Opinions sought for this uniform

[Tonomachi]

I bought this uniform on ebay. The seller told me that this is how he received this uniform through a purchase of a number of different uniforms from one source. What I didn't like about this uniform was the sand cast South Vietnamese made LLDB (Luc Luong Dac Biet) Special Forces paratrooper wing. It is an original wing from that time period however what is it doing on this uniform? My understanding concerning the Vietnam War was that the Canandian Military Forces were not involved in this conflict. So if this was the case then did someone simply add this to the uniform? If this was added was the Canadian paratrooper wing added as well due to this being an artillery unit uniform? Is this a totally made up uniform?

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[edstorey]

Other than the South Vietnamese Wings, the rest of the uniform looks correct. The trades badge combination with the Cpl rank should be checked just to make sure that the Group 2 badge was correct for a Cpl. The uniform itself appears to be tailor made rather than one of the more commone mass-produced issue versions. Canadians had served in Vietnam with the ICCS and in this case there is on only a UNFICYP ribbon on the tunic so my guess is that these wings may not be original to the garment. Also, the 'bling' effect' of foreign wings on 1960s BD was not common practice, not like today, so again I have concerns about the wings.

I have no idea if the Vietnamese Wings are legit or repro.

That being said, if this were my tunic, I would keep the Vietnases wings on it, just in case, but being fully aware that they are most likely not correct.

If this tunic has been made up, the person did a good job.

[Tonomachi]

Thanks for the information.

[Ian B]

Good day Tonomachi,

I know that it has been a while since the last on this post, but I'm new to the forum and I've been trolling through the threads. Like Ed, I would recommend you keep the tunic. I think you're correct that the Viet wings are for the VN Special Forces. And Bombardier Bartlett propably got them if he served on the International Commission for Supervision and Control (ISCS). This mission went from Aug.'54 to Jun.'74. The reason he doesn't have that ribbon along with his Cyprus ribbon? Maybe he was repatted before he had the required time to be awarded the ribbon, like being injured on the last of his qualifying jumps for the Vietnamese wings...or maybe some tropical illness.

The only way to know for sure is to try and get a copy of his service file from Library and Archives Canada.

One final note. Before I joined the CF in 1978, I was in the Reserve in Halifax. Our RSS officer was an RCR Captain who had served on the ICCS. He wore his Vietnamese Basic para wings, earned while on tour, on his Service tunic. So, it is possible.

Hope this helps somewhat. Stay safe and have fun.

Cheers,

Ian

[Tonomachi]

Originally Posted by Ian B

Good day Tonomachi,

I know that it has been a while since the last on this post, but I'm new to the forum and I've been trolling through the threads. Like Ed, I would recommend you keep the tunic. I think you're correct that the Viet wings are for the VN Special Forces. And Bombardier Bartlett propably got them if he served on the International Commission for Supervision and Control (ISCS). This mission went from Aug.'54 to Jun.'74. The reason he doesn't have that ribbon along with his Cyprus ribbon? Maybe he was repatted before he had the required time to be awarded the ribbon, like being injured on the last of his qualifying jumps for the Vietnamese wings...or maybe some tropical illness.

The only way to know for sure is to try and get a copy of his service file from Library and Archives Canada.

One final note. Before I joined the CF in 1978, I was in the Reserve in Halifax. Our RSS officer was an RCR Captain who had served on the ICCS. He wore his Vietnamese Basic para wings, earned while on tour, on his Service tunic. So, it is possible.

Hope this helps somewhat. Stay safe and have fun.

Cheers,

Ian

Many thanks for the additional information and I kept the uniform.

[CanRiggerRet]

Ian,
I know it has been ages since this thread was touched but I have a question.
How is it that your Captain was wearing a foreign set of wings on his deu's?
it is against Canadian Forces policy to wear any foreign countries wings on our dress uniform regardless of whether we earned them on a UN tour. The ONLY place we are allowed to wear foreign wings is on Mess Kit which is bought by the member and are usually always a smaller version and made of Bullion.

[Ian B]

Good day Rigger,

Well, I can't quote you chapter-and-verse, but I believe CF members were (and maybe still are) allowed to wear one Hazardous Skill qualification from a foreign military. How else would all the jumpers in CABR wear the US, Brit, French, German and other wings that they received on 'friendship jumps' and exchanges? However, I've been out for ten years now after 27 years in service, so things might have changed since then.

As for the Captain wearing the wings on his CF Service Dress? I can only say that he was Regular Support Staff (RSS) with my Reserve Infantry unit in a Navy town on the East coast. Guess he was lucky enough to get away with it. I was certainly not in any position to jack him up about it, being just a Militia Herbie Private!

Ian

[Ian B]

Rigger,

This got me thinking, so I dug into my stash of messages and found what I wanted. The answer is found in para 3. of CANFORGEN 070/99, date/time gourp 111300Z AUG 99, and I quote:

"CF personnel may wear a total of two flying and specialist skill badges at any one
time on their service dress, foreign qualification badges are included in this total."

So, the way I read it is that if CF service personnel are, in this case, para qualified, they can wear one other set of foreign para wings on their tunic, if they have received them during an exchange.

Ian

[Tonomachi]

Great follow up information. Many thanks.