US Army officers of Vietnam were, above all else, “officers and gentlemen”, and for any formal event that would normally call for a tuxedo being worn by a civilian, a US Army officer would don his blue mess dress uniform. In warmer weather, he would don his white mess dress uniform. This US Army Vietnam 4 Star General W.B. Rosson DSC Winner Named & Identified Hong Kong Made White Wool Mess Dress Uniform is in Very Good condition, missing the middle right and bottom left front buttons (those could easily be replaced, in fact, one extra button is included with the grouping), and with some overall wrinkling, as well as some light overall age wear evident. Most interestingly, it features elegant direct hand embroidered 4 star General rank insignia at each cuff, surmounting the expected several rows of officer’s cuff braiding befitting a 4 star General, carries the original “JAMES S. LEE & CO.” of Kowloon, Hong Kong tailor’s label inside, and is stamped on the interior pocket tailor label with the name “Gen. W.B. Rosson”. General William B. Rosson earned his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in 1940. He fought in North Africa, Sicily, France, and Germany with the 3rd Infantry “Rock of the Marne” Division during WW2, earning the Purple Heart in Sicily, and the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for valor, for actions on the Anzio beachhead in Italy in 1944. He served with the Military Advisory Group Indochina in 1954, just around the time of Dien Bien Phu, was given a number of other important postings during the Cold War, and then in the l960s, he served 4 tours in Vietnam, including as the Chief of Staff of MACV from June 1965-June 1967, as the Commanding General of the 23rd Infantry “Americal” Division from April-June 1967, the Commanding General of the 1st Field Force from July 1967-March 1968, and held at least three other high ranking (Deputy Commanding General, Deputy Commander, Special Assistant) positions with MACV from March 1968-March 1970. At one point, he served as General William C. Westmoreland’s Chief of Staff during Vietnam, which means this particular uniform was almost certainly worn in the presence of General Westmoreland during the war. The uniform is complete with the original General Officer’s black wool mess dress pants with black “service stripes” down the legs, a pair of small gilt brass buttons for shoulder knots (none included), the original black silk cummerbund, and what appear to be a pair of white suspenders. This a fantastic uniform from a high ranking, battle decorated US Army 4 Star General. A fine example of a very rare, original US Army Vietnam 4 Star General W.B. Rosson DSC Winner Named & Identified Hong Kong Made White Wool Mess Dress Uniform.
Uniforms