Tiger Camouflage: CIA/John Wayne Compact

Tiger Camouflage: CIA/John Wayne Compact

During a mission aboard Yankee Papa 13, crew chief Lance Cpl. James Farley cries after witnessing two crewmates get shot, one fatally.  

Alright, so this will be a shorter blog post. This earlier variant is known as CIA or John Wayne Compact. It uses less shapes than its predecessor (Fat/Early Tiger or John Wayne Sparse) and its successor (Okinawa CISO/John Wayne Dense). 

This pattern was originally contracted for Flight Suits in the early 60s. They were primarily used by USMC Helicopter crews and pilots. It is said that they were produced from Yokohama to Okinawa. Some sources say this pattern started showing up in 1963, while I have even read from direct sources that people have been using these Tiger Stripe Flight Suits since 1961! 

After these contracts were over, the fabric would trickle down into tailor shops in Okinawa and even Vietnam. You would find hats, uniforms, party suits/smoking jackets, and even garment bags in this pattern. As per-usual, I will only display what I have on hand unless said otherwise. Today's blog will be short, as I only own 2 examples of this rare pattern.

A man holding a Garment Bag in today's pattern. Photo is from the book "LRRPs and Rangers in Vietnam". 

The name "CIA" comes from the knowledge that CIA agents in Vietnam would personally get this pattern. The "John Wayne Compact" designation is self-explanatory, as it was originally a "John Wayne" series pattern that became compact by the removal of several shapes. 

Made this comparison of the Okinawa CISO/JWD pattern (left) and the CIA/JWC pattern (right) for this blog. The shorter pattern length on the CIA pattern is easier to see here.

JAPANESE FLIGHT SUIT

I've already explained what this is. This is my original Japanese Flight Suit in this specific pattern. Instead of silver zippers like the 1964 pattern, this one owns Gold and has more of a silver color scheme.

Marines working on a helicopter. Unknown caption.

In a supply shack, hands covering his face, an exhausted, worn James Farley gives way to grief. From Larry Burrows Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images. 

TAILOR MADE UNIFORM

As I mentioned before, there were no contracted uniforms of this pattern other than the Flight Suit. This is a USMC tailor-made uniform with 2 pockets with single buttons each. I have never seen wartime photos of this tailor-made uniform being used by someone. 

It is quite rare as I haven't seen this pattern show up for sale the entire time I've been studying, and the one time it did, I jumped on the purchase. It will be a while before I see this pattern again, but I hope to find some good pieces down the line. If I do, I will update this blog!

In the next blog, I will cover another pattern from 1964, one so popular yet still very plentiful (and affordable!) today.

Manuel Moya & Reed Cundiff, part of a Army Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) of the 173rd Airborne. Location: War Zone C during Operation Junction City, Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam, February 1967. Photo from Rentmeester/LIFE. 

NEXT BLOG: SILVER/TADPOLE SPARSE