Gerber Mark II Knives Ordered While In Vietnam 1967 - 1975 (A UH 1 Door Gunner Mystery)

[OPSEC-C-C]

A UH-1 Hellicopter Door Gunner, and his Crew Chief, ordered Gerber MKII knives through the mail while they were in Vietnam in 71-72. They had seen a Gerber add in a magazine for a Grey Handled MKII with no serrations on the blade. The Crew Chief had ordered the knives, and when they arrived, they received Orange Handled Gerber MKII knives with serrations on the blade. The Door Gunner was expecting to get a Gray handled MKII with no serrations on the blade. He was upset with the knife and painted the handle OD green. He did admit that the serrations came in handy, as they ripped through the skin of the UH-1 with no problems. He told me that on a rescue mission, his knife had cut through the skin of the helicopter "like butter". Now, trying to figure out how and why this happened? The Orange Handled Gerber MKII knives were first introduced in 1971. The Door Gunner & Crew Chief had no knowledge of these orange handled knives. The add only shows the Gray Handle Gerber MKII with no serrations. The Door Gunner told me the Crew Chief did the ordering. It is possible that at the time, Gerber had so many orders, they saw the knives were going to an aviation unit and sent the Orange handled serrated MKII knives. This would allow standard knives to go to other units. Gerber added serrations to their MKII knives in 1971, but the non serrated blades were still being sold into 1972. There is no need to reach out to Gerber, as they have kept no records or information on their early days. By chance, did this happen to anyone else, and if so, do you know why? I attached pictures of what the two knives mentioned here look like. Also, If you ordered your Mark II while in Vietnam, please let us know how your experience was. Thanks.

 

[John A. Larsen]

A UH-1 Hellicopter Door Gunner, and his Crew Chief, ordered Gerber MKII knives through the mail while they were in Vietnam in 71-72. They had seen a Gerber add in a magazine for a Grey Handled MKII with no serrations on the blade. The Crew Chief had ordered the knives, and when they arrived, they received Orange Handled Gerber MKII knives with serrations on the blade. The Door Gunner was expecting to get a Gray handled MKII with no serrations on the blade. He was upset with the knife and painted the handle OD green. He did admit that the serrations came in handy, as they ripped through the skin of the UH-1 with no problems. He told me that on a rescue mission, his knife had cut through the skin of the helicopter "like butter". Now, trying to figure out how and why this happened? The Orange Handled Gerber MKII knives were first introduced in 1971. The Door Gunner & Crew Chief had no knowledge of these orange handled knives. The add only shows the Gray Handle Gerber MKII with no serrations. The Door Gunner told me the Crew Chief did the ordering. It is possible that at the time, Gerber had so many orders, they saw the knives were going to an aviation unit and sent the Orange handled serrated MKII knives. This would allow standard knives to go to other units. Gerber added serrations to their MKII knives in 1971, but the non serrated blades were still being sold into 1972. There is no need to reach out to Gerber, as they have kept no records or information on their early days. By chance, did this happen to anyone else, and if so, do you know why? I attached pictures of what the two knives mentioned here look like. Also, If you ordered your Mark II while in Vietnam, please let us know how your experience was. Thanks.

View attachment 2765165View attachment 2765166

I ordered my Gerber while at Ft Meade, MD. Saw an add and sent a check. Took 9 days to go from Maryland to Oregon and back. In the case you mentioned, I doubt if anyone at Gerber thought about what unit it was or even would know from looking at the return address what unit it was. Grabbed what was available and sent it off. My story is different, concerning 30 round M16 magazines. Got back to Vietnam on 31 Jan 1971, and was issued seven, 20 round magazines. Sent a check to Colt, for four, 30 round magazines, probably in very early Feb 1971. About 17 Dec 1971, I get a small package in the mail, and I was not expecting anything, but the return address was Colt. I did not even open the box as I was sure some MP Custom type would try and confiscate those four, 30 round magazines, so he could have some. Took them with me to my next assignment at the 10th SFGA, where we did not receive 30 round magazines for about 5 more years and were still armed with XM16E1 rifles. John

 

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John A Larsen, thank you for sharing. I had hoped to get more exposure here. I had asked the same question on a military specific forum and got no where. Since the veteran who asked me about this did not actually do the ordering, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Thank you for your service, and I was in 1st Group. My first Team SGT gave me his Gerber MKII, that he carried in Vietnam, when he retired. I was a young junior B. I still have it.

