RVN Monitor/Instructor/HALO wings

[Longhorn92]

Ive always thought these were a cool looking set of jump wings. Youll see them called monitor, instructor or HALO wings in different books. Ive also read that theyre instructor wings and airborne instructors had to be HALO qualified, hence the HALO designation in some literature.

 

In any case, I thought Id add these to the forum to kick things off.

 

Thanks for looking.

[gwb123]

Excellent! Thank you for sharing!

[nguoi tien su]

Nice set.

Not sure the recipient has to be HALO qualified.

[triplecanopy]

Your wings are Republic of Vietnam Parachute Instructor wings. They are illustrated in the Bragg & Turner book on Parachute Badges and Insignia of the World as B&T 291. They were awarded to some US personnel who worked with the South Vietnamese as advisors. One who comes to mind is General Norman Schwarzkopf who is shown wearing them in one of his photographs. On one of his tours in Vietnam, he served as an advisor to the RVN Airborne. The Vietnamese Parachute Instructor wings are patterned after the French Parachute Instructor wings shown below. You can easily see the similarities.

[Spaff]

Wow!Stormin' Norman really saw action. I dont think I've seen an Army Vietnam Service ribbon with 4 stars before.