Original Items: Only One Available. This is a wonderful pair of items for the Green Beret Special Forces collectors. The 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on November 10, 1953. The group was formed when the 10th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg, departed for Bad Tolz, Germany. The cadre from 10th SFG left at Fort Bragg, about 200 soldiers, formed the 77th SFG.

Its first commander was Colonel Jack T. Shannon.

Cadre for 1st SFG. In April 1956 four detachments of the 77th SFG were transferred to the Pacific theater to serve as the cadre for the activation of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) on Okinawa in June 1957.

Operation HOTFOOT. Laos was a Cold War area of conflict between the West and the communist nations. It was under the threat of Communist Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese Army troops operating inside its borders. In 1959 the 77th SFG began a classified operation to train Laotian Armed Forces infantry battalions, armor, and artillery units on U.S. weapons and individual soldier skills.U.S. Special Forces went to Laos as 'contracted civilian technicians' and wore civilian clothing. The first rotation of SF troops was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. 'Bull' Simons.

Vietnam. In 1960 the group deployed teams to South Vietnam to train Vietnamese Ranger and Special Forces personnel.

Basing. 77th SFGA was based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - the home of the U.S. Army's Special Forces.

Deactivation. In 1960, the 77th SFG(A) was designated as the 7th Special Forces Group, meaning that this plaque is pre 1960 and was most likely made for someone who could very well have been present for Operation HOTFOOT.

The dish itself that was used to make this plaque was made by WACO PRODUCTS CO INC of Waco, Texas. There are no identifying marks or the likes to help us track down where the etching was done, but it was most likely done on Bragg or the surrounding area. The plaque is in wonderful condition with all etching still crisp and easily discernible.

A lovely item ready for further research and display.