The Vietnam War: A Timeline in Uniforms and Equipment 

Cool to see them go from essentially WW2 soldiers to modern soldiers without the newer helms. Truly defined the era as the shift from the old to the new.

I am a Vietnam vet and I often saw Special Forces soldiers going to the field with Jungle fatigues that they spray painted black stripes on to look like tiger stripes. Few people understand that the uniforms were torn quite easy and specialty type uniforms like the Tiger stripe and camo type were that easy to come by.

My father just passed away last week in his home surrounded by family. When he was deployed for his second tour the seargent held up an m16a1. He said, "marines this your new fighting weapon, you may not know it now but it will become very familiar with it soon". Dad had fond memories of his m14 (as good as a recon marine who was riddled with both PTSD and grenade shrapnel could have I assume) , which at one point was fired so profusely in a firefight that the barrel glowed red hot and the handguard smoked. The m16 was basically a terrible memory for him as he got no advanced training in using it in actual combat. He would come to know the 'Mattel gun' intimately as it would consistently jam and as he put it would be the cause of several good friends deaths. His machine Gunner friend told me he picked up an ak47 in place of his m16, when not using his m60. He had 13 confirmed kills but due to his recon marine status he could of had countless more (as many of his records were blacked out from marsoc status). Some of these kills were up close and personal with his kabar. This scarred him greatly along with the fact that many of his unit while he was in infantry were killed after rotating back. He made sure that he got 13 vets enrolled into the va to get benefits. The horrors of war never left him but he did find some comfort in his later years. Mom says his flashbacks were down to one a day not counting night terrors. When I grew up with him he would yell, "cover" and hit the deck when thunder occurred. I'm glad he found some level of peace finally. Another story... I'm just dumping now to honor him and I realize I'm not even attempting to talk about uniforms. He definitely hated me talking about him being a hero but in this case a hero did wear a uniform. anyway back to the story.... One time he was chasing an nva soldier during a firefight. The nva soldier popped behind a tree with his ak47 and my father with a Thompson... As they popped out to mow the other down a curious thing happened... Both guns jammed. Now my father like many other soldiers was a weapon with or without his rifle. However, they both chose to go their separate ways shocked by the gravity of the situation. During a firefight against with an nva battalion he had to run to get more 30 caliber ammo cans. He had both hands loaded down and was sprinting back to the machine gun. An nva soldier was firing at the machine gunners position and he had no weapon. He had a job to do and used the ammo cans to save his fellow soldiers once again with his hands. His several man recon squad was tasked with forward observing and calling in airstrikes. White phosphorus terrified him more than napalm bc of the results of the blasts and the horrors it left behind. He called airstrikes in on an nva regiment he observed so closely that he could feel the blast of heat. Now mind you the maps they used weren't always completely accurate and some of them actually dated to french colonial times. Every airstrike was risking their position being bombed I'm sure. They spent the next 3 days evading the several thousand nva who were trying to find those responsible for calling those devastating airstrikes in on a position not near any regular us units. He spoke of being able to see their uniforms as they hid in the bush. He hated the purple heart he recieved and though he considered himself lucky it would lead to survivors guilt.The grenade had killed two friends and left him wounded. Pieces of that grenade would come out of his hand from time to time. It's ironic his recon units callsign was, 'mr Lucky'.

I read one of the surprising things that helped prepare soldiers for street fighting during the Tet Offensive was the TV show Combat. In the book Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War, the TV show which showed soldiers fighting during WWII, actually had realistic methods for fighting in urban areas. The soldiers who watched the show used what they remembered from the show and apparently it worked.

CA National Guard here (‘56 - ‘67) I remember the “riot” load out vividly, during the Watts riots, we actually put up standing posters that advertised a “try two” deal, 2 years in the Guard..that’s all, and wouldn’t ya know, we actually had 87 guys sign up that way, throwing bricks one minute and off to basic a week later, wild times. Left for awhile, but figured I’d finish what I started and make it to that “20 year” holy land, went Reserves from ‘74 - ‘83.

