Helmet that was going to be thrown in the bin

[earlymb]

Airborne liners issued to ground troops was commonly done. As-is this M1 is a nice example of the last few years of this type in service, I would leave it as you got it.

The webbing of the liner might be dated somewhere, if it indeed is pre-1973 you could consider using it as a base for a Vietnam-era para helmet and get an early 1980's dated liner for this set. But it might very well be original to this shell while in service.

[christek]

Here is my '80's M1-C for comparison - Note the 'cats eyes' on the elasticized helmet band, I believe these bands correct for post Vietnam era M1's. Note the well known 'poor fitting to shell' liner (1984 dated), and the 'P' marked hardware, also correct for the era.

Be warned, collecting M1 helmets is very addictive!