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Last updated on 4/7/24

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Souvenirs






"Fantastic award plaque presented to Lt. Gen. Ewell for service 3 Apr 69- 15 Apr. 70. The Plaque is a large rendition of the 1st Cavalry division patch surrounded by distinctive insignia of the various units of the division.  
Courtesy Bill Brooks

Mike O'Neil circa 2000 holding M44 Mosin Nagant Rifle he brought home from Vietnam.
Image courtesy of Mike O'Neil

"Snoopy" mascot doll as used in D troop, 3rd Squadron. 5th Cavalry regt

'Challenge coin' for the 101st Abn. Failure to produce this upon a "challenge" at the bar meant you had to buy the challenger(s) drinks.
Image courtesy of Doug Kibbey

Yes, Snoopy was there too!

This Coin is 1/8 inch thick 5" inches wide,and has a square hole in the middle. All I ever could find out about it is that they used them between the 13th & 17th century and it is called a 600 Dong.
Image courtesy of Philip Norton, Aero Scout, C troop 1/9 Cav

Souvenir belt buckle made somewhere in S.E.A. for a Dustoff Air Ambulance unit member and engraved to commemorate the Tet offensive in 1968

A popular motto of the times

Tiny "Snoopy" lapel pin likely picked up in Japan while on R&R. Snoopy, with his aviation calling fit right into the scheme of things in Vietnam!

Variation on a popular poster I applied some "artistic freedom" to (apologies to the Rangers, but Hey, I was 11D!)

Late war nylon duffel bag, with large (8" - 12") "I've been there" patches
Image courtesy of John Jones

This is the same MkIV, Series '70 .45ACP given to me by my father before shipping out and seen under "Weapons" with the Thompson M1928-A1...but 30 years later with the scars cleaned up and modified trigger & sights, among other things. And it earned all of those unit crests.
Image courtesy of Doug Kibbey

A friend from Phu Hiep
Image courtesy of Gary Cody via Tillman Jeffrey

This is my Campaign Streamer collection for the time period I was in VN. It took me three years to find all seven of them.
Image courtesy of Forrest Webb

45 RPM record, "Impressions of a Skytrooper",  was produced in Japan by the 1st Cavalry division's "First Team Productions". Bill Ellis was the recording artist and the liner notes recognize him as a Rifleman in the 1st Cavalry division who wishes to represent soldies at the Foxhole level. The record is actually an "Extended Play" recording that features 4 songs - "First Cav", "Firefight",  "Freedom Bird" & "Grunt".

I am putting the final touches on my backyard Walton's Vietnam Monument, the broken stabilizer bar from UH1C 66-730, which I crashed on my 37th Birthday in Pleiku Vietnam. This piece of the aircraft buried itself and it was dug out by my maintenance personnel and presented to me as a souvenir. I carried it all over, Germany, Ft Rucker, Hunter AAF, for almost two decades until my grandsons helped me mount it in Concrete in 1987. I pat it almost every time I walk by it. I don't think that we are the only family where both father and son served in a helicopter unit in the Republic of Vietnam (My son was a mechanic/volunteer door gunner in the 189th at Pleiku), but so far have not located any others. Maybe your website will turn up some more.
Image courtesy of Bill C. Walton, B trp. 7/17 Cav.

Photo album as sold by Street Vendors and available with virtually any unit insignia imaginable
Image courtesy of and in memory of Jack C. Pecket, 173rd Airborne.

Plaque fashioned from section of a rotor blade and dressed up with a number of "beercan" designs and engraved plate indicating it was awarded to a captain for service as an aviation saftey officer with the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry division
Image courtesy of Larry Stone

Illuminated glass carving of C-16 "Loach" #17340 "Miss Clawd" flown by Hugh Mills. Artwork by Tony Lawson.
Image courtesy of Tony Lawson

Image courtesy of Larry Stone


U.S.Army Aviation window decal. Courtesy Steve Shepard C/7/17


"Back Home" Stetson and souvenir jacket worn by Paul Madsen, 11st ACT, 1968-69.
Image courtesy of Paul Madsen

NVA flag with fold lines just as captured from enemy back pack

3 issues of the Army information Digest from the 1963-65 era. Each features a cover theme that reflects the Helicopter age and Airmobility

1970 USO Miss America program autographed by 7 participants including Miss California Susan Anton

Comic illustrated tablet of Stationary. Each page is illustrated with Comical G.I. in various circumstamces and enhanced with slogans of the times.

