a great value and fun to collect considering all the unique camouflage patterns they come in.
Posted in Rally Point News, Vietnam War Militaria | 3 Comments »
Green Beret
When you find a Special Forces berets outside of a grouping, they are seldom able to be attributed to a veteran. When I found the following beret, I was elated to see an embroidered tag discretely sewn inside the lining with the vet’s name and full Army serial number.
Even without the name tag, this beret would be impressive. It is a 1963 dated Canadian made “Fleur De Lis.” Prior the US Government having a contract with Dorothy Mills to manufacture green berets around 1965*, most early Special Forces personnel wore Fleur De Lis made berets. This beret has a desirable Okinawa-made 1st Group flash. Notice its irregular shape and noticeably thicker black border. The DI (distinctive insignia) is the early “skull harp” pattern with Meyer hallmarks.
I researched and found the Special Forces veteran on a roster from a TDY (temporary duty) assignment in Thailand beginning in January 1964. An official flash for 46th Special Forces Group (Thailand) was not approved May 30th, 1967, so it is very likely this 1st Group beret was worn by the veteran during his Thailand tour.
*US Army Special Forces 1952-84 by Gordon Rottman
Posted in Special Forces & MACV-SOG, Vietnam War Militaria | No Comments »
![Early "Skull Harp" DI on a red satin flash](http://rallypointmilitaria.com/wp-content/gallery/7th-group-beret-w-satin-flash/7thberet2.jpg "Early "Skull Harp" DI on a red satin flash")
