Vietnam Navy Seal Patch?

[ram38]

Hello everyone,
Not sure if this is the right forum to post this, but here it goes. Just got back from the flea market and pick this up from a guy who had just bought a bunch of stuff from a widow of a Vietnam Navy veteran.
I bought two caps because they had dive helmet pins and one had a Navy Seal Patch. The Navy Seal cap in the picture below is old and looks like the real deal, but not certain. The man was ex-military and law enforcement the remainder of this life. I asked the man, who sold me the hats, if he asked her if he was a Navy Seal, but out of respect he didnt asked any questions he said. Anyways, anyone ever seen a patch like this? She told him that she has an old diving knife of his, but hasnt gone thru all his stuff yet. He plans on going back so I hope he will ask more questions this time.

 

[eisman]

If you're askig if it's a military issue patch the answer is no. If you're asking if it means the guy who owned the hat before you was a SEAL the answer is without a copy of his service record you'll never be able to prove it.

The reality of the situation is this - there's so much of that stuff running around that more people who didn't earn the right to wear it use it for display than those who did. This is not new, and it was (and is) so prevalent that it was common to have "homeless" folks wearing it just to grab sympathy. This became a famous steriotype (think Eddie Murphy in Trading Places). You can buy hats like that outside any military base for $5.

I give it less than 10 years before you'll find all kinds of SF and Rangers walking around the gun shows wearing stuff from Iraq and Afghanistan. Invest now and sell to them.

 

[ram38]

Thanks eisman for the reply.
The guy that sold it to me said he is going to see the wife again and said he would ask her. She is looking for a dive knife he had during his serivce years and described it as a knife which screws into a metal cylinder; Im sure you know what type of knife that is. Well, I hope this guy didnt go around calling himself a Seal if he really wasnt. Im a diver, so worst case, I aquired me some dive helmet pins

Thanks,
Ram

 

[CWL]

FYI, the proper and respectful way is to capitalize it as "SEAL". It is an acronym for SEa, Air, Land.

Regarding that hat & patch, at best it is a commemorative patch worn by a legitimate SEAL veteran. Because it was not issued nor worn in Vietnam during wartime, there isn't much intrinsic value to it.

 

[Balldboy]

I believe the knife that screwed into a metal cylinder would belong to a Navy Rescue Diver or a UDT or Frogman.

Thanks eisman for the reply.
The guy that sold it to me said he is going to see the wife again and said he would ask her. She is looking for a dive knife he had during his serivce years and described it as a knife which screws into a metal cylinder; Im sure you know what type of knife that is. Well, I hope this guy didnt go around calling himself a Seal if he really wasnt. Im a diver, so worst case, I aquired me some dive helmet pins

Thanks,
Ram