bigbisont wrote:
retrogarde wrote:
I'm probably sticking with my black and green jungle boots, but I believe Dropship Pilots may have worn all black in the film. Pretty sure Ferro did at least as all the female Marines wore black. Bigbisont is the expert though!
Hey, I'm
trying anyways! But yeah, everything I have been able to gather shows the females, Gorman, and the drop ship flight crew all wore black leather combat boots. Everyone else had the OD jungle.
I also read an article on the footwear of Vietnam era chopper pilots and it was clear they would never wear the same boots the troops on the ground would use. Their boots would have less intense patterns on the bottom to avoid hanging up on the foot pedals and stuff like that. Black leather combat/jump boots seem the best choice for the pilots.
It's not true that 'Nam chopper pilots
never wore jungle boots- some did, prefering the comfort/breathability that the canvas and vents gave in the hot climate....But they had to swallow the risk of melting in a fire situation. Likewise, the issued nomex copy of the standard tropical uniform was not popular as it was very hot to wear.
If you look at (say) Shelby Stanton's seminal book on Vietnam War uniforms, you'll see a LOT of group pictures of pilots wearing a mix of the (authorised) black leather combat boot, DMS and (unauthorised for flight crew) jungle boots....Further, pilots tend to get a lot of leyway sooner that ground troops when it comes to variation in their chosen equipment- this is mostly due to pilots having more access to the juicy stuff from the base areas they flew to.
From a US Marine perspective, they persisted with the all leather DMS combat boot in Vietnam due to a combination of supply chain issues and the perception that the DMS boot was simply smarter in appearance....Likewise, even in the Army and Navy, you would see the all leather boot worn by base/command personnel with the Fatigue uniform, even in units where everyone had ample issue of Jungle boots to go with the Tropical Combat Uniform that was used in the field- it was authorised wear and perceived that the all leather boot looked 'neater'. Some went the whole hog and bought an extra pair of dress Corcoran Jump Boots in black at the PX.
How I believe this cascades upwards to Aliens- and in particular Gorman is that his uniform is close to based on the standard Fatigue sateen uniform you see on command staff, base personnel and (dare I say it) is synomous with the REMF in the rear with the gear....Note how different it is to rest of the platoon's gear- sensible officers during Vietnam wore the same gear as their NCOs and troops to reduce the risk of being picked out as a target of oppurtunity- not even wearing rank insignia and carrying the same load of ammo and an M16.....The difference in uniform and equipment is another little touch to mark Gorman out as someone not in tune with his sub-ordinates, his role and still too 'green' to really command in the field.....Something that would be clear to most Vets watching Aliens during the 1980s.
Or that's how I see it.
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