Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division
The Vietnamese Airborne Division or VNAD was one of the earliest components of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces. The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organized in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam. After the partition of Vietnam, it became a part of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This division had its distinct origins in French-trained paratrooper battalions, with predecessor battalions participating in major battles including Dien Bien Phu and retained distinct uniforms and regalia. With the formation of an independent republic, the colonial paratroopers were dissolved, however regalia and aesthetics alongside the nickname "Bawouans" would be retained.
Paratrooper Hoàng Ngọc Giao (the 5th Airborne Battalion), 1967.
Recruitment poster of the Republic of Vietnam Airborne Forces
A 12-Year Old Child Soldier of the Airborne Division Holds a M79 Grenade Launcher.
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. At the ARVN's peak, an estimated 1 in 9 citizens of South Vietnam were enlisted, composed of Regular Forces and the more voluntary Regional Forces and the Popular Force militias. It is estimated to have suffered 1,394,000 casualties during the Vietnam War.
Early unmodified ARVN M113 during the Vietnam War
Two United States soldiers and one South Vietnamese soldier waterboard a captured North Vietnamese prisoner of war near Da Nang, 1968.
M41 Walker Bulldog was used by the ARVN
ARVN Operations, 1965