Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a beauty! A lovely, issued “Rifle Green” Special Forces beret dated from 1966. This example shows signs of honest wear and use and is present without any extensive damage. It is a size 7 and still has the original white stamping visible on the inside.

BERET, MAN’S, WOOL
RIFLE GREEN
DSA 1-8359
8415-082-5645

All United States Military clothing & gear is made with a tag or stamp that contains the contract number. By following the numbering system you can easily figure out the year and sometimes even month your item was made. This example is DSA 1-8359 and has no dating suffix, meaning 1966 production.

The flash on the front is for the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Only those personnel who were assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) are authorized to wear this flash, which is placed on the green beret so that it is positioned directly above the left eye when the beret is properly. Enlisted personnel wear the Special Forces Regimental Distinctive Insignia centered on the flash, while Officers center their nonsubdued rank insignia on it.

From 1961 to 1964, the group wore a black flash bordered in white, designed primarily to provide visibility against the Green Beret. The group's personnel in Vietnam adopted a variant flash, which added a diagonal yellow stripe with three narrow red over-stripes to the existing black background and white border. This version was worn from 1964 to 1970. These colors symbolize the 1st and 7th SFG soldiers who served under 5th SFG during the Vietnam War. From 1970 to 1985, the variant flash was adopted by the entire Group, rather than just those serving in Vietnam. The unit's flash reverted to the plain black version on 16 January 1985. On 23 March 2016, the 5th Special Forces Group once more changed over to the Vietnam-era flash.

The beret is in wonderful condition and does show signs of wear, but no abuse and presents itself quite nicely. There are no markings or the likes to identify this beret as belonging to Sergeant Bruce L. Byrne, the beret came to us to printouts with his name on it and a copy of a photo which are included with the beret.

A lovely beret that comes more than ready for further research and display.

5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) during the Vietnam War:
Fearing the growing threat of the Viet Cong insurgency to the South Vietnamese government, President John F. Kennedy began activating special forces units in anticipation of their insurgency combat expertise in 1961. The 5th Special Forces Group was among those units activated in 1961, and while attending training at the Special Warfare Center, Kennedy visited the units and personally approved the distinctive Special Force's Green Beret. The 5th SFG was first deployed as a battlefield advisory group for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). By February 1965, it was deployed as a mainstay battle force once the war was in full swing. They used unconventional and conventional warfare, and were some of the last soldiers the United States pulled out of Vietnam.

The group's personnel in Vietnam adopted a variant flash with an added diagonal yellow stripe with three narrow red over-stripes to the existing black background with white border from 1964 to 1970. These colors symbolize the 1st and 7th SFG Soldiers who served under 5th SFG during the Vietnam War. The reason was that the group had a black flash bordered in white was to provide visibility against the beret from 1970 to 1985 it was adopted by the entire Group. It reverted to the plain black flash on 16 January 1985. On 23 March 2016, the 5th Special Forces Group changed over to the Vietnam-era flash to pay respect to the unit's history and the Green Berets of the past who are part of the unit's history.

The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was unique in the Vietnam War for its heavy usage of watercraft, particularly Hurricane Aircat airboats. The 5th Special Forces Group launched a wide-ranging campaign against Viet Cong forces in the Mekong Delta in July 1967. The campaign, conducted jointly with the South Vietnamese Army, civilian irregulars, and the US Navy and Air Force, was built around the use of some 400 watercraft, including 84 airboats, as well as helicopters, US Navy warships, and civilian vessels. The extensive naval operations required an overhaul in tactics to allow the 5th Special Forces Group to employ the speed and firepower of the Aircat airboats to their maximum effect. When used in concert with armed helicopters, Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle hovercraft, and support from Air Force reconnaissance planes, Navy river patrol boats, and artillery, these watercraft enabled "telling victories over the Viet Cong" and turned the flood season into a significant tactical advantage for the United States. The use of watercraft, increases in troop strength, and introduction of other tactics—deploying more soldiers to Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) bases, distributing improved handbooks to commissioned and non-commissioned officers, etc.— allowed the 5th Special Warfare Group to take the fight to the enemy, capturing large swaths of territory in the Delta, making the 50 percent of territory and CIDG bases that were previously too overrun with Viet Cong to enter safe enough to operate in, and mounting operations and establishing CIDG bases deep in Viet Cong territory. These gains were not without cost, however: 55 Special Forces and 1,654 Vietnamese were killed during 1967, as well as an estimated 7,000 Viet Cong.

In June 1969 the killing of a suspected double agent Thai Khac Chuyen, and the attempt to cover it up, led to the arrest in July of seven officers and one non-commissioned officer of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) including the new commander, Colonel Robert B. Rheault in what became known as the "Green Beret Affair". Chuyen was working with the 5th on Project GAMMA when the Green Berets learned he might be a double agent. He underwent about ten days of rigorous interrogation and solitary confinement before he was shot and dumped into the sea. National newspapers and television picked up the story, which became another lightning rod for anti-war feeling. Finally in September 1969 Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor announced that all charges would be dropped since the CIA, which may have had some involvement, refused to make its personnel available as witnesses.

In April 1970, 5th SFG began reducing its number of personnel in Vietnam. Later in November and December, further reductions in personnel and extraction of companies ensued, ending in a complete withdrawal of the group by March. On 5 March 1971, 5th SFG returned to Fort Bragg. Sixteen Soldiers assigned to or administratively assigned to 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) during the Vietnam War were awarded the Medal of Honor; making 5th Group the most prominently decorated unit for its size in that conflict. Members of the unit continued to conduct intelligence operations in Southeast Asia until the collapse of the South Vietnamese government on 29 April 1975.

The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a joint unconventional warfare task force created by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a subsidiary command of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). The unit would eventually consist primarily of personnel from the United States Army Special Forces. Others assigned to MACV-SOG came from the United States Navy SEALs, the United States Air Force, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division, and elements of the United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance units. The Studies and Observations Group was in fact controlled and missioned by the Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities (SACSA) and his staff at the Pentagon. After 1967 the HQ 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), provided administrative support to MACV-SOG Special Forces soldiers in Vietnam.