US Army M69 Flak Vest (1969)

Body Armor, Cold War, Great Britain and Commonwealth, Later Cold War (1969 - 1989), United States, Vests, Vietnam War, Webbing

Flak vests were primarily intended to protect the wearer from shrapnel, the leading cause of casualties in combat [1][2]. They were mostly ineffective against bullets, particularly those fired from a rifle, though some could stop relatively weak pistol rounds. The US Army issued this series of vests starting in 1963; the term “M69” did not appear until the final iteration (after 1970) but it is being used as the title of this page since it is commonly used by collectors to refer to this type of flak vest with a 3/4 collar [1]. The version shown on this page is the one with an internal polyethylene stiffener between the 5th and 6th layer of ballistic nylon and zipper front closure, first produced in 1968 [1][3].

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US Army:

1971: U.S. Army soldier wearing a flak jacket in Vietnam [4].
1969 – 1970: Member of the 1st Signal brigade in Qui Nhơn, Vietnam [5].
1969 or 1970: Members of the 1st Signal brigade in Qui Nhơn, Vietnam. Soldier on right is wearing an earlier version of the flak vest with epaulets [5].
1969-1970: 194th Military Police Company in Qui Nhơn, Vietnam. Ammons frequently stated in his letters that his squad was never fully manned [5].
October 17, 1969: At the Ready: Phan Rang, AB- Republic of Vietnam (7AF)- Hold it Satan- USAF security policemen Airman First Class Richard C Morley Jr., Ogdensburg, NY, restrains his sentry dog “Satan,” as they check out movement near the base perimeter. Security policemen and their sentry dogs beef up perimeter defense teams at AF bases throughout the Republic of Vietnam. (USAF photo by A1C Oswald Gooden) [6].

Great Britain in Northern Ireland (The Troubles, 1968 – mid 1970’s):

December 22, 1969: Bernadette Devlin, firebrand Catholic civil rights leader and Member of Parliament for Mid-Ulster, surrounded by British troops, leaves court at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, after receiving six months jail sentence on charges of inciting people to riotous behavior (AP Photo, Ref #: PA.10346486) [7].
1970: British troops confront young rioters on the Ballymurphy Estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland (AP Photo/Peter Kemp, Ref #: PA.11444952) [7].
November 2, 1971: BELFAST IRA CLASHES – British troops straddle a main road near the Catholic Unity flats in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during a lull in the recent current wave of disorders which had flared up in a show of strength by a breakaway group of the Irish Republican Army earlier in the week. Club wielding republican extremists had forcefully halted traffic during the funerals of catholic riot victims (AP-Photo/Peter Kemp, Ref #: PA.4885214) [7].
February 3, 1972: A British soldier guards firemen fighting a blaze after a bomb blast at a miller’s beside the River Foyle in Londonderry, when bombers opened a new offensive in the city in response to the shooting deaths of 13 civilians at the weekend by British soldiers (Ref #: PA.12441676) [7].
April 13, 1972: Local children taunt a British soldier as he stands guard in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, after an explosion in the city center (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz, Ref #: PA.11926367) [7].
April 1972: British troops tidy out their defense position in the centre of Londonderry, Northern Ireland (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz, Ref #: PA.11197851) [7].
July 1972: British troops stand guard on a beach near Belfast, Northern Ireland’s capital, as local families bathe in the sea. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp, Ref #: PA.11384803) [7].
August 1, 1972: A stop and search operation on the Craigavon bridge over the River Foyle, here this morning, as traffic is allowed back into the city after yesterday’s massive ‘Operation Motorman’ by the British Army (Ref #: PA.7427696) [7] [8].
1973: THE TROUBLES – British troops of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders with armoured cars in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland on routine patrol (Ref #: PA.1243345) [7].
1975: British troops stand guard as bomb experts search through the wreckage after a terrorist bomb had wrecked the ground floor on the Luxury Belfast Europa Hotel in Northern Ireland’s capital (AP Photo, Ref #: PA.10766315) [7].
1976: A British soldier with a rifle guards a road outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland (AP Photo, Ref #: PA.11224982) [7].
1976: Shoppers in Belfast, Northern Ireland go about their business with almost total indifference to a British Army street patrol (AP Photo, Ref #: PA.11032241) [7].
All Troubles photos from https://flashbak.com/photos-of-the-british-army-in-northern-ireland-1969-1979-27624/.

The British military used the same and similar derivative models of flak jackets during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the late 1960’s – early 1970s’s.