Up for sale is an Original Cold War / Vietnam Era Belgian Army "Ike Jacket" Military Uniform w/ Insignia dated 1962. The dimensions for this tunic's approximated size can be discerned from the listed measurements as follows:

Waist = 33.75 in.

Chest = 39.25

Shoulder to Shoulder = 18.5

Shoulder to Sleeve Length = 29 in. 

neckline = 16 in.

Picked this up the other day and we had no idea what to make of it, although it was a fairly interesting sight to behold nevertheless. We found it at the bottom of a box along with several other American GI uniforms all which were dated to be from around the same period. At first my Dad thought it was maybe some kind of Spanish military outfit, but as I began to try and commit some research to finding out more about this unique historical artifact I eventually came to the conclusion -after going through yet another exhaustive web search- this uniform comes from Belgium. The resemblance to our own "Ike" Jackets worn by America's Armed Forces during Korea and World War Two is unmistakable, and its a relief to find that all of its general insignia appears to remain intact. 

Given the close ties between Belgium and France and the fact that the French were up to their neck and eyeballs in dealing with the disastrous campaign outlined in the Indo-China War -which was still occurring at the same time from whence this tunic comes from- and the fact that they are also our allies too, not to mention also that at this point in time, we were ourselves ramping up measures in preparation for our own fateful entrance in to our own quagmire that would later become known as the Vietnam War, I have no doubt in the high probability that this Belgian soldier could have very well been stationed over there and even taken part in some of the fighting that was going on at the time. The French certainly needed every man they could get and later on so did we.

The only other example that I could find online of something even remotely close to this piece here was a similarly adorned Belgian Army "Ike" Jacket -sans much of its original insignia, unlike ours- dated 1969; it was being offered up for sale on Etsy with a starting price of $209, with the initial listing being posted by a guy in Spain. I included this point of reference up above along with all the other photos for comparative purposes. And as you can see, ours is of a much higher quality and its going for a way lesser price to boot. I tried delving into the exact information surrounding the nature of this unit but I have as of yet been unable to find next to anything more about these Vietnam-Era uniforms being used by Belgium at the time. Nevertheless, it remains a special find that you won't soon come across again any time soon.

Overall this item is in excellent used condition; exhibiting only minor wear and some natural aging. It would seem the top button is missing on the front (pictured), but these buttons appear to be exactly like the ones used on our own "Ike" jackets so the problem would certainly make for an easy fix. Otherwise, the rest of this Uniform is fantastic shape and the fact that all the insignia appears to still be on there is nothing short of a miracle.

OTM guarantees this item to be 100% authentic and absolutely original.