5th Special Forces Group w Flash VN SVC Baseball T-Shirt

Fearing the growing threat of the Viet Cong insurgency to the South Vietnamese government, President John F. Kennedy began activating special forces units in anticipation of their insurgency combat expertise in 1961. The 5th Special Forces Group was among those units activated in 1961, and while attending training at the Special Warfare Center, Kennedy visited the units and personally approved the distinctive Special Force's Green Beret. The 5th SFG was first deployed as a battlefield advisory group for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)