This new, extensively researched volume is a comprehensive guide to the history, development, wear, and use of uniforms and equipment during America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Included are insignia, headgear, camouflage uniforms, experimental items, modified items, flak armor, boots, clothing accessories, paper items and personal items from the year 1965 to 1971, all examined in great detail. Using re-constructed photos the author recreates the look and appearance of the American Soldier in Vietnam. Rangers, medics, scouts, RTOs, machine gunners, Pathfinders, and riflemen are all here and accompanied by detailed text. For the first time, see easily recognizable dating system used by the U.S. Government supply system to date the items on the manufacturer tag. A helpful appendix shows, for the first time ever, all forms of post war gear such as ALICE and camouflage like BDUs and the Rapid Deployment Force pattern, and all those that were never used in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. Included is also an easy to follow, detailed description of each item along with a comparison showing the actual wartime produced item side by side with the undesirable so the collector/Historian/Re-Enactor will never make the mistake of utilizing Post War Produced items again. Packed with over 500 detailed color photographs, and over 100 never before seen original photos from veterans, as well as many close-ups, this book fills an important gap in the collectors reference library and will be invaluable for collectors, living historians, re-enactors, modelers, curators, and artists alike.
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Due out soon, July 1st 2011 from Schiffer Pub LTD. The 1st book in a series of 8 volumes called "DE OPPRE LIBRE" Vol I OPERATION HOTFOOT WHITESTAR LAOS 1959-1962. The book will be listed between 79.99 to 89.99 dollars, and contain over 950 photos both color and B&W included are 300+ original era photos from vets. The book will contain around 65-70 different recreation figures, showing uniforms and equipment based on real photos. The author has searched the archives, as well as other collectors and vets and put together this, which is the 1st in a series of 8 volumes on Special Forces that the author has been working on for 25 years, the 2nd book will be Vietnam 1960-63, the third will be 1964, forth 1965 and so on... The author has learned from past mistakes, and has made these books easier to access along with a large section on headgear, insignia, personal items, "Americana" maps, location of teams, Lima Sites and more. Everything the collector, model builder, artist, reenactor could possibly wanna know about Laos, USSF, camo, uniforms and headgear is here!! 1st time ever, no other book has as many original photos of Special Forces in Laos!
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's all been done before ...,
By Filupe Loupe (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps and Rangers in Vietnam 1965-1971 (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)
Having devoured every article Mr. Miraldi has written for `Military Illustrated, Past & Present' I waited months in impatient anticipation when I discovered that he would author a book to be published by Schiffer, the renowned military publisher. Even the rather steep price did not deter me, however, when I finally received the book I found that my hard earned money might have been better spent elsewhere.Mr. Miraldi seems to have fallen into the trap of over-expanding material to pad out the book. There are a number of faults with not only the material, but the layout of the book. Text referring to photographs often overlaps to following pages, requiring one to continually flip back a page to see what the text may be referring to. Considering the easily followed layout the author used in his magazine articles it is puzzling as to why he did not utilize it here as well. Miraldi's heavy reliance on the works of Kevin Lyles and Shelby Stanton is evident in the material and confirmed by his footnotes, unfortunately he has opted not to expand on their work for the most part but merely emulate it using items from his own collection. He has borrowed Lyles' style of chronological depiction by year when I feel that if the content would have been more logically ordered by item type (eg. showing transition of the jungle fatigues from OG-107 to 1st, 2nd, 3rd OD then ERDLs.) Many photographs are wasted. He has included individual close up photos of such inane items such as technical and field manuals, sewing kits, issue bibles - and even the back of a presentation plaque! It would have been better if several of these less important items were grouped together and all placed in one shot. The figure photos aren't all that much better. Some photos appear in different hues and would confuse the beginner collector. Many photos seem to have been done merely using a flash rather than professional lighting (the author even thanks a supermarket 1-hour photo stop in the credits!). Although this works for some photos this tends to create confusing hard shadow outlines and does not properly illuminate all areas of the uniform. Lyles' photos are superior. Between Lyles and Miraldi, I think every permutation of VN webbing layout and OD uniform has been illustrated! There are some fanciful combinations - a LRP sporting a MP-40, a combat grenadier wearing camo shorts and if Miraldi and Lyles are to be believed, every pathfinder sported a radio and mike/headset and most grunts in 1971 had cut off sleeves and a `Peace' attitude! There are too many shots of the one figure - an overall perspective can be done in 3 shots - ¾ left, ¾ right and rear. Lyles covered very adequately in 2 shots - Miraldi needed up to 5 shots in some cases! Some photos are even close to being duplicated. There were also too many detailed shots illustrating minor points or points done before. There were also too many individual photos of standard insignia. Insignia comprise part of the uniform but I felt