I served in the 196th Light Infantry Brigade in I Corps May 67 to May 68. I saw only three S&Ws that I can remember; a Model 15 Combat Masterpiece on the hip of an USAF Military Policeman (AP) in Danang, a Chiefs Special stainless given by my CO to our Army Chaplain for personal protection, and a decrepit Victory model rechambered to 38 Special.
I remember the Model 15 since I was astonished to find that most Airmen in Danang were not allowed to carry a weapon. The M16s were kept in a locked Conex container between the barracks and were to be issued only in emergencies. Only the APs were armed. I remember the Chiefs Special because I was assigned to bodyguard the Chaplain. The VC had made several attempts to kill him and had killed all of the local priests. I remember the Victory model because we had only 12 rounds of dirty old wadcutter ammo. The piece shot way low since the bullets were undersized for the .360 bore diameter of the Victory. Since the M16s were not working and the VC were not taking prisoners, we were desperate for anything
that would shoot. They did not usually issue revolvers for anyone in the Infantry in 67/68.All except the model15 were privately owned.