VIETNAM WAR ZIPPOS

September 11, 2021

The Zippos depicted on this page illustrate the variety of “themes” that exist within the world of Vietnam Zippos. Vietnam War Zippos represent a varied and popular category for collectors for military memorabilia collectors as well as for Zippo fans. There are Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard Vietnam Zippos, as well as Zippos for the RVN, Australian and other services. A subset of Vietnam War Navy Zippos are Riverine or so-called Brown-Water Navy Zippos. There are different types of Vietnam engravings which are not necessarily mutually exclusive: (1) Zippo factory engraved; (2) engraved “in-field” during the War; (3) engraved by Veterans after the the war as personal souvenirs, and (4) engraved in more recent times to be sold as “in-field” Vietnam Zippos to unsuspecting collectors. There are also fakes, meaning lighters that closely resemble genuine Zippos that collectors should watch out for.

This 1966 Zippo says "Vietnam 66-67 Da Nang US Marine Corps " and barely visible in the naval crest lightly engraved reads "Smokey '66". The back side reads "Yea Though I Walk Through The Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no Evil For I am t…

1965 Zippo engraved in-field, with a map of Vietnam on one side and "LE Dunbar, 2116168,  USMC, Chu Lai, Danang, Viet-Nam" on the other.

1967 Zippo. One side is engraved "To Pop, Merry Christmas, from John, '67".  The other side apparently engraved in-field "Freedom for those who fought, it has a special flavor the protected will never know".

1967 Zippo for "Troop E, 17th Cavalry Viet Nam" with attached badge for the Black Knights VMFA-314 .  The back reads "Vietnam 67-68 Hue Killing for Peace Was Like Fucking For Virginity".  While a genuine Zippo, the attachment and engr…

In-field engraved 1968 Zippo belonging to Jack Treanton, USMC,  who apparently served1967-69 in Khe Sanh, Dung Ha, Phu Bai, Quang Tri, An Hoa, Chu Lai and Da Nang

1968 Zippo for L. Moore, Operations Officer, USMC, US Embassy, Saigon.  "California Dreamin", San Jose, California

1968 factory-engraved Zippo for USGC Yakutat WHEC 380 of Coast Guard Squadron Three, a high-endurance cutter which eventually was turned over to the South Vietnamese Navy.

"I Came Here and Left Behind a Nice Family and a Wonderful Girl Whom I Love, But Someday I Will Go Home", dedicated to Judy Lemmings from Da Nang, Viet Nam.  The Zippo is from 1968

Zippo reads "U.S. Air Force 1969 Vietnam - Bien Hoa 822nd Combat Security Police - CSP" and the back"Guardians of the Big Birds Nest…A 1C (Airman First Class) R. Leiter" has a map of Vietnam

This 1969 Zippo with Snoopy's "Good Grief Another Mission" is for Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 13th Marines, which fought intense battles in Khe Sanh in 1968.

1967 Zippo. General Westmoreland took command in Vietnam in June 1964.  He was   instrumental in raising the level of US forces deployed in Vietnam and in developing the strategies implemented in the region. Westmoreland continuously …

1972 Zippo reads "U.S.A.F. 1972 Bien , Vn C.S.T." (Combat Survival Training) and depicts a nude girl in a cocktail glass.  The reverse says "Remember Kent State" and has a map of Vietnam

1960 Zippo that belonged to Chief Warrant Office (CW-2) Cockerall. Hunter Killer Teams in Vietnam consisted of AH-1G Cobra and one OH-6A Helicopter working together. It also reads "Pale Rider" and has an attached cross that reads "Blue Max - 25 Kill…

1975 slim factory engraved slim Zippo Viet-Nam Campaign US Marine Corps

1958 Zippo.  The lid reads "Junction City   173rd. and the case has a US Army parachutist badge and reads "SkySoldier - Combat Jumper".  Operation Junction City was conducted in February 1967 when some 845 "Sky Soldiers" from the 173d…

