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Up for sale is an incredibly rare, 100% original, and fully identified personal photographic archive from the Vietnam War.
This collection was compiled by Marine Jesse K. Follis, who served with the historic 1st Marine Division (USMC) in South Vietnam. It is housed in an authentic, era-correct green cloth souvenir binder embossed with \"Memory of South Viet-Nam.\"Unlike common, anonymous tourist albums, this archive features a signature/provenance page completely filled out by Jesse himself, making it a fully traceable and museum-grade historical resource. The collection contains over 70 original snapshots (a fantastic mix of sharp color and black-and-white photography) documenting his unit\'s daily life, operations, and environment.
Archive Highlights Include:
The Tiger Photo: A spectacular, unpublished photograph of U.S. Marines processing/skinning a large wild Indochinese tiger on a concrete pad at base camp.
Military Hardware & Aviation: In-flight action photos of iconic aircraft, including a UH-1 \"Huey\" and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, along with heavy 5-ton motor pool tactical trucks and a field artillery howitzer position.
Base Camp Layout & Fortress Defense: Wide landscape views of a heavily fortified forward operating base (FOB) situated against a distinct mountain ridge, showcasing sandbag perimeters, guard towers, and barracks huts (\"hooches\").
Authentic GI Culture & Hand-Painted Signs: Fantastic close-up shots of soldier-built structures featuring classic military humor and unit markings, including a motor pool service shack labeled \"Danny\'s Lube Shop — Slide Your Ass In\" (fully stamped with USMC and a vehicle serial number) and an \"Ice Kold Soders 20¢ Sense\" refreshment cage.
ARVN Camaraderie: Fascinating photos documenting South Vietnamese ARVN troops engaged in military martial arts/Taekwondo training on a dirt compound.
Cultural Landscapes: Several crisp color photos capturing local South Vietnamese architecture, temple gates, and local pagodas during downtime/R&R.
Please Note: Not all pictures are shown. This sale includes a companion album containing Jesse\'s personal home life. Out of deep respect for the veteran\'s family privacy, previews of the personal family photos have been kept out of the online listing, but the complete physical books will be shipped safely together as one single cohesive life archive to the winning collector.