 

[John A. Larsen]

John A Larsen, thank you for sharing. I had hoped to get more exposure here. I had asked the same question on a military specific forum and got no where. Since the veteran who asked me about this did not actually do the ordering, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Thank you for your service, and I was in 1st Group. My first Team SGT gave me his Gerber MKII, that he carried in Vietnam, when he retired. I was a young junior B. I still have it.

When were you in 1st SFGA, Okinawa or Fort Lewis? John

 

[Unicorn161]

d

Two guesses come to my mind.
First is that they just sent whatever they had because they were short.
Second, and this sort of seems more likely to me.... someone just screwed up and send the wrong knives.

I'd love if Gerber would do a run of these in a good steel and no serrations.

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

When were you in 1st SFGA, Okinawa or Fort Lewis? John

I tried to message you direct for opsec reasons. It would not let me.

I'd love if Gerber would do a run of these in a good steel and no serrations.

The Gerber 70th Anniversary MKII is a good choice. S30V blade and no serrations. It has a modern "cat tongue" handle (feels like sand paper). It comes in a wooden case and has laser etching on the blade, but it functions just like the original non canted MKII. The sheath needs to be switched to a more practical one. They came out in 2009 but I have seen used examples for sale.

 

[John A. Larsen]

I tried to message you direct for opsec reasons. It would not let me.


The Gerber 70th Anniversary MKII is a good choice. S30V blade and no serrations. It has a modern "cat tongue" handle (feels like sand paper). It comes in a wooden case and has laser etching on the blade, but it functions just like the original non canted MKII. The sheath needs to be switched to a more practical one. They came out in 2009 but I have seen used examples for sale. View attachment 2778137View attachment 2778138

I think it is because you do not have enough postings yet. I was on Okinawa 1964-1965 (with one 6 month TDY to Vietnam) , 1967 to 1971 (with one 6 month TDY to Vietnam),1985 to 1988, then at Fort Lewis 1988 until I retired in Feb 1991. John

 

[Delgadonine]

Fantastic conversation!

A literal history of a knife and its users.

 

[Boru13]

I tried to message you direct for opsec reasons. It would not let me.

I think it is because you do not have enough postings yet.

A paid membership is required to send or receive DM’s, John doesn’t have the required membership.

 

[OPSEC-C-C]

Boru13, Thank you.

 

[The True North]

I tried to message you direct for opsec reasons. It would not let me.

 

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Nice

 

[Unicorn161]

Thanks! I've not seen that before. Next would be to bring it back into production along with the MK1, but I'm assuming there isn't enough demand to make those profitable. Especially in like Cru-Wear, 3V, or a tough stainless like AEB-L or even Magnacut.

 

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The Gerber Mark 1 was manufactured from 1976 - 1997. There was a 35th Anniversary model made in 2011. It was made with S30V steel. Similar knives like the Valor have been made with a few looking identical except for the blade markings. Today, very similar knives are made with the Mark 1 as inspiration. SOG - Nightshade, Cold Steel - Counter Tac II, Schrade, Smith and Wesson, and even high end knife makers have made similar knives. The Mark II was made from 1967- 1998, and then again from 2008 - 2021. I would guess if the US becomes involved in large scale longer term military operations again, Gerber might bring the Mark II back. Pictured is a 1976 Mark 1, Valor 384, and the 35th Anniversary Mark 1.