Item: USMC Marine US Vietnam P-58 Sateen Combat Fatigue Shirt

Size/Measurements: The shirt is lightly stamped a Size "34" at the inside neck, and measures 21.5" from underarm to underarm across the chest, 19" from shoulder to shoulder across the back, 26" from the collar/body seam to the bottom of the hem down the back, and with a 22" sleeve from the shoulder to the end of the cuff.

Markings: Bears "USMC" and the classic Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia of the Corps stamped at the left chest pocket. Dated "MARCH 1960" in the faint but legible "COAT, MAN'S, UTILITY / MARTIN MFG. CO." nomenclature stamping at the interior left chest. "C.R.C." stamped at the interior lower left front placket, standing for Costume Rental Corporation, a prop house that provided military equipment to film studios in Southern California for decades. 

Condition: This shirt is in Good Condition. Missing the second from top front button and interior left chest pocket button. A few pinholes at each collar point where metal insignia once were. A faint, illegible name stamped above the left chest pocket. A "tach-it" pinhole in the front and back left cuff. Some light fraying to the front right cuff. A few small spots of fraying on the left chest pocket. The letter "M" and a few other hand applied marks in white at the inside neck. Two small spots of fraying on the right elbow. A few very small spots of brownish soiling at the upper back left sleeve. Some light surface nicking at the upper right back. An even overall fade. Classic early Vietnam USMC piece.

Historical Background: US Marines deployed to Vietnam in early 1965, at first to defend American air bases from VC attacks. By August they had seen their first action, cutting off and destroying a large Viet Cong force on the coast at Chu Lai in Operation Starlite. Their role soon expanded to "search and destroy" missions to take the fight to the guerrillas in the more remote inland jungle areas. Many Marines were issued the old tried and true P-58 sateen uniform, which was quickly replaced by the jungle fatigues, although the two uniforms were worn side by side for the rest of the war. We have shown a photo of a US Marine in Vietnam in September 1967 loaded down with gear and with a true "1,000 yard stare"; he wears a similar P-58 sateen shirt.

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