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Well next I went to the DLI(Defense Language Institute) in Monterey, California where I took Vietnamese for three months, 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week. This didn't change my MOS(0311/Grunt) only the 12 month course would do that for something like G2. Nope it was just extra for whatever unit I was assigned to. I mention this because I did a lot of interpeting, but a little negotiation on the side for myself and my buddies. I traded for a brown, wide brim ARVN hat, and brown cammo shirt. We were in an area, I think the Highway 9 area, and there were ARVN there but also a whole bunch of ROK(South Korea) Marines. Well a couple of us and an ARVN were talking to a Korean Marine(ARVN managed to communicate with Korean) and wheelin' and dealin' uniforms. I traded my ARVN hat and cammo shirt for a set of ROK Cammo(Kinda WWII Pacific Theater USMC) shirt and trousers. I still have these today, but not much more because when I left VN I was told one of my seabags was blown up while in storage, at Quang-Tri I think. It had my language books and my civilian clothes, don't remember what else.
Anyway sorry for such a long story but needed background to explain my different uniforms while in Vietnam and off the coast of Vietnam, first on the USS Princeton(LPH5) rotated then the USS OKINAWA(LPH8). Heck we Marines did some duty temporarily while on ship and I was assigned to laundry. Piece of cake and a big plus, always had my uniform stuff tight while on board.
Well here are the pics of all those different uniforms from 5/68 thru 12/1968. Semper-Fidelis.