Manufacturer
Zippo Manufacturing Company
founded 1932
Lighter
1967
Place madeBradford, Pennsylvania, United States
Metal
Overall: 2 3/16 × 1 3/8 × 1/2 in. (5.5 × 3.5 × 1.2 cm)
Gift of John R. Monsky
2015.45.49
Lightweight, durable Zippo lighters, manufactured in Pennsylvania, were readily available to the 2.5 million Americans who went to war in Vietnam. Covered in a soft chrome plate, the Zippo’s surface was easy to engrave, providing a canvas for individual expression.
Enterprising South Vietnamese, equipped with basic tools, could do a good business by supplying U.S. troops with Zippos engraved with stock slogans and imagery: military vehicles, weapons, unit insignia, and maps of Vietnam were all popular.
Servicemen also had Zippos embellished with designs and wording of their choice.
The assortment of ready-made and custom engravings found on the cigarette lighters offer a glimpse into the thoughts, humor, and bravado of Americans who served during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s.
MarkingsOn bottom, "BRADFORD, PA./ |||| ZIPPO ® ||| / PAT. 2517191"; Obverse of insert, "ZIPPO MFG. CO BRADFORD, PA./ ZIPPO ®/ \\MADE IN U.S.A.\\\"; "FOR BEST RESULTS/ USE ZIPPO/ FLINTS AND FLUID". Reverse of insert: "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN/ AFTER FILLING, WIPE LIGHTER/ & HANDS BEFORE IGNITING/ LIGHTER DOES NOT/ SELF-EXTINGUISH./ USE LID TO PUT IT OUT"
ClassificationsSMOKING TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
DescriptionOn recto lower half: "NHA TRANG/ 0000000/ 67 - 68 -/ 69/ VIET NAM"; on verso lower half: images of two ducks mating, Charlie Brown and Lucy floating in water up to their necks, and a helicopter; below the helicopter: "GOD DAM YOU CHARLIE BROWN/ I WILL NOT SINK IF YOU TAKE IT OUT"Object NameLighter
