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Bad Guys


Captured NVA/VC ink pen picked up by Dave Cornelius while flying with the Scout platoon of H troop, 10th Cavalry and presented later to Gun Pilot Tom Butz. Ink pens were another form of personal award practiced by some North Vietnamese units. A standing joke with U.S. inteligence had to do with determining the rank of a captured NVA soldier by the number of pens he owned.

Viet Cong "Black Pajama" field uniform consisting of shirt, hat and scarf. The color combination of the scarf is said to indicate what unit the wearer was attached to. The scarves were given as awards, by the unit, for bravery and service

PAVN veteran's dress tunic adorned with service badges and awards. Large badge on right chest appears to be a name tag but is actually an "emulation" award given at unit level

Viet Cong "Boonie" hat

Boonie hat with Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) badge pinned to front. These caps were very similar to the U.S. couterpart but were often constructed with a plastic inner lining to aid in water resistance

Viet Cong woven reed pith helmet in plastic cover with camo net adorned by hand tied clippings of U.S. parachute - "I got the VC helmet during the 2nd day of theTET Offensive of '68. We had finally flushed the VC out of the Province Capitol of Muc Hoa and it turned into a turkey shoot. Nothing very dramatic about how I got the helmet, though. I took it off of a dead guy." - Judd Clemens
Image courtesy of Judd Clemens

Pith helmet fitted with camo cover that was fashioned from a captured US parachute. Note tied string net cover and Pin-on NVA badge

Bad Guys

Crude, jungle workshop made Fighting knife captured from V.C.

Red & white checkered scarf as worn by V.C. These scarves existed in a number of different colors and were usually given as awards for battlefield accomplishments


Image courtesy of Tim Davis


Image courtesy of Tim Davis

VCS at the Korean Compound .... ( located just off Highway 19 between Qui Nhon and An Khe) Dec 65 Operation Clean Sweep.
Image courtesy of Ed Lemp

Classic Ace of Spades death cards left behind as a reminder. An official, Psych war, issue item the Ace of Spades is a card equated with death in many cultures, The enemy understood the message very well.

NVA issue field shoes
Image courtesy of Col. Larry G. Brown

VC/NVA Rice Bowl with small sharpnel holes. Note loop of cloth string through base for hanging off pack.
Image courtesy of Col. Larry G. Brown

Captured V.C. marched away for interogation after pick up by the 121st AHC.
Image courtesy of Lowell L. Eneix

Prisoners picked up in hamlet somewhere in III Corps by the 118th Aviation Company
Image courtesy of Frank Zipperer 118th Avn Mar 64- Mar65


Image courtesy of Tim Davis


Image courtesy of Tim Davis


Image courtesy of Doug Buchanan


Image courtesy of Tim Davis

Viet Cong water bottle hand crafted from a coconut.
Image courtesy of Col. Larry G. Brown

Woven "Ho-Ch-Minh" patriotic banner captured in Bunker complex.

Uniquely camouflaged viet Comg helmet. Note use of US Parachute utilized to make cover and camo strips - also braided chinstrap made of shroud line
Image courtesy of Judd Clemens

NVA issue "Emulation" award badge with bar for 1968
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

Special badge issued to commemorate the Tet Offense of 1968
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

PAVN (People's Army of Vietnam) badge for "Heroes who Protect the Country"
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

French era Campaign badge for Ve Quoc Quan 1954.
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

Award Order for Dien Bien Phu
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

Cap badge for PAVN Enlisted man
Image courtesy of Fernando De Pierris 2/17 Cav.

N.V.A. Medical belt pouch with Chinese manufactured compress bandages

"Spike" bayonet blade removed from an SKS rifle
Image courtesy of Gunnar Scahlin, A troop 3/17 Cavalry

Crude, hand made sandels that were often refered to as "Ho Chi Minh Racing Slicks"  by G.I.s. This pair was picked up from a bunker complex.

