Rolf Gerster is a Captain in the Swiss Army who collects  Zippo lighters, especially
those from the Vietnam War era.  He recently acquired the following lighter, and asked
for help in determining its origin and ownership.  Photos provided by Rolf Gerster.
 

The Zippo is dated 1967 and is engraved "GUNFIGHTER 6, CO A  1ST BN 6TH INF, 198th LT
INF BDE, AMERICAL DIVISION" with a map of Vietnam on the reverse.

Soldiers in Company A, 1st Battalion 6th Infantry, were known as the "Gunfighters" while in Vietnam.
The nomenclature "6" was usually reserved as the radio call sigh for the commanding officer of a unit.
Thus, "Gunfighter 6" was one of the commanding officers for Company A.  Even though the unit may
have continuously changed its tactical radio callsign for security purposes, the "Gunfighter" nickname
applied to the unit for many years.  The mystery of this Zippo lighter is threefold:  what is the story
behind the lighter? who was the original owner? and how did the Zippo lighter end up in Switzerland
in the year 2002?

If you have any information about this artifact from the Vietnam era, please contact wr9r@aol.com or
rolf.gerster@datacomm.ch

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