ARVN White mice QC helmets

[kammo man]

Hi All
I just found an ARVN QC helmet today and was wondering if there were different patterns , markings , units ect .
This one has 2 red lines plus a white dot on the side .
I am in the dark about anything in this subject .
Any help would be an education .
I will post pix this week
owen

[Gil Burket]

Quick answer is yes,I believe they did have different unit markings. This is a subject that could use some exploration.

[kammo man]

Thanks Gil ,
I am a newbee in this subject !!!
A fresh new begining in Vietnam collecting .
Yeaaahhh ...
owen

[nguoi tien su]

Owen,

"White mice" should be used for the national police only. QC is the military police.
At the beginning of the war, the MP was also very active with the civilians and represented widely into towns. Like in all countries where the military is part of the power.



Is this one like yours?

Actually there are several patterns, from white dot to digits, from police insignia to Corps number. Etc.

The variety of armbands is interesting to.

[Spikey]

I always thought that th QC were refered as White Mice, especially in Saigon.

[nguoi tien su]

Spike, actually the name white mice came from the color of the uniform on the national police :



Although the QC sometimes had missions very similar to the national police, they are two separate entities.

Canh Sat vs Quan Canh.

[express06snail]

The most corrupted forces of the South Vietnam Gov, thats what they-the civilians call the national police "Chuot-Trang" or "White Mouse", they ate everything, from drugs to instant noodles.

[kammo man]

NTS ,
You nailed the helmet liner with post #4 perfectly .
3 stripes with one being white .
White dots .
Large QC to the front which is painted .
The stripes appear to be tape of some sort .
Helmet is painted gloss black .
So its a MP helmet !!
Any ideas on location of the white circle ?
Thanks
owen

[VALERY226]

Hi

QC helmets usually display, on the right side the service insignia and on the left side, in a white circle the roman numeral of the QC military region (MR) assignment. I think the white circle could be for the Saigon Special Capitol Zone.
That's my 2 cents
Cheers!
Valery

[Patrick Dempsey]

One of my favourite photos for all sorts of reasons. Germane to the discussion too with the helmet worn.

[nguoi tien su]

The first photo is 1963 dated. And taken in Saigon.

Here is a 1969 photo at the Presidential Palace :



Could it be linked to the Presidential Guard ? We need more photos and documents !

[nguoi tien su]

The one Patrick posted was taken in 1968, in Phan Thiet.

[MikeP]

Right or wrong, we called the QC "White Mice"

Couple friends of mine, old timers, were in Saigon, staying at our CLD returning from R&R.

They were downtown partying on TuDo St and heading back to the compound late one night.

At that time you had to be in Civvies and unarmed.

A pair of QCs came by in a jeep and offered them a ride.

One of the guys noticed they were heading the wrong way and were out near the racetrack.

He was in the front seat and turned around to talk to his buddy when he saw the QC pulling his .45.

He grabbed it away from him and killed him and the driver with it.

They dumped the bodies and drove the jeep near enough to home to walk the rest of the way.

These guys had been killing and robbing GIs and finally got their due.

True? who knows.

The guy who told me was a pretty straight guy with lots of time under his belt.

QC were not held in high regard.

[nguoi tien su]

Right or wrong, we called the QC "White Mice"

Mike, what would have been the origin of the nick name?

The ARVN also complained about the QC :

Moreover, The QC was the disliked unit that most ARVN soldiers hated for the "harassement" whenever they were on leave of combat duty. The ARVN soldiers' reason was so simple: Those QC mother ****ers had been enjoying their secured lives in the rear areas, but one way or another they always gave me a hard time when I was on R&R back in the city.

[Patrick Dempsey]

One more, circa 1965 ( i think?) in Saigon from the 'Life' Archive.