One of my areas of collecting interest is in the Vietnam War, specifically US and ARVN items. However, I've been thinking about expanding into items from wartime North Vietnam, specifically rank items like shoulder boards and collar tabs. The problem is I don't know what (if any) differences can be seen between post-1975 rank items and pre-1975 rank items. The internet is surprisingly scarce about this area, and I was wondering if anyone has images of known PAVN wartime insignia or knows what to look for.

Thanks in advance.

I think immediately after the war, shoulder boards were pretty much the same. I am not sure if they have been updated in the meantime.

Check this out:

 

http://grunt-redux.atspace.eu/nva_rank.htm

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnamese_military_ranks

I do, I will post them tomorrow. They were ordered not to be worn in RVN.

Here is a link for the thread "NVA Portraits: Immediate Postwar". There are some with collar tabs, but also a nice studio portrait showing a soldier wearing shoulder boards.

 

http://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/313294-nva-portraits-immediate-postwar/

Thanks for the info, guys.

I do, I will post them tomorrow. They were ordered not to be worn in RVN.

 

Great! I'd love to see them.

Sorry for the delay, I forgot about this.

 

This is a screen grab from a video of Operation Hastings on 19 July 1966

 

This one is captioned as being taken in Saigon in April 1975. It is odd, I have never seen green insignia elsewhere. I wonder if this photo is incorrectly colorized?

 

I think I have a couple more photos but I am disorganized. Most of them the resolution is not high enough to make out any useful details.

 

 

 

 

I don't think its the colorization of the color tabs, they actually look green. If you look at the insignia on the helmet you can see the red tone to them

Great! Thank you for the screen shot.

Sorry for the delay, I forgot about this.

 

Rank Op Hastings 19 Jul 1966.JPG

This is a screen grab from a video of Operation Hastings on 19 July 1966

 

872b9714-a315-4e01-a289-1027e597d781.jpeg

This one is captioned as being taken in Saigon in April 1975. It is odd, I have never seen green insignia elsewhere. I wonder if this photo is incorrectly colorized?

 

I think I have a couple more photos but I am disorganized. Most of them the resolution is not high enough to make out any useful details.

 

That is a very unusual photo. I have never seen green rank tabs either during or after the war. It makes you wonder if it was a special unit or just a version of what we called subdued insignia.

Thanks again for the info, guys. It gives a good foundation. Now, the question I have is this: Does anyone have (or have had in the past) a genuine wartime PAVN collar insignia or shoulder board in their collection? If so, can you post some images of these? I know the "Land of Ho" is infamous for reproductions of everything for tourists, so an detailed image of a real piece would go a long way in rooting out the reproductions.

Thanks again.

I think this seller has correct ones. The prices are somehow surprising though.

 

https://enemymilitaria.com/shop/?fwp_search=tabs&fwp_military=vietnam-war&fwp_paged=2

I think this seller has correct ones. The prices are somehow surprising though.

 

https://enemymilitaria.com/shop/?fwp_search=tabs&fwp_military=vietnam-war&fwp_paged=2

Whoa... not shy about the prices aren't they? I am betting they are not that rare in Vietnam itself. Then again, it's been almost 45 years since the end of the war.

I was told only felt insignia is wartime for NVA. However I've always felt aluminum hooks as opposed to steel hooks were an indicator of wartime. No pun intended.

Sorry for the late response but I just joined the forum this month.  I've been advised that the first set of shoulder boards are war time issued police boards.  As you can see they are cloth and pretty ratty from wear.  The second set are post war Army Lt boards of pastic with a thin fabric covering.