Amazing video, I was looking for something like this! Hope theres a part 2, maybe include uniforms from US allies like the ARVN or Aussies. Again, great video and hope the channel blows up.

Don't forget, actual Marines were deployed stateside in a police capacity, my dad being one of them. I think he had 6 months to go and they transferred him after over a year in Vietnam to the Marine Reserves, from there he was sent to quell riots - it would have been nice to see what the Marines wore stateside to stop the protests.

The M14 was actually chambered to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO centre fire service rifle and machine gun ball cartridge. I have never heard of the 7.62x55mm cartridge.

Very informative! As a non-American Vietnam War enthusiast, this video gave me some much needed knowledge into the standard equipment throughout the war! Thanks!

We also used the green duct tape around the trousers atop the boots to keep the critters out. I watched a captured VC spit on a leech so the saline in the saliva caused it to turn loose.

I served in Vietnam with the army in 1969. I remember the uniforms around that time ('68-'69) having name, and branch in yellow letters which was pretty easy to see even from a distance. I think they were phased out in 1968-69 with black lettering replacing the yellow.

You model Mike was very pro in his weapons handling and gear wear and use. Well done.

I can hear my CSM screaming about Eyepro. Times have changed. He took a mortar in the face that would have blinded him without eye pro.

Great video, Ritch. Content like this is really professional and informative. A lot of misinformation and tropes out there that need more clarifying videos like these.

"During the vicious anti-war protests..." can't help but lol at some of the phrasing in the script. Sometimes editorializing is hard to avoue. Other than that, good info. Appreciate the video. Had no clue the ole "duckhunter" helmet covers were still that prolific by 68 - had to be just a Marine thing, yeah? Only note I have is that I would've liked to have seen the inclusion of the 101st Airborne in '71 in the A Shau Valley in support of Lam Son 719, they performed a feint into the PAVN stronghold to divert attention away from the Laotian incursion, which had the knock-on effect of making the 101st operate with less chopper and air support than usual for that period of the war. From what I understand the 101st had largely sported the ERDL fatigues by that point but I could be wrong.

Świetna robota. Bardzo dokładnie i obrazowo pokazałeś jak się to wszystko z biegiem lat zmieniało. Dzięki 😊

Great video! I have been re-enacting WW2 German for over 30 years and collecting over 40 years. I have recently begun collecting French Indo-China uniforms and equipment as well as Australlian during Vietnam. I never really collected G.I. stuff though, I think because I spent half of my life in the US Army and USAF. 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Honestly, the fact that they included the national guardsmen and on base uniforms are really really cool to me. This should be played in museum, lobbies, and high school history classes.

Many years ago, I was working construction and went out the back gate on Ft Wainwright, Alaska. I saw some GI's with just OD uniforms on, vintage VN. As soon as they got into the vegetation, they disappeared. I couldn't believe it. One minute they were there, the next, gone. I was thinking those uniforms were better than camo.

The M65 fatigues and the jacket = THE BEST EVER

I like how you got the helmet bands correct. The Army was issued OD green, woven bands made for this purpose while Marines were issued a piece cut off a truck tire. You can always tell Army from Marines in photos from the Vietnam era by this detail.

I used to collect militaria when I was a kid. In the late 1990s I would go to used clothing stores and there would be racks of dozens of Vietnam era BDU uniforms for sale for like $8/each, and a lot of WWII stuff too. Such things are probably a lot more rare and valuable nowadays. Only once did I ever find an old school pre-woodland USMC camo tunic, those were apparently always very scarce.

Excellent video. I’m certain it took a lot of research to accurately recreate the uniforms you presented.

Excellent presentation!😁 Jman

MACV-SOG and Navy SEALs had the coolest LO in the war, really missed those from this vid Great work anyways

I often worked out of Tay Ninh, which sits just under Nui Ba - odd situation - we owned the top the mountain and the bottom of the mountain; Viet Cong owned the rest...We could watch the Cobras working their miniguns against them at night - pretty spectacular.

