Artist/Maker Penguin (active 1950s - 1970s)

Lighter

Place madeJapan

Metal

Overall: 2 3/16 × 1 7/16 × 1/2 in. (5.5 × 3.6 × 1.3 cm)

Gift of John R. Monsky

2015.45.281

Lightweight, durable cigarette lighters were readily available to the 2.5 million Americans who went to war in Vietnam. Easy to engrave, the lighters provided a canvas for individual expression. Enterprising South Vietnamese, equipped with basic tools, could do a good business by supplying U.S. troops with cigarette lighters engraved with stock slogans and imagery: military vehicles, weapons, unit insignia, and maps of Vietnam were all popular. Servicemen also had lighters embellished with designs and wording of their choice. The assortment of ready-made and custom engravings found on the lighters offer a glimpse into the thoughts, humor, and bravado of Americans who served during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s.

DescriptionOn recto lid: "TO A/ WOUNDED/ TROOPER", below is the insignia of United States Army 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, underneath: "173D ABN BDE. (SEP)." on verso is a map of Vietnam with cities: "HANOI/ DA NANG/ CHU LAI/ QUINHON/ CAMRANH BAY/ BIENHOA/ SAIGON".

MarkingsOn bottom, "HIGH QUALITY LIGHTER/ "Penguin"/ NO. 19531 JAPAN".

ClassificationsSMOKING TOOLS & EQUIPMENT