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| My Vietnam Issued 101st Challenge Coin |
The above Challenge Coins were
issued to members of the 101st Airborne Division, who completed their Vietnam
tour of duty. There is a place on the back of the coin for your name and
unit to be engraved. My name is almost totally worn off the top coin. This coin
was issued to me on May 18, 1969, while I was out processing from Vietnam at
Camp Ray, 101st rear area on the Bien Hoa Air Force Base. Issued 101st Vietnam
coins are always carried with Great Pride by 101st Vietnam Veterans as an
instant type of identification and Brotherhood as to Who We Are ! Once An Eagle,
Always An Eagle.
**ATTENTION 101st VIETNAM VETS, if you have lost or were never issued one of
these now rare and sought after 101st Vietnam Challenge Coins, made in limited
quantity; I have 2 of these coins for sale along with other 101st Historic
Challenge Coins from my large 101st Abn Div Challenge Coin collection. Please
email for further details at:
lespectre@screamingeagle326.com
Military challenge coins are also known as military coins, unit coins, memorial
coins, unit challenge coins, reunion and anniversary coins and commander's
coins. The coin represents affiliation, support or patronage to the organization
minted on the coin.
Challenge coin rules
only apply to other individuals who also have a challenge coin. A holder of a
challenge coin may "challenge" any individual who is known to have a coin. A
challenge is made by withdrawing a coin and raising it in the air or by tapping
it on a bar or table. The individual who is challenged is required to produce
their coin within 60 seconds.
If the individual produces the coin, the
challenger is obligated to buy them a drink. If the challenged individual fails
to produce the coin, they are obligated to buy the drink. If a coin is dropped
and it hits the floor, the owner is obligated to buy drinks for anyone who hears
or sees the coin hit the floor, provided they also have their coin on
them.
This coin challenge could be very costly if other Vets also found
out you did not have your coin. You could wind up buying a whole bar drinks !!!
So you always carried your coin to be on the safe side as you never knew when
you would be CHALLENGED !!
Besides using challenge coins
for challenging, they are also used as rewards or awards and a tool to improve
morale, foster unit esprit and honor service members for their hard work. During
the Vietnam War after the 1968 Tet Offensive, this tradition spread through the
101st Abn Div by awarding departing Screaming Eagle Vets the coveted Vietnam
101st Abn Div Challenge Coin for acts that were worthy of recognition, but yet
lacked enough merit to submit the soldiers act for an official medal. Challenge
coins were not very common until the First Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, and
have steadily grown in popularity since.
Many people who collect Military Challenge Coins will hold them on for years and
years. They will then pass them on to the next generations in their family. The
youngest members in their family can learn about the Pride and Unit History
through these coins.
The feeling a member of the military has when receiving one of these challenge
coins is indescribable. These coins hold a lot of meaning to them and are kept
close to their hearts. They hold an immeasurable feeling of pride of honor
within them. The feeling that they have is often hard to describe, only a
likeminded person would understand.
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Vietnam Special Presentation 101st Abn Div Challenge Coin to B.G. Bowers,
1969, tarnished .999 fine silver. Presented to Brigadier General (later Major
General retired) Verne L. Bowers by 101st Abn Div 22 April 1969.
Click Here for MG Bowers Photo.
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101st Challenge Coins |
 
MG David H. Petraeus, 101st Abn Div Division Commander
July 2002 - May
2004
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Vietnam Veterans National Medal
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101st Airborne Screaming Eagles Sapper 326 Combat Engineer Website is a flashback of my Vietnam Sapper Tour of Duty in 1968 and 1969, during the Tet Offensive (TET 68) and Tet Counter Offensive. Deployed to Fire Bases, Cities and Camps such as Camp Eagle Vietnam, Camp Evans Vietnam, Ashau Valley Vietnam or properly spelled, A Shau Valley Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh Trail Vietnam, Phu Bai Vietnam, Hue Vietnam, Cu Chi Vietnam, Fire Base Rakkasan Vietnam, Fire Base Fury Vietnam, Fire Base Whip Vietnam, Trang Bang Vietnam, Bien Hoa Air Force Base Vietnam, Long Binh Vietnam, Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base Vietnam, Saigon Vietnam, Vung Tau Vietnam, China Beach Vietnam, Fire Base Eagles Nest Vietnam, Fire Base Georgia Vietnam, Fire Base Berchtesgaden Vietnam, Fire Base Veghel Vietnam, Fire Base Bastogne Vietnam, Fire Base T-Bone Vietnam, Fire Base Phuoc Vinh Vietnam, Fire Base Stewart Vietnam, Hobo Woods Vietnam, Fire Base Shafter Vietnam, Fire Base Los Banos Vietnam, 90th Replacement Battalion Vietnam and Eagle Beach Vietnam. As a 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle Sapper 326 Combat Engineer in Vietnam, I used Demolitions and my Mini Dozer to clear the way for the Fire Support Bases (FSB) in Vietnam. Bob Griffin, 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle Sapper 326 Combat Engineer, Vietnam Veteran.
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