The Bob Hope bit made me howl 🤣 anyone ever tell you that you sorta look like Hope? I mean it as the utmost compliment

Love to see this, keep up the great work!! Very informative

1:07 and I know countless people who did multiple tours but only at the request that they got to use a m14 instead of the m16

A former co worker was in Vietnam from 1967-68, in a signals unit. His unit was sent armed with the M-14. Upon arrival in country they were issued the M-16 and were given one (1) hour on the range to familiarize them selves with it. No special cleaning kits or lubes were provided... He used G.I. bug repellant as a lube and reported no problem with malfunctions!

3rd brigade 1t Cav division anf 196th LIB both left in august 1972

Vietnam gear hands down coolest And wow this channel is so cool

can i bring addition for this?: - the MACV-SOG wearing "black pajamas" outfit (the "standard uniform" of the Viet Cong) to make similarities with their adversary and practicality useful in thick, dense jungle - US Navy river patrol (somehow also the Coast Guard) wearing mixture of green and blue uniform. green from standard OG-507 and blue Navy service uniform - US Navy SEALs wearing mixtures of ERDL/Tigerstripe/standard green with jeans while deployed in combat - somehow, the CIA/Green Berets/MACV-SOG operatives wearing Montagnard traditional clothing when they're advising and assisting the Montagnards. although it was mostly for "cultural appropriation" rather for combat service

Leave the caption descriptions up longer so we can read the year

I just love the bright white undershirts that defeat the camo color

Could you the uniforms of the VC/NVA throughout the war as well at one point? Although I surmise they are very difficult to find.

It would be cool if you could do the SADF

This looks great! I was thinking about starting an advisor impression but Im wondering did they use m1 garands???

I've seen woodland camo of the 80s in use by troops in nam. Why weren't they issued instead of the olive drab green bdus ? The woodland camo looked better for concealment in the jungle than the tiger stripes. Also great viddie sir

The m14 fires 7.62x51 nato which is essentially the civilian .308

the OG-107 always stuck out to me for some reason

Thank You ...

Great video! I wonder if we'll see more parts ? (Also still sad that people throw their hateful political opinions on non political channels, I've seen it happen before on another channel that makes gear, uniform, kit and loadout videos)

4:30 Your LRRP soldier has M-1967 MLCE Magazine pouches & 1 Quart Canteen Carriers.

The most interesting aspect of Vietnan war is that it is addressed as the US won the war. We always hear about the “victories” in some unconspicuous hill. Now we see the same phenomenon in Gaza.

Nice vid. Great collection.

Served in the Army, post Vietnam from 1976-79. We still used much of the same equipment throughout that period because Carter was President a like all democratic governments the military was considered nonessential, was downsized and poorly equipped.

Found a set of mint Cloud pattern SVN police uniform in an estate sale. I instantly went fanboy status with it. In the same lot I found a BEOGAM uniform

The m16 was chambered in .223 which the difference is .223 is a lower pressure and slightly lower power and a noticeable difference in recoil

Nice video Thank you for share.

Just an opinion. You could increase the light in the room

What the problem with text ? No one can catch them to read...😢

can you do one covering the gulf war era uniforms

7.62x51 not 7.62x55

Interesting, thanks for posting!

It's Good. But no Advisor would ever ware a Garrison Dress Belt.

That's an M2 Carbine with the 30ty round clip

Can you make a video about viet cong and nva uniforms?

That CIA uniform is dope

lol. in 1;07 you made error. M14 is 7,62x51 NATO not 7,62x55 NATO. souch thins dosent exist.

Nice video

Мне нравится очень интересно и познавательно как выглядит снаряжение армии США. В разные периоды Вьетнамской войны.

I'd also like to say to all Vietnam Veterans, Welcome home!

Thank you so much

I noticed you said the M14 was chambered in 7.62x55 not 7.62x51

The M14 was chambered in 7.62 x 51, not 54

The M- 14 was chambered in 76 2 x 51 not x 55… And still is today chambered in 762x51…

I noticed the ALICE pack frame was not properly placed on to the rucksack. Is that a mistake or is that the way they were worn back then? I've never seen that before, and I own 2 of them.

