With a little TLC, this wartime Zippo is as good as new.
In 1967 and 1968, the United States was nearing the peak number of troops involved in the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands of troops were flown thousands of miles from their homes and families to serve their country. Many small mementos carried by those soldiers have likely been lost to time.
That was probably the case with this old Zippo lighter. It is green and orange due to heavy rust and corrosion from years of neglect. If you are like me, you probably looked at this lighter and thought it was beyond repair.
However, that simply is not the case. The restorer in this video works hard and meticulously to bring this old lighter roaring back to life. The transformation is amazing and quite satisfying to watch happen.
That was simply incredible to watch. This lighter looked like it was destined for a landfill somewhere before. Now it serves as a reminder of the history of war and the brave sacrifices made by our troops serving overseas.
Once he cleaned things up, you can read the words "Long Binh" on the front of this old Zippo. Long Binh post was a U.S. Army Base that at the time, was located just outside of Ho Chi Minh City, or as it was formerly known, Saigon in the southern part of Vietnam.
Long Binh was the largest base the United States military had in Vietnam. At one point, it hosted nearly 60,000 military personnel. It was base for light infantry, military police and medical brigades. The base also hosted facilities many other bases did not have like restaurants and recreational facilities for the soldiers in their downtime. The base was eventually turned over to the Vietnamese after the war.
With thousands of soldiers passing through this base, it would probably be impossible to track down the original owner. It makes us wish this lighter could talk. We are sure it would have some amazing stories to tell from this era of American history!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and General Outdoor Youtube Channels.
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