The 40th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon served in Vietnam using dogs to help sniff out the enemy and booby traps. The well trained K-9 dogs were also called "Man's best friend; VC's worst enemy". The factory-engraved Zippo is from 1967

This is a 1955 Zippo for "Big Dick" of the 82nd Airborne with a map of Vietnam on the reverse.  The 82nd Airborne was deployed in January 1968 in response to the Tet offensive to the Hue-Phu Bai area and was later moved to Saigon, then fought b…

1960 Zipporeading "US Army 1965-66 Tay Ninh Vietnam" with an attached US Army Major's leaf badge. The reverse reads "45th Surgical Hospital 13th Med. Gp.

This is a 1961 Zippo for the US Army 23rd Infantry Division, Chu Lai Viet Nam. The lighter has an attached medical badge on the front and is engraved "23rd Medical Battalion 1967-68" with a map of Vietnam

1964 Zippo engraved "Vietnam 63-65 Xuan Loc" with an attached emblem of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade.  The reverse reads "Though I Walk Through The Valley Shadow of Death I will fear no Evil For I'm the Evilest Son of a Bitch". While a genu…

1967 Zippo has the insignia ofthe 1st Aviation Brigade, the largest Army combat command in Vietnam using helicopters to engage the enemy and support Army forces.  The 1st AVN. BGD was active in the province of Tay Ninh.  The engraving on t…

1969 Zippo for 173 Airborne, 16th Armor, Co D.  17th Cavalry, E Troop and "Fighters by Day Lover by Night Drunkards by Choice"  engraved on the reverse

1967 Green Berets Zippo reads "War Is Hell But Actual Combat is A Son of a Bitch"  The case has been engraved with the emblem of the special forces "de oppressor" or To Free the Oppressed. The reverse reads"Dak Pek 1967"and "Capt. D.  Horm…

1967 Zippo that reads "Operation Cedar Falls - Pvt Robert Allen Brooklyn, N.Y." The reverse engravings read "U.S. ARMY 1967 Thanh Dien Vietnam 1st Batt 2nd Inf. Div Charlies Shadow"

The lid of this 1968 Zippo is engraved with the parachutist and "Airborne" logos.  Thereverse is engraved"173rd Airborne  Brigade Vietnam 1968 1969"

1968 Zippo that reads "Brave and Bold Chu Lai, Vietnam". The reverse reads - "Company 8, 5th Battalion 46th Infantry", the men of which were known as "The Professionals"

"Let Me Win Your Heart and Mind or I'll Burn Your Hutch to the Ground" one one side and a peace sign with Vietnam 68-69 on the other was probably not engraved in-field.  The Zippo is dated 1968

1968 Zippo marked "Viet Nam68-69 Khe San" and with anattached badge of the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle.  The back reads "When I know I've already died I'll fear no war, no combat and no fighting because the God appears behind me"

670th Trans Co, or "Line Haul RVN" ran line haul convoys out of Cam Rahn Bay.  The Zippo is dated 1968 and belonged to SP 4. Bornes, or "Mussle Man"

1969 Zippo with "US Army 1969 Vietnam" and a badge with crossed pistols on the front.  Te reverse reads "SP4 P. Avery New York City" and "Fish and pussy both slippery when wet..."

1969 Zippo engraved with wings and "To Phil From Bob 1969-1970 Viet Nam".  The reverse reads "244th Delta Hawks" with the insignia of the 1st Aviation Brigade

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse Regiment, used highly mobile tanks, ACAV’s, artillery and helicopters to engage the enemy on the roads and in the jungle.  The Regiment was commanded by Colonel George S. Patton, son of the WWII Gen…

This is a Universe Lighter with the engravings "MACV 68 Hue".  The Military Assistance Command Vietnam had quarters in Hue.  The attached badge is that of the 2nd Armored Division of the Army nicknamed Hell on Wheels