there are already enough publications dealing with them and the photos should be focussed more towards uniforms and equipment. Miraldi has also included many period pictures, some of which are very good but a lot comprise `buddy' photos and contain very little information or show content which has been previously illustrated. Unlike Lyles, who largely used pristine items, Miraldi has included some `salty' items which does not detract from the overall effect. However, I would have preferred that if he was going to take close-ups of uniform labels that he use mint examples as the faded condition of some of the tags render them close to illegible. Additionally, his examination of the different camouflage employed would have been more credible if he had used mint items for every pattern. I remain unconvinced of his argument of a `Transitional' versus `Brown Dominant' ERDL pattern on the basis that the `Brown Dominant' sample he illustrates looks merely like a faded `Transitional' pattern. At this point Miraldi also states that ALICE gear and `RDF' pattern camouflage were not used in Vietnam but he is only right to the extent in that they were not used in the period covered by his book. Some photos of operations `Eagle Claw' and `Frequent Wind' (the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon respectively) quite clearly show a few US Marines wearing `RDF' pattern helmet covers, uniforms and sporting ALICE pouches. The footnoting leaves something to be desired. In some cases the footnotes do not correspond to the correct chapters. In several instances the attributed author's name is spelt wrongly (`Lyels' rather than `Lyles') and to top it all off in one instance there is a remark, from the publisher to the author, asking for a missing footnote! Some positive points must be noted however. I liked the period photos illustrating some uniform points. There were some truly interesting items - the mesh `Delta' boot (illustrated but not explained) and an intriguing ERDL ammunition vest. Unlike previous authors Miraldi also attempts to distinguish Vietnam-era from post-war items. In conclusion, I would have to say I was disappointed with this book, especially after paying a premium price. It is definitely not a monument to the high standards I know both Schiffer Publishing and the author are capable of. Too much of the material has been duplicated in previous (and cheaper) texts and there is very little new information for the experienced Vietnam collector - I for one did not learn anything new. The author writes that he will be working on further books on the subject and I hope that his future efforts will not be padded out with superfluous material - and employ a proof reader! This book is suited more to those who are starting out in the Vietnam uniform collecting field and I would recommend that the experienced Vietnam collector has a thorough look through the book before committing to buying one.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Vietnam Reference,
By
This review is from: Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps and Rangers in Vietnam 1965-1971 (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)
This book covers the uniforms and equipment used by U.S. Army infantry and Ranger units from 1965 to 1972. Complete outfits are shown, head to foot, which illustrates how the gear goes together, which items were used during what year, etc. I feel that this method is far better than other books that show a lone shirt on a bust form with a caption like "this is a Vietnam era shirt". The same problem arises with field gear in other books. They show a single canteen cover or compass pouch but never show any equipment assembled as it was actually worn in the field. Miraldi's book is like going back in time and taking a close look at the uniforms & gear carried by individual troopers year by year. Since there is a lot of post 1975 uniforms and field equipment that closely resemble items used in Vietnam, Miraldi explains these differences and points out the details to look for when identifying these items. This book isn't so much a "textbook" about the war, it is more of a hands-on "guide" to use when putting together uniforms and field gear. I believe this book accomplishes this very well and I make regular references to it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for Reenactors, collectors or anyone interested in US forces in Vietnam.,
By
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This review is from: Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, Lrrps and Rangers in Vietnam 1965-1971 (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)
The wealth of knowledge poured into this book makes it an absolute must for anyone who wants to know what was the correct uniforms and equipment used by U.S. forces during Vietnam. The book breaks the different looks into eras of the war, mostly showing the changes year to year. Want to know what diffrences in uniforms and equipment there are between 1965 and 1970? It's in here. For a reenactor like myself, this book is essential. The pictures look to be other collectors, or reenactors wearing their gear for the camera. I'm glad the author did this. Instead of only refering to the mostly black and white pictures from the era, I can see the setups in vibrant color.My reenacting group passes this book back and forth and it continually gets "borrowed" for long lenghts of time for research. Our impressions have improved dramatically and it is thanks to this book. If you are planning on entering the realm of Vietnam era collecting or reenacting, this book can help you avoid alot the scams of people mislabeling items as "authentic Vietnam era" and can help you decide what time period the items you do have fall under. The purchase of this book and the assistance it has given me has prompted me to purchase the authors other book about the uniforms and equipment of advisors in Vietnam. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival at my door.
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