The Cav Spirit was strong

Very personalized scarf worn by a member of the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade

North Vietnamese Regular Belt Buckle captured by Al Demailo. After returning home Al gave the old buckle a new lease on life - a little chrome and red enamel!!!!! The belt was replaced and custom embroidered with Al's tour data.
Image courtesy of Al Demailo







"Old Soldier", Konica Autoreflex T. My first "real camera", 35mm bought at the Phu Bai PX in '71. With the exception of a handful of pics taken with an old 110 Instamatic, every picture I took in RVN were with this trooper, normal lens and no filters whatsoever.
Image courtesy of Doug Kibbey

This "FIGMO" chart was an interesting example of marketing aimed at the G.I. FIGMO was short of "F*** IT, I Got My Orders" which were the orders issued for departure from country. At that point a G.I. was a "Short Timer" or just plain "Short" and in most cases, afforded every courtesy to insure his safe return after his orders had been cut. The chart featured an artists conception of a Bathing Beauty in a dress covered with removable tabs numbered to coordinate with the last 90 days of service "In Country". As each day passed a coresponding number was removed until finally the 90th day left her as uncovered as the artist had intended!

Pets for every occasion. I did not trust any of the Boas around my neck. The First Sargent had several really big ones.
Image courtesy of George Quackenbush

Tail rotor chain bracelet
Image courtesy of Charlie Eaves

A conflict of mixed feelings
Image courtesy of Bob Chatt

A couple of coins and a cigarette pack from Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
Image courtesy of Charlie Eaves

Assorted "Beercan" badges for applying to plaques. These were nororious for falling off once the glue that held them in place dried up!
Image courtesy of Wayne Mutza

This chain bears witness to an in-flight helicopter mishap, combat or not, whereas the aircraft becomes non-flyable and the pilot puts it down so as to not cause injury to any crew members; saving the aircraft counts but is not necessary if you control crash it without the CE, Observer or door gunner being injured. Doesn't count unless the aircraft crew chief makes it for you and gives it to you personally. This is one of 4 I own and came off a UH1H for a combat shoot-down while I was aircraft commander. Of the 4 aircraft 3 were Loaches and 1 was a Cobra. All occurrences happened in 1970, War Zone C and D of III Corps as in the Dogs Head, Fishhook, Parrots Beak, Iron Triangle, Razorback Mountains and the 1970 Invasion of Cambodia. I was operating out of Tay Ninh, Phouc Vinh, Song Be, Lai Khe, FSB Snuffy and many other sites.
Image courtesy of Lou "Rocket" Rochat

This fire control instruction panel, No. 701C42, was taken from a Chinese tank destroyed near Hue, Vietnam during the Spring Offensive of 1972. This tank was destroyed by a helicopter launched TOW missile. I think it was the 2nd combat aerial TOW team which was attached to the 11th combat aviation group out of DaNang. I believe they stayed with a cav unit, on Tan Mi island or with a cav unit in Phu Bai, maybe the 9th or 17th cav. These TOW ships were not AH1G COBRAS they were Hueys, possibly C models or D models and flew with a COBRA team for cover.

Adendum - "Looking into this, it would seem likely to have been May '72 or later, as the earliest time I can find documented for TOW use is out of Pleiku with the 1st and 2nd TOW Detachments (the "2nd combat aerial TOW team") using the BGM-71's on UH-1B models. Elements of the 2nd may have come north to support a rapidly deteriorating situation. All Cobra engagements that involved tanks used either HEAT or HEDP rockets, not TOW (just as suggested by the original caption). In my opinion, this would have been the 2nd TOW Detachment, probably flying from Da Nang, not Phu Bai...and not likely as part of 17th Cav since they were basically all gone and Phu Bai would have been really under the enemy guns anyway at that time. - Courtesy Doug Kibbey

Click here for a translation

Image courtesy of Don Hauschild

Another tank artifact from Vietnam.
Image courtesy of Don Hauschild

Vivid memento of Combat Flying in Vietnam.
Image courtesy of Linda LaBounty (wife of Vance LaBounty) via Gary Roush


Image courtesy of Harold John LeGrand II

The Patch wound up on Everything

A Russian PT-76 tank on display at Camp Eagle late 1972.
Image courtesy of Brian Harrison, F troop, 4th Cavalry

Kid size pair of ?Ho Chi Minh Racing Slicks?!

I bought this at the Tay Ninh PX in March 1969.
Image courtesy of Glenn Senkowski - Apache 35, Apache 22, A Troop 1/9 Cav, Feb 69 ? Sep 70


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