HELL'S HALF ACRE-Other Field Gear
Other Field Gear
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 1. Here is a 1969 dated size medium M69 body armor, fragmentation protective, 3/4 collar vest. Fielded in 1967, the M69 vest was an improved version of the M1952 flak jacket. The vest has a 3/4 collar for extra protection.
 2. This is a nice unfaded 1967 dated ERDL camoflage wet weather poncho liner. This almost brand new poncho liner was issued to me by my National Guard unit. Ha Ha Ha! They'll never get this one back! The lighweight Poncho liners were extremely popular in Vietnam becuase of the warmth they provided soldiers during cold nights in the jungle. This poncho liner is laying on top of a 1968 dated rubberized poncho.
  3. An unissued personal effects bag. This one here has "U.S. ARMY MED. DEPT. U.S. ARMY HOSPITAL SAIGON 1968" on it. On the back it has a information card sewn on and it comes with an information card if the soldier was KIA.
 4. Soldiers who wore glasses were issued this unpopular Army issue glasses. Soldiers called these "Birth Control Glasses" or "Rape Prevention Glasses" because they claimed the glasses made the wearer so ugly no female would come near them.
 5. When out in the field, soldiers would eat individual combat meals also known as C Rations. The C ration was developed prior to World War II in an effort to provide the combat soldier with a pratical, lightweight, and nutritional meal. Each component of the meal was sealed in a can. The meal pictured here is Turkey Loaf with all it's components such as apple sauce, pound cake, cocoa beverage powder, and even cigarettes in the accessory packet. This meal was from an unopened 1968 dated crate of C rations.
 6. These are the famous P38 can openers that soldiers got with their C-Rations. Invented in World War II, the P38 was popular with the GIs because not only did they open cans, but they had many other uses. The p38s were made from steel by the Mallin Hdwe. company in Shelby, Ohio. My father managed to save a handfull of these from Vietnam, two which are pictured here. Also pictured are two unissued P38s still in their paper packages.
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