1971 Zippo with lid reading "SP4 Taubler 1/9 Cav. - Head Hunters ".  The case reads "Coming in Hot" and has an attached badge "50 kills".  The 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry served in combat operations in Vietnam from 1965 to 197…

1971 factory-engraved Zippofor E Company 1/327th Infantry 101st Airborne Division with with a Combat Infantryman Badge. The reverse reads "Exterminators - Airborne" with the emblem of the 101st Screaming Eagle

1972 Zippo with the engravings "Vietnam 72-73 Pleiku - Airborne Special Forces" and attached Army Special Forces emblem.  The reverse reads "When I Die Bury Me Face Down So The Whole World Can Kiss My Ass". While a genuine Zippo, the attachment…

173rd Airborne Brigade, "Live by Chance Live by Choice Kill by Profession, The Professionals ". 173rd ABN BDE 67-70 on a 1974 Zippo.  Probably engraved for a veteran after the war.

The great majority of Vietnam Navy ship Zippos were factory engraved. To be considered a”Vietnam Zippo” the engraving should include specific reference to Vietnam as shown on the lighters below. Military Zippos made during the Vietnam War years that do not refer to Vietnam are often referred to as “Vietnam Era Zippos”

This is a 1953 hand-painted Town & Country Trout Zippo which was many years later engraved with "USN Saigon 1967" and with a map of Vietnam on the back.  It was not unusual for the the servicemen to bring their own Zippos to Vietnam an…

1966 slim Zippo forUSS Dahlgren DLG-12, a guided missile destroyer

USS Richard S. Edwards DD 950 destroyer on a 1967 Zippo

1968 Zippo for USS Benewah, APB-35, a BrigadeCommand Ship which served as the Flagship for River Assault Flotilla One in the Mekong Delta

1968 Zippo with the name Gusti F. Saxberg on the lid and the and the Vietnam emblem for the battleship USS New Jersey BB 62 on the case

1968 Zippo, presentation lighter by Vice Admiral E.(Elmo) R. Zumwalt, Jr. Commander of US Naval Forces in Vietnam. Zumwalt conceived the"Brown-Water Navy,"  He is also remembered as the man who introduced the use of "Agent Orange" the powerful …

1968 USS Du Pont DD 941 (Destroyer), "South Vietnam Cruise 1968-69".  The reverse has the emblem of the "Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club", the name given to the 7th Fleet ships participating in the carrier operations off the coast of Vietnam

1968 Zippo for the USS Corry DD 817 destroyer's 1968-69 Vietnam Cruise with the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club emblem on the back

1968 slim Zippo for USS Forrestal CVA 59, an aircraft carrier.  While on tour in 1967, a missile was fired accidentally, causing a tragic fire which killed 134 service men and destroying numerous aircraft.

Here is a 1969 high-polish Zippo with the engraving of USS Repose on theoutline of Vietnam.  The hospital ship, known as "The Angel of the Orient" served in Vietnam from 1966-70

1969 slim Zippo that reads"Navy 1969 Vietnam" with the emblem ofUSS Franklin D. Roosevelt. The reverse reads "TF 115" or Task Force 115 or Operation Market Time, the effort to block the flow of arms and supplies into South Vietnam

1969 Zippofor the Naval Support Activity Detachment in Binh Thuy

1970 Zippofor the Naval Support  Activity Detachment in Dong Tam

1972 Zippo engraved with "CWO-3 Brown to Ha-Si Co Tet 73".  This may signify "From Chief Warrant Officer 3Brown to Corporal Co, Christmas 1973"

The “Brown-Water” Navy combined Coastal and Riverine Operations to stop the enemy’s re-supply of arms from Cambodia by sea and river. It involved destroyers, escorts and minesweepers along with Cost Guard cutters and low draft boats and PBR’s patrolling the Mekong Delta. They averaged 85 firefights per month and almost one third of the sailors were killed or wounded. The Riverene Operations were Vietnamized in 1970.