Some of my Bring-Backs from the First Gulf War

[bryang]

I was an Intelligence Sergeant in 5th Special Forces most of my career, and served in 5th Special Forces Group 1986 to 1997, then again 2005 to 2008.  I was in the First Gulf War, Somalia and Iraq War with 2nd Battalion, 5th SF Group.

 

During the Gulf War I accompanied the Egyptian ground forces into Kuwait during the ground invasion.  I managed to pick up a number of items while pushing through Kuwait.  I gave quite a lot of items away - to family and friends, as well as to strangers with whom I had corresponded with in "To Any Service Member" mail.

 

Here are just a few of the Iraqi things I brought back.  I've still got more packed away somewhere.  I've got several of the helmets I brought home mounted in my man cave. 

 

 

 

 

 

This first item is a shelter half I found covering a bunker door.  I used it to help keep some of the dust out of my vehicle.

 

 

 

The Iraqi helmet with the burlap cover had folded within the inner lining a women's clothing ad from a magazine.  I imagine the closest thing to a "girly" photo available. 

 

 

 

The bottom photos are of my Iraqi helmets displayed on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

I mounted the canvas-covered Iraqi helmet beside the helmet my father brought home from Vietnam - also framed items of his from Vietnam, and like items from my own time in Gulf War and OIF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bryang]

A few more of my Gulf War stuff displayed in my man cave, with one of the uniforms, helmet and gear I wore over there.

 

The map was the one I put together and used to plot enemy positions.  I briefed off of this to the 2nd Battalion (5th Special Forces Group) Commander, and the individual Special Forces detachments.  I made it so that I could easily fold it up and toss it in my vehicle when we moved.

 

I still have the desert tan gortex 5th SF Group was issued back in the 1980's.  They let us keep it, as it wasn't U.S. government issue at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jack the Collector]

Interesting array of stuff...the loose patches are great! Catch me up as I have not read all your threads here,were you already a collector while over there or did it develop afterwards?

[bryang]

3 hours ago, Jack the Collector said:

Interesting array of stuff...the loose patches are great! Catch me up as I have not read all your threads here,were you already a collector while over there or did it develop afterwards?

Greeting!

 

I collected as a kid.  When my father came back from Vietnam he brought me a helmet.  We moved overseas to Belgium, and one of the guys he served with collected helmets.  This guy gave me an old rusted WW2 German helmet and an old French helmet.  I was bitten by the bug, and started to collect what I could over there.  I spent my weekly allowance at the nearby town of Mons, at the Sunday morning flea market.  Back to the U.S. I picked up WW2 items at swap meets.

Then high school happened, followed by the Army, and I really fell out of the hobby.  I swapped uniform items with the troops I served with in different countries - Kenya, Zaire, etc.

 

The Gulf War was a chance to bring home some cool stuff, but at the time I never really placed any "collectability" value to any of it.  It was stuff I collected off the battlefield, out of bunkers, and some other places.  I gave away a lot, and didn't really give a lot of thought to most of it.

Two tours to Iraq, I brought home a few items, thinking that perhaps - like the Gulf War stuff - I might have a few things to pass on to some of my grandkids, and that was about the end of it.

 

After I retired from the Army I did military contract work, spending some time in Afghanistan.  Brought home a few minor things.

 

A couple years afterwards, my wife suggested I take up a hobby and so I fell back into collecting mostly vintage (WW1 - Vietnam) items.  I eventually started to collect items related to the GWOT. 

 

When I think back to all the cool stuff I could have brought back years ago while I was deployed - had I any interest in collecting at the time!

 

Bryan

 

[Thor996]

FANTASTIC. Thanks for sharing! 

[Jack the Collector]

Bryan I wrote that before I saw the reply to my thread which you stated you collected as a kid.