The Vietnam War: RARE Artifacts of MACV-SOG | American Artifact Episode 141

When it comes to military artifacts, it doesn't get much rarer than the patches of special forces soldiers of the Vietnam War. In this episode, we're taking a look at some hard to find pieces from the collection of The Gettysburg Museum of History to learn a little bit more about the men who operated in the special forces in Vietnam.

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[mikerologameplay]

During graduation week from West Point back in 2015, I had the privilege of having lunch with COL (R) Roger Donlon, first Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam since he was representing the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (which sponsored an academic award I received). Heck of a person and very grateful for the time and attention he gave me and my family during lunch. He even gave me his personal business card with contact information! Crazy to think that the Vietnam veterans are getting up there in age now....glad to see some added focus on Vietnam!

[GuyPipili]

The Vietnam War was very unpopular. Those who were involved in that conflict were disrespected and treated horribly. Many young people back then were ignorant as far as who actually sent them. On top of that, civilians dictated ridiculous ROE to where they were put into positions that many more service personnel were lost that was unnecessary. Those service personnel deserves a big thank you for serving even if there were those who treated y'all so horribly. Thank you JD and Erik for remembering those who fought in this conflict and not letting the history fade.

[fumblebunny]

Thank you so much for this video. My father was SOG - Special Forces Officer - Airborne - Infantry - Ranger. Three tours in Vietnam. My father didn't talk about his tours. My mother told me, after I was grown, that he and his unit went into Cambodia and Laos without tags on recon missions, including capturing Viet Cong officers for information. If they were captured, our government would deny knowing them.
I wish I knew if my father was in these books. I am going to look for them. I don't know anything about his tours. I am 67 yrs old and want to find information to pass on to his grandchildren, one who is in the Air Force. I still have his foot locker. One of my memories is watching him unpack it after returning from his 2nd tour. He pulled out his bayonet and it was covered in dried blood. I asked if it was blood and he said yes. I asked why didn't he clean it and he replied that they never cleaned their bayonets.
He died in 2008 and was married to his 3rd wife who kept everything he had. My brother and I didn''t even get his Bronze Star.
Thank you again. I remember the skull patches and some type of award or paper with the SOG and skull on it. I had that for years and in 2005, I found it in a box of childhood memories and gave it back to him. He died in 2008. All I have is the trunk, thankfully, and I am going to find these books and share with my brother.

[wesb]

My uncle worked with MACV-SOG as a counterintelligence officer. Cool collection!

[stealthybatman]

These guys are my absolute favorite to hear/learn about. The stories that come from the SOG guys are just so badass. Thanks so much for the constant stream of amazing videos!

[Wreckdiver]

Another great video 👍 I'm old enough to remember the Vietnam war nightly on TV.

[fumblebunny]

In memory of my father who was Special Forces, SOG. Vietnam tours in 1965 - 1966, 1967 - 1968, and 1970 -1971.

[nancyprice]

My brother was with the Strategic Air Command stationed at Glasgow Air Base in Montana. He was sent to Korea and then to Viet Nam. He was shot down and taken prisoner and took into Cambodia. He was lost to us for 4 long years. He was released from Cambodia just before the "Killing Fields". We were so happy to get him back But my brother never came home. Thank you for sharing the stories of this conflict because it was never a war.

[edgaraquino]

Good video! These patches were usually sewn on the pockets of their uniforms when they were in their bases...the one generic patch they used was the MACV-SOG patch at 8:52, regulation size, without any specific area name on it, unauthorized, since higher authority would not approve it as they did not "exist"....liked the Airborne Mike Force patch, the Vietnamese Special Forces patch & the Vietnamese Rangers patch...the VR were a top-notch unit as opposed to the VSF...they painted their patch on the front of their helmets...the VR & their American advisors also wore maroon/brown berets pulled to the left with an embroidered winged arrow with a wreath over the right ear....these could also come as a regular patch or a metal pin...the V officers usually pinned their rank blossoms to the right front of the patch....btw, there is patch which I did not see which is the Montagnard patch...the Hatchet Force, complementary to the Mike Force, which were Nungs....

[Jerry-fnnx]

Great episode! Love Eriks new office 👍

[swtexan]

I was named for a member of the 101st Airborne who was KIA in Thua Thien province in Vietnam in July of '69. He was a platoon leader for Tiger Force and was killed during a recon op in which SSgt. John Gertsch received the CMOH. RIP, Lt. Johnny Neil Eutsler. Thanks, JD and Eric.

[nashrunner]

Love seeing MACVSOG covered on this channel

[paulgrogan]

I'm 67. Without any unnecessary details about my m.o.s.&deployments. Please continue to cover/illustrate this conflict, or as we were told "police action" fantastic channel.

[ChuckG]

Erik showed me some of that last year. A lot of guys I served with were Vietnam-era vets so I’d seen some similar things. It’s an impressive collection.

[katiemyers]

I LOVE these artifacts videos with Erik! It's like having a guest speaker at a school assembly. I'd be the kid sitting on her knees instead of criss-cross applesauce.

[jimtaylor]

My dad was part of the 1st MIKE force team that was formed in 1965…A302 (5th SF group)
They made their own shoulder patch which was the skull and crossbones

[JoeRitchie-el]

This is so cool! I am glad that you are starting to cover the Vietnam war in your displays

[Scott_Buchanan]

This was so cool, I love seeing Macv-sog stuff

[Littlebiglibrary]

You are 100% correct. This is very interesting. I really enjoyed it and learned a few things. Thank you for sharing -James

[russellmania]

Very informative and absolutely fascinating