The various infantry battalions of the Brigade were among the finest combat units in the US Army. The men who wore the famouse ; Screaming Eagle' shoulder patch were all qualified paratroopers and were proud to their Division's Illustrious heritage.

101st Airborne Uniforms, when subdued version of the shoulder sleeve insignia were introduced as compulsory wear later in the ware, the 101st largely ignored the order and continued proudly to wear their full-colour patch.

The steel helmet is fitted with an M1C Parachutist's Liner with its distinctive web A-straps and chincup. The issue elasticated Camouflage Helmet Band was intended as a camouflage aid, but was more typically used in Vietnam to hold small items that the owner wanted to keep either close to hand or dry - e.1. cigarettes, matches, etc. The most common items, a plastic bottle of insect repellent is shown.

On the OG107 utility shirt this paratrooper wears his Division's shoulder sleeve insignia, basic jump wings and the single chevrons of his ranks.

The trousers have been modified by the addition of patch pockets on the outside of each leg - a common practice in Airborne units at the time.

The M1956 LCE is worn in typical fighting order with various items attached. The olive drab plastic one quart canteen was introduced as a replacement for the aluminium type and by 1966 was the more common of the two, M26A1 Fragmentation Grenades are carried on the universal pouches, correctly secured by their levers with a retaining strap passed through the safety rings.

The metal snap-link or o-ring attached to the harness on the left shoulder was used for rappelling from helicopters, and as such was a distinction of Airborne and Air Cavalry troops. A plastic angle-head flashlight with red safety filter is also worn on the front of the suspenders.

The man's sleeping gear is rolled and secured in the Sleeping Bag Carrier. Sleeping bags were rarely issued in Vietnam: most troops got by with at most a poncho and the quilted Wet Weather Poncho Liner. THese camouflage poncho liners were hugely popular, being extremely lightweight yet retaining the insulating propoerties of a heavy blanket. The liner is shown rolled inside an early rubberized poncho and hung from the H-harness by the straps of the carrier.

THe awkward nature of this arrangement is clear, and points up the need for a suitable rucksack for line units. An inflatable air mattress was issued, but rarely carried by experienced troops, though it was useful for floating equipment across jungle streams.

Slung over the right shoulder is an M18A1 Anti Personnel Mine Carrier, commonly called a claymore bag. This two compartment cotton bag was issued to transport the M18A1 Claymore anti-personel mine along with its accessories, thought it was also used throughout the war as a carr-all for ammunition and personal kit.

The weapon is the newly introduced 5.56mm M16 rifle in its original version with three pronged flash supressor.

Airborne in Vietnam Books on Amazon..

	LAND WITH NO SUN: A Year in Vietnam With the 173rd Airborne (Stackpole Military History Series) List Price: $21.95 Sale Price: $14.93 You save: $7.02 (32%)
	Description You know it's going to be hot when your brigade is referred to as a Fireball unit. From May 1967 through May 1968, Ted Arthurs was in the thick of it, humping an eighty-pound rucksack through triple canopy jungle, chasing down the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam...

	Nam-Sense: Surviving Vietnam With the 101st Airborne List Price: $19.95 Sale Price: $14.96 You save: $4.99 (25%)
	Description Nam-Sense is the brilliantly written story of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Arthur Wiknik was a 19-year-old kid from New England when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968. After completing various NCO training programs, he was promoted to sergeant "without ever setting foot in a combat zone" and sent to Vietnam in early 1969...

	Kill Me If You Can, You SOB List Price: $11.95 Sale Price: $10.16 You save: $1.79 (15%)
	Description Kill Me If You Can, You SOB is a judicious, penetrating record of the Vietnam War as experienced by an ordinary soldier. Through diary entries written over three decades ago, we get a rare and illuminating glimpse into one of America's greatest tragedies...

	Blood on the Risers: An Airborne Soldier's Thirty-five Months in Vietnam Sale Price: $7.99
	Description From Dak To to the Tet Offensive, John Leppelman saw it all. In three tours of duty, he made combat jumps, spent months of fruitless effort looking for the enemy, watched as his budies died because of lousy leadership and lousy weapons...

	Airborne In Vietnam: 1st Cavalry in Vietnam and 101st Airborne in Vietnam (Elite Attack Forces) Sale Price: $24.79
	Description Offers a rare opportunity to examine units directly involved in what many consider the most violent area of the Vietnam Conflict. Second of a nine volume series.

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