Vietnam Zippo with the front factory engraved in color with the insignia of the 101st Airborne Division’s «Attack Company» and the text «STRIKE FORCE» below, featuring the division’s distinctive eagle head emblem. The reverse is engraved with a skull flanked by parachutist wings above the phrase «WHEN I KILL THE ONLY THING I FEEL IS RECOIL»
The 502nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division, served in Vietnam from late 1967 until 1972. Nicknamed the «Strike Force», the regiment was an airmobile infantry unit conducting search-and-destroy operations, air assaults, reconnaissance-in-force, and security missions. Operating primarily in I Corps Tactical Zone, including the A Shau Valley and Thua Thien Province, the 502nd participated in major actions such as the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, and operations against North Vietnamese forces along the Laotian border. Even as U.S. ground combat forces began to withdraw, the regiment continued to support South Vietnamese operations until redeployment.
