Vietnam Era M1 helmets.

[Opex]

Nice helmets.
Are any associated with a particular soldier.

Thanks for looking, sadly there are no distinct names or units written on the helmets, but they are all used so assume they must have seem some "action"

[Opex]

Looks exactly like one I had during that period 1971 I was in a group that field tested a new chinstrap that was a airborne type with a split in the middle of the chin cup. Nice helmets. timothy

Many thanks for looking, and for the interesting information regarding the chinstrap arrangement, and your experiences with it

[Opex]

Great lot there Very nice

Thanks René , glad you like them I am proud to own them and to be able to show them here

[James C]

wow opex how many nam lids did i see ,im sure i counted four ,crikey you are one lucky guy ,i see what you mean about the m1c though the chin straps dont extend up into the liner to fit the redundant studs ,the A yokes in the liner seem period though ,i like the erdl camo band ,ive not seen that type before ,and also im a big fan of your silk para camo m1 ,thanks very much for sharing your collection of what is an iconic helmet genre,cheers james

[Opex]

wow opex how many nam lids did i see ,im sure i counted four ,crikey you are one lucky guy ,i see what you mean about the m1c though the chin straps dont extend up into the liner to fit the redundant studs ,the A yokes in the liner seem period though ,i like the erdl camo band ,ive not seen that type before ,and also im a big fan of your silk para camo m1 ,thanks very much for sharing your collection of what is an iconic helmet genre,cheers james

Many thanks James, yes the M1-C is not all correct which is a shame as the chinstraps do not have the snaps to attach to the liner, the Mitchell band is a period piece, and from memory is a half shelter strap of some sort,used by the USMC ?

The para silk cover is a piece of genuine material, but I am not sure from what era, someone once said it was probably Korean War issue?

If money was not an option, I would be very keen to expand on this genre of US M1's , as it is I am in the process of selling off my collection !!!!

But these will stay in my collection ( I hope) !

Thanks again for your comments James, as ever much appreciated

[anton67]

IN RESPONSE TO: Thanks for looking, sadly there are no distinct names or units written on the helmets, but they are all used so assume they must have seem some "action"

Never ASSUME that at all. In fact most Vietnam helmets were not brought back.
Most Vietnam era helmets in collections are built from Military Surplus parts or were used by National Guard troops in the Continental US.
A true helmet used in Vietnam during the war is a rare bird indeed.
Here is an example (the only way I know it was used in Vietnam is because it is linked to a particular soldier):

[ruddersrangers44]

I agree totally with you Anton but this rule of thumb applies to every Helmet of any Nation of any conflict.as there are some 90% plus Helmets in circulation without any names attached we can't say for sure whether they were actually issued and used,so therefore what we display in our collections can only be the correct representation of a Combat Helmet which would have been issued.......

[Opex]

Good and valid discussion points made there guy's, agreed on both sides.

And the example shown is a very nice looking helmet indeed, with provenance even better!