- This topic has 17 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
Any military buffs in our group? Would love to date and name this photo. I got as far as “21st Infantry Regiment…3rd Battalion” Is the C “company C”? Am I even close?
And as far as dates go: “The regiment fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
This is a black and white but they look so contemporary that I cannot tell if they are 60’s 70″ 80″s. And to me this is a USA group of soldiers…
Your thoughts would be welcome and appreciated.
-
-
Thanks Sharyn,
He is really hard to see clearly, but here is a closeup. The flag is the biggest clue. I just don’t know how to read the symbols.
-
-
-
I would rule out WWII and the Korean War. I have military pics of my father-in-law and his soldiers during the Korean War and the men of that period would have never worn their hair that long nor carried such heavy mustaches. I think you’re looking at 70’s or 80’s time period.
-
-
-
Viet Nam era-Jungle Fatigues- could also be a beach in Hawaii on a 3 day pass too- definitely a R&R trip, not a weapon in sight- a slight chance its late 70’s Panama-Those Jungle green Uni’s were in service through the 80’s during central american deployments.(But all the Hair would have been a no go in the 80’s)
… shouldn’t be to hard to look up deployment dates. There are lots of service member forums, yearbooks, etc if you are stumped.
-
-
Wow BigSally,
I think you are on to something.
I looked on their people page and this is what I found
-
-
-
-
Custer’s guidon featured here:
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/237891/She-Wore-A-Yellow-Ribbon-Movie-Clip-Opening-Prologue.html
-
Oh wow! This is AMAZING. Thank you! I wrote to Mr. Powers on the CharlieTigers site to see if he has any idea about the photo. In the end if they want that photo, I will donate it to them.
BigSally, I would totally do as you suggested but I am sorry to say that I don’t even understand where to start. The terminology of this subject is not in my vocabulary and I don’t understand how military battalions are named or arranged. But thank you so much for finding the links and that site.
Adventure E: another subject I know nothing about is instagram. Sorry to be such a novice. I am learning as I go but it is a slow curve.
The fellow on the right (in my photo) has this symbol on his shirt, which matches the symbol in that CharlieTigers site.
https://imgur.com/a/7j9AVH1 -
Thanks MyCottage, that was very helpful. Infantry Guidon is correct it seems. Now I just need to find the meaning of the letters and symbols in my photo. I think 21st Infantry Regiment is correct and the CharlieTigers appear to be of the 21st Infantry Regiment. I wrote to them and hope to see if they can tell me anything.
-
Sigilini, guidons are authorized by Army Regulation and are used generally at the company level and some other units throughout the entire Army. Guidons are used as a rallying point for formations and runs and there are other traditions associated with their use as well. Wikipedia has a good page on guidons here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guidon_(United_States) .
In your picture, the crossed flintlock rifles on the guidon is the branch insignia, indicating the unit as infantry. Yes, the “C” means C Company, which is part of 3rd Battalion (the “3”) which is part of the 21st Light Infantry Regiment (the “21”), which was at the time part of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, whose official patch is seen on the shoulder of the soldier at the end (maybe an officer but the collar insignia is too fuzzy for me to tell).
BigSally, you nailed it as Vietnam with the haircuts and jungle fatigues (3rd Bn was there August 1966 – November 1971). Soldiers went on liberty in Vietnam by onesies and twosies and they wouldn’t have been in grungy field uniforms at a liberty beach like Vung Tao, or in Hawaii. Note some of the guys are in just fatigue pants and boots and the shorts look like OD green issue. The group with its guidon and lack of weapons says to me this was taken within their base at Chu Lai, which they moved to a couple years into the unit’s tour. It was on the coast and had sandy areas and beaches.
It’s very cool that BigSally found the charlietigers website because it is for this exact unit, C/3/21 or “Charlie” Company as it would be commonly called, and unusual for a unit this small. Doing the math to account for rotations during their time in Vietnam is beyond me, but there were probably only 120 or so guys present in C Company at any given time. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see the picture and may be able to pinpoint where, when, and name some names.
-
Too amazing, Temudgin! I am so very grateful to you for this amazing explanation and for taking such time and care in writing it. I would be more than happy to donate this picture to them if they seem interested. I wrote to the website person and just waiting to hear back. Thank you again and again. Much appreciated.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.