Donated MACV-SOG and Support Units Artifacts

FOB 4 Plaque

FOB-4 Da Nang  Plaque.  Side One
Aftermath of 23, August 1968.  Bullet holes, frag holes and burn marks.  Paul A. Christensen MACV-SOG  S-2 CCN CCC

FOB-4 Da Nang  Plaque.  Side Two
Aftermath of 23, August 1968.  Bullet holes, frag holes and burn marks.  Paul A. Christensen MACV-SOG  S-2 CCN CCC documented time and his best friend Gilbert Secor was KIA that night. 

FOB-4 Plaque

The Following items were donated by Bob Donoghue to S.O.A. in 2017. – Bio

Bob Donoghue

AN/PRC-25

  • Basic Characteristics:

Frequency Coverage      : 30 – 75.95 MC in 2 bands: 30-52.95 MC and 53 to 75.95 MC, each in 50 KC

increments. 920 Channels total

  • Frequency Modulated (FM) “wideband” voice
  • Technology : Transistorized except for vacuum tube 2DF4 in the transmitter power amplifier
  • Transmitter deviation : 10 KC nominal
  • Power Source : BA-386/PRC-25 or BA-4386/PRC-25 battery (portable) or the vehicular amplifier 24 volt

Power Supply as the VRC-53 or GRC-125

  • Battery life : 60 hours with BA-4386/PRC-25. Depends upon transmit-receive ratio in use.
  • Power Output : 1.5 Watts (Band 2) to 2 watts (Band 1) minimum
  • Squelch : Tone (150 cps) Operated “Squelch” mode selected by front panel function switch. Squelch is

disabled when the Function switch is in the “ON” position.

  • Weight : 25 pounds with battery and accessories, as carried
  • Planning Range : 3-5 miles

AN/PRC-25
AN/PRC-90
AN/PRC-90– Vietnam War era airman rescue set. AN/PRC-90-and AN/PRC- 90-2 are improved, repairable versions.  Operates on 243 and 282.8 MHz AM.The PRC-90 also included a beacon mode, and a tone generator to allow thesending of Morse Code.  Picture is not the PRC-90 Bob donated to SOA.

STABO Rope

The STABO rig was far more secure, safe and comfortable than the McGuire rig, and perhaps most importantly, it allowed the unrestricted use of the operator’s hands, to operate any weapons during the frequently ‘hot’ extractions from a combat landing or pickup zone. Further, the rig was equally effective if an operator was wounded or unconscious.

STABO Rope
SDU-5/E Strobe Light
SDU-5/E Strobe Light•The SDU-5/E light equips aircrew members and shipboard personnel with a high-intensity visual distress signal. The infrared filter and blue flash guard, contained in the SRU-31/P survival kit, are used in conjunction with the SDU 5/E light for signaling purposes in combat areas. The SDU-5/E is commonly called a strobe light. It emits a high-intensity flashing light. This light is visible for great distances at night.
TA-312 Field PhoneSpecial Forces SOG at FOB-3, Khe Sanh, had a TA-312 at each fighting position so contact could be made to the Medical Bunker and Operations. When the shelling started the phones would start ringing. This meant someone had been hit.The TA-312/PT is a two wire, battery-operated field telephone. It may be used in a point-to-point wire system or in any two-wire ring- down subscriber position of a telephonecommunications system. The Handset H-60 containsa push-to-talk switch which connects power for talking.
TA-312 Field Phone
AN/URC-10
AN/URC-10– The RT-10 are sub- miniaturized, completely transistorized UHFradio sets. They consist of a crystal- controlled receiver-transmitter, a 16-v dry battery, and a power cable assembly. The unit operates on one channel in the 240-260 MHz band, usually 243 MHz. RT-60 and RT-60B1 were two frequency versions of the RT-10 
VS-17 Signal PanelThe VS-17 GVX signal panel was used by ground troops or SOG/LRRP teams to affect recognition by air support units.  The panel was fluorescent red on one side and fluorescent  orange on the other and had an integral OD storage pocket.
VS-17 Signal Panel
10-cap Blasting Machine
10-cap Blasting Machine10 Cap Blasting Machine: the ten cap blasting machine, standard in squad and platoon demolition sets, weighs about five pounds. It is a portable electric generator and when correctly operated will generate sufficient electricity to detonate 10 electric blasting caps connected in series.
SOG BOLO Round Tip (Sterile)Special Forces SOG sterile round tip bolo (machete). This version has the black painted finish. Designed by Ben Baker who worked as the Deputy Chief of CISO (U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office.
SOG BOLO Round Tip (Sterile)
NVA Pith Helmet (Captured)
NVA Pith Helmet (Captured)After World War II, the communist Viet Minh and later the People’s Army of Vietnam of the Northbased their helmet design on the French pith helmet of the former colonial power and adopted it as their own. Today it is still widely worn by civilians in Vietnam (mostly in the North, but its use has seen a sharp decline since 2007, when the motorbike helmet became mandatory for motorbike riders).
M-72 LAWThe M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66-mm unguided anti-tank weapon. It is equipped with a a 66 mm HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead capable of piercing 20 cm/8 inches of steel, 60 cm/2 ft of reinforced concrete, and up to 180 cm/5.9 feet of soil. The M72 LAW can penetrate and disable light armor vehicles such as armored personnel carriers and trucks with ease. However, main battle tanks are harder to disable using an M72 LAW. Its small size, collapsing ability, and portability made the M72 LAW a popular anti-tank weapon.
M-72 LAW
NB-8 Parachute
NB-8 ParachuteThe NB-8 Personnel Parachute Assembly is a back type parachute assembly which includes a 28-foot diameter, flat, nylon canopy with 28 gores. The canopy is packed in a container assembly which is secured to the air crewman’s back by a harness assembly.
NVA Entrenching ShovelThis is a North Vietnamese entrenching tool/shovel captured in 1968, while on a patrol by the Frenchman’s house at Khe Sanh..
NVA Entrenching Shovel
MSG. Hal Forrest Faulk Olympus Pen E Camera
PEN-EE CameraThe Olympus Pen camera were issued to SOG Recon teams as a way of recording enemy activity and discoveries. The Pen EES-2 was a very late comer in the Olympus Pen line. The Pen’s started in the late 50’s as an attempt to make a cheap camera. Olympus failed. There is nothing cheap in the way an EES-2 produces superb photographs, nor in itsergonomic arrangement of minimal controls. It’s small in size but its quality can be felt in ones hands and seen in enlargements. The 30mm 1:2.8 lens is a fine piece of glass.
A/P25S-1 Signal Kit Pen FlareEmergency distress signaling gear gave way to the smaller, lighter and more efficient pen-gun types by the time of the Vietnam War. These were characterized by a knurled aluminum pen-shaped launcher with a thumb knob that retracted a spring loaded firing pin. One end of the launcher was threaded to accept the flare cartridge, which was percussion fired upon impact by the firing pin.The flares would reach an altitude of 200 to 250 feet using this system. Used by the Air Force, Navy and even Army Aviation, the performance of these flares was considered adequate for the expected situations in which they might be used.
A/P25S-1 Signal Kit Pen Flare
SRU-21/P  Survival Vest

SRU-21/P  Survival Vest

The SRU-21/P Survival Vest is a lightweight vest for stowage of survival equipment for air crewmen. Made of a sturdy nylon mesh netting, the vest consists of twelve nylon pockets, ten on the outside and two on the inside. There is an optional leather pistol holder which may be attached to the left side of the vest. Weapon must be specified when ordering the optional holder. A separating type slide fastener, located in the front, closes the vest.