Not a huge deal, but a small mistake on your part. The M14 fired a 7.62x51 NATO. Not a 7.62x55. There are 7.62x53s, 7.62x54s, even a 7.62x56. But there is no such round as 7.62x55 Lmao I see other people have already said that, and like they said, still a great video

i believe thats a m2 carbine the full auto version

May I ask when U.S. start to wear Flak Jacket?

the guardsman goes harddd

7.62x51 nato- m-14 what else is off?

What about the early war uniforms that has the Black and white name tags that were seen in We Were Soldiers

AMAZING

@01:05 7.62 x 55? NATO?

Close your dust cover on the M16. Must be a cherry boy.

The first weapon was the m2 not the m1

I thought the NATO round was 7.62 x 51.

Köszönöm.

The commentary guy got the caliber wrong on the M14.

The M14 fires 7.62x51. Not 55.

7.62x55?

The way criminal outfit

It would be interesting to see the evolution of South Vietnamese uniforms during the Vietnam War

I was in the Army '71-'73 and there were two things I never saw during my time in the Army, a general or a 30 round magazine.

Why does this video only have 140 views, it deserves 140,000 views

Vietnam vet here, 1/C/1/12 Cav, 1 Cav Div (airmobile), 1970-71. A few uniform tidbits: The white tee shirt used early in the conflict was quickly replaced by a green or brown one largely because the white triangle where the tee shirt showed above the buttons of the front of the fatigue shirt gave snipers a good aiming point. Towels were worn around the neck to mop sweat and sometimes to sit on during a break to avoid land leeches. Bands were worn just below the knee to keep creepy crawlies out. The bush legend was that land leedhes would crawl up your leg and get into your urethra or butt. Subdued patches (black on OD) and pin on black insignia quickly replaced the full color patches of the early '60s. Fatigue uniforms with full color patches had a resemblence to a gaudy Christmas tree. The M-1 steel helmet offered less protection than the modern composite helmets but you could do a lot with a steel helmet with the liner removed like boil water, dig in, soak your feet, sit on it, or even pop popcorn in it.

Only thing I would correct is I think you accidentally said the M14 was chambered in 7.62×55, not 7.62×51. Love this video so much.

I was a Marine from 97-03. Military gear changes much faster now. If you consider, the M1 helmet was used from 1941-1985, when it was replaced by the PASGT. The PASGT is the one we wore. I believe there have been two or three helmets the Army and Marine Corps have adopted since 2003. It seems like the military has gotten more fast and efficient at making changes and implementing them on a large scale.

My dad (USMC) had 3 tours to VN; first tour, he had retread OD type 1 jungle fatigues; tours 2 and 3 he had ERDL (my favorite). I love the evolution of uniforms during that period. Happy to email/send pics.

A man I knew who was among the first to Vietnam in the early 60's with an airborne unit told me they arrived in their starched and pressed uniforms and polished boots and all clean shaven and smart looking wearing a quart of after-shave lotion and said the VC could smell them a mile away in the field. He said they woke up fast.

My dad was in Vietnam from 65-66. He took a troop ship over from SF. He was issued the jungle fatigues but he said when he first got them he couldnt pull them over his hips as they were too small. By the time his unit laned in Qui Nhon they fit as he had lost so much weight being sea sick on the trip over by ship.

Very good video, However the first soldier is armed with the M-2 carbine which was introduced shortly after WW2 and was widely used during the Korean war. It was select firing. 😌 P.S. Keep history alive! 👍

Awesome video. Let's see a part 2 with Army Aviation Uniforms, US Army Nurses and SOG please. Thanks

M14 7.62x51 1:07 not 55

3rd Batt. 7th Marines ChuLai, RVN 10/65-11/66 my 13 months there, we wore utilities, i carried an M-14 and a .45 side arm...

A lot of the advisor’s duck hunter camo actually came from magazine catalogs, like Sears. Surplused WWII duck hunter had become popular enough by then that the pattern was produced commercially

Apparently, I had been wearing the CIA Spook uniform for the last 50 years without knowing it. 😮

2:37 Sure, the anti war movement was "vicious", disturbing all those poor peaceful policymakers who just wanted to carry on with their war in peace.