I am in E-mail contact with an EX-NVA regular. He sent me this picture of a couple of guys in his unit. His name is 'Quang Phan Vinh
Image courtesy of Ron Woodgeard

"Quang Phan Vinh" sent me this photo of himself standing in front of the American Embassy just a few months ago (2/10/03)". He is a highly educated, nice man, with a wife and three children. He is an executive at Daimler/chrysler in Old Saigon.We have actually became friends, as far as friends can go over the internet. He was stationed way up north, His job was to hit and run on our troops. He said he never had to face a CAV unit, and was Glad about that!
Image courtesy of Ron Woodgeard

VC 51 cal machine gun
Image courtesy of David Green 68th AHC

Captured 122 mm VC Rocket
Image courtesy of David Green 68th AHC

RPG w/my pistol
Image courtesy of David Green 68th AHC

This small airplane (about 8 cm long) was made of metal taken from a USAF F-4 Phantom that had been shot down in Vietnam during the war. The model was made by the Vietnamese and given to a Polish diplomat. It still resides in Poland.
Image courtesy of Krzysiek Walczak

Rockets, mortars, AK-47s, RPGs and ammo captured by ARVN 5th Regt IN the QUE SON area. Most of our support (D Troop 1/1) was provided to them. This series of 6 pictures are of weapons captured by ARVN Airborne units after ARVN began the recapture of the territory taken by NVA in the "Easter Offensive"
Image courtesy of David Ayers D/1/1

Sagger wire-guided anti-tank missles in the foreground, 12.7mm AAA MG's, and lots of RPG's!
Image courtesy of David Ayers D/1/1

ARVN claimed to have captured several AA guns within 1.5 - 2 kilometers of the LZ we inserted them into!! 1) Twin 23mm AAA 2) 37mm AAA
Image courtesy of David Ayers D/1/1

T-54 tank knocked out by an anti-tank weapon of some kind. A look into the turret would dis-hearten any tanker in less than today's M1! Looked like an ashtray full of ashes. Only the main gun breech was recognizable!
Image courtesy of David Ayers D/1/1

T-54 captured in running condition.
Image courtesy of David Ayers D/1/1

1958 dated AK47 bayonet used by the NVA.
Image courtesy of Krzysiek Walczak

Soldier Of Liberation Orders (3rd class, 2nd class and 1st class) and they were awarded to individuals participating in the liberation of the south. These awards were established in 1966.
Images courtesy of Krzysiek Walczak

Unique, cast plaster wall plaque in the design of the the Ho Chi Minh Campaign badge. This badge was instituted for the assault on Saigon in April of 1975. The plaque design is most unusual and was probably created and sold to NVA/VC veterans in street markets after the conflict.




Combatant Order - (3rd class) established in 1947; awarded to units and individuals for outstanding achievement in combat and war service
Image courtesy of Krzysiek Walczak

This NVA Officer's belt would have come to me via our Blues. It was from one of our missions while still operating out of LZ Two Bits near Bong Son in II Corp. Probably the late summer of fall of 1967. I came to C/1/9 in early April 1967 and left the field in late March 1968. At that time the 1/9 was comprised of all volunteers and obviously we were all young tigers -- or so it seemed.
Image courtesy of Paul Hart

Crude 10 Ga. Shotgun pistol hand made in a jungle workshop. Hand crafted weapons were often found in weapons cashes, tunnels and bunker complexes. The quality ranged from very high to something as crude as a rubber band powered "zip" gun.
Image courtesy of Bob Chatt

Here is a scan of my tu dai sign. The sign was given to me by a 9th Division LRRP (Ranger) named Jim Thayer for providing taxi service to work and back home.
Image courtesy of Mike Ross, B troop 3/17 Cav 1969

I got this Chicom 54 from a cache we discovered over by the Cambodian border. Very close to an ARVN basic training camp. Everyone including the base commander got something from that cache., it was orginally a 30cal. and the original grips were small with a star in the middle. The 30cal was a 30cal Mauser cartridge. The one shown is original chinese copper (brass). The weapon is dated 1967. It has no safety like the new ones. I have replaced the long since broken grips with 9mm grips. The 9mm was a prized posession in country. First Sergent Garner had one. You can see by the fadded blueing that only one end of the barrel slide was heat treated. I used this gun alot and it is a little loose after all these years. This weapon is the first magnum as we call them now. The 30cal mauser round is a super sonic bullit. It has a lot of blow back. I know from using it I could hit a man at 100yards. The 9mm is only good at half that range. I also found the Chineese built pistols are better built that the Russian pistols. The Chineese pistols are machined, the Russian Tokarev pistols are built using a grinder.
Image courtesy of George Whitney, Slick Maint sgt in C Troop 16th Air Cav 1972-73


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