Vintage Vietnam Era Zippo Lighters

IMGUR ^ | February 25, 2016 | (Expurgated)

[beaversmom]

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Original Thread

[Gamecock]

A Zippo lighter has always been the classiest way to light a lady's smoke.

[Talisker]

Last is best.

I keep seeing all those lighters covered in sweat.

[Little Bill]

Wish I still had mine, Kill a Commie for Christ, Zap a Zip for Jesus.

Popular in my time.

[Flick Lives]

Those are fascinating. Sort of a late 20th century version of scrimshaw.

[WKUHilltopper]

Those are great! I remember as a kid with GIs coming home I knew talking about “Zippo Raids” on Charlie villages.

[Sacajaweau]

My Marine buddy picked up some of that lingo while in Nam. Love to listen to him when he’s p*****.

[onedoug]

I had one with a map of Vietnam (N & S) in which Tam Ky was the only city.

ARVNs, Chieu Hois and PRUs thought that pretty funny.

[beaversmom]

I kinda figured what Zip meant, but had to look up to be sure:

https://books.google.com/books?id=HRsWBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=zip+slang+vietnam&source=bl&ots=sTzuONJ7jt&sig=RUvQP4qsc-7laRHU88G7tvE0uwQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwintqSi4pPLAhVDyWMKHaX3AQAQ6AEIMDAD#v=onepage&q=zip%20slang%20vietnam&f=false

[VerySadAmerican]

I lost mine the same night I lost my Seiko watch.

[CivilWarBrewing]

OMG you mean our troops were allowed to SMOKE? But I mean, that’s SOOOOOOOOOOoooooo bad for your health!!!! (Just thought I’d impart ‘today’s emasculated male mindset’ in stark contrast to the real men of Vietnam).

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I remember seeing lots of lighters with worse statements at the shops on Okinawa. Don’t know if they were Zippo or not.

[PGR88]

I’ve been to Vietnam a few times on business recently. An American ZIPPO lighter, particularly with a cool logo or marking is among best gifts you can give to a man there.

[beaversmom]

Thanks for sharing. I think it would be very interesting to go there. :)

My dad was there 64 to 65.

[beaversmom]

I bet he gets colourful. :)

[easternsky]

Thanks to my wife I still have mine. Snoopy on the dog house with my initials, and Viet Nam 67, 68 on the lid, and a Huey C model on the back.

[Little Bill]

That was a Korean War thing, it was popular in the earlies before the term Gook became pejorative of choice.

Orientals have a slant to their eyes that resembles the prongs on a Zipper. Zap is to get dead, as in we got ambushed yesterday and three guys got Zapped and eight got dinged, wounded,

[samtheman]

excellent

[R. Scott]

I had a lighter from Viet Nam engraved with the name of every city and Ville I was in. When I went to Okinawa it fell from my shirt pocket and was lost in the sea.

[R. Scott]

I remember when cigarettes were removed from C-rats. The note in the case stated they were bad for our health. We were under fire at the time.
Sundry Packs still had cartons.