EARLY VIETNAM ERA 505TH AIRBORNE JUMP HELMET (NAMED)

[anton67]

I picked up this named VN AB helmet from ebay.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The seller is from Alaska which is consistent with the last place of residence of the soldier.

I pulled some info on him from the internet.

 

Name: William Ruebel Gender: Male Birth Date: 11 Oct 1930 Death Date: 12 Feb 2002 Branch 1: ARMY Enlistment Date 1: 4 May 1967 Release Date 1: 31 Jan 1969

 

OBITUARY

William John Ruebel was born on 10/11/1930 and died on 02/12/2002 at the age of 71. William Ruebel is buried in the cemetery: Ft. Richardson National Cemetery, which is located in Fort Richardson, AK.

DECEASED INFORMATION

First Name William Middle Name John Last Name Ruebel Age at Death 71 Birth Date 10/11/1930 Death Date 02/12/2002

[anton67]

more pics

[anton67]

more

[anton67]

last pics

[SergeantMajorGray]

That's a nice helmet right there.

[Andrei]

This a very nice helmet ! Had I not won a 2/9 Marines helmet the same week I would have try my luck on this M1-C. Congrats !

[anton67]

Thank you for your kind comments.

[1canpara]

Yep, that's a beauty! Congrats!

 

Rick

 

 

[LarryM3]

No doubt a very nice helmet but is there a possibility that you wrote down the date of enlistment wrong? Based on the dates shown this man would have enlisted at the age of 37 and if I remember correctly the max age limit to enlist at that time was 35. I'm trying to envision a 37 year old going through boot camp much less jump school. Just wondering....

 

Larry

[Beau-Brummel]

I was the under bidder on this and It's an absolute cracker, congratulations.

 

I did a bit of digging too and It looks like he was wounded twice In Korea, once In september 1950 and again In march 1951. It looks as though he was with 187th RCT In Korea.

 

Enjoy It, It's a wonderful piece, oh and please let me know If you ever decide to trade It on.

 

Yours, Guy.

[Sabrejet]

Great score! There's a gap in my own collection for one of those early VN period M1Cs!!

[sgtdorango]

Thats a beauty!.....somewhere ive seen a great picture of these in use...cant remember if its on the forum or on the internet somewhere.....mike

[Kilroy97]

I saw this one on ebay...thats a awesome helmet!

[sgtdorango]

Heres the pic i was talking about, cant remember where i got it for proper credit.......mike

[anton67]

Wow! Thank you for the pic, it is awesome.

Thank you all for your kind words.

I spoke to the seller today and he basically confirmed that the cemetery where this vet is interned is close to where he lives in Alaska. Here is our dialogue about the helmet:

 

SELLER: I received this helmet early last summer from a close friend that was leaving the state. He passed away in July. But he found the helmet along with another the same type along with a parachute and jump suit at our local Military Surplus store. No real history, other than nothing was messed with. This helmet was the last item of the group that I have. I meant to research it but have no time.

 

ME: I did research the helmet to a soldier who was in Vietnam. He died in 2002 and is buried in Ft. Richardson National Cemetery, AK. Is that near you?

 

SELLER: Yes Ft. Rich is a few miles from my home. So then everything adds up! I figured it would, But just never had the time to research it. Thanks again..

[Justin]

Here's a photo of a soild black one, there's a pair of blue winged 505ths in the graffiti helmet topic, and I know of two more orange winged ones.

[jkash23686]

I saw this one up on ebay then it fell off my radar. Great score and great looking lid.

[anton67]

Here is a link to pics of the 505th in VN.

http://www.fold3.com/s.php#query=505th+infantry&t=658

[anton67]

According to my research he served in Korea and Vietnam.

In Korea he made two combat jumps and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts with the 187th.

In Vietnam he was obviously in the 505th and he would have been in his late 30's.

Maybe he was in the reserves between wars, I do not know.

He lived in Mass. prior to Korea and he died in Alaska in 2002.

If anyone on the forum has additional info I would greatly appreciate it.

[MasonK]

Nice find, Mark!

 

Not sure if you checked findagrave, however here is a photo of Ruebel's headstone:

 

http://www.findagrav...r&GRid=11856015

 

 

According to this, he received the Purple Heart 3 times (wounded in Vietnam?). The only confusing part is it says he served during WWII. Possibly he enlisted at 16 in 1946? That, or the headstone information is incorrect.

 

Included in the memorial is his obit. I've included below that part pertaining to his military service. In the medals and awards section, the way it is written leads me to believe it was transcribed from his DD-214:

 

"He served in the U.S. Army, where he received numerous awards including the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Good Conduct Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and National Defense and Service Medal. During the Korean War he received the Korean Service Medal with five Bronze Service Stars with three bronze arrowheads, Army of Occupation Medal (Japan) Combat Infantry Man's Badge and Parachute Badge. He was also awarded Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, United Nations Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with arrowhead and four bronze stars, Master Parachute Badge, Glider Badge, Letter of Commendation, Letter of Appreciation, Expert M-14 Rifle, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp with five loops, and a Korean War Memorial Service Medal. Mr. Ruebel moved to Alaska in 1967, living in Fairbanks from 1967 to 2000. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1969."

 

In addition, here are his casualty listings from Korea:

 

 

[anton67]

Holy . . . . You got lots of good info for me.

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it.

I could not find all that for some reason, and I have Ancestry.

You are probably much better at research than I am.

BTW, that WWII thing trough me for a loop also.

Any thoughts on that from anyone else on him being a WWII vet?

He would have been 15 in 1945 so it doesn't make much sense.

The rest of the info checks out.

All that history makes this quite a piece for my collection.

Thanks again Eric

[MasonK]

No problem, Mark!

 

I believe had William enlisted by December 31st, 1946, this would have qualified him for service during WWII as well as the WWII victory medal (this isn't listed in the medals in his obit which isn't to say he didn't receive one). With that said, the oldest he would have been was 16 (had he enlisted on or after his birthday on 10/11/46). You had to be 17 to enlist, but this never stopped those who were younger from going ahead and doing so anyway.

 

I searched NARA and couldn't find an enlistement record for him. It's possible he enlisted in 1947, told his family he was in during WWII, so they requested this be engraved on the headstone. That, or the source the engraver used had incorrect information. Lot's of possibilities.

 

Best bet is to send away for his records and hope there is more infromation. For now, I would take it with a grain of salt until you have more concrete evidence.

[MasonK]

A few other items of interest:

 

I find it strange that in his obit it doesn't mention any medals related to Vietnam (Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign). Obviously he served during this time. Possible they were working off of an old DD-214 (one that dates back at least to 1957 - National Defense Service Medal)?

 

In addition, the service dates you have are 1967-1969, although the Obit says he moved to Alaska in 1967? Not to say he didn't start a tour prior to that and spent the remainder of enlistment stationed in Alaska (possibly he was injured and sent home, which would explain the 3rd Purple Heart).

 

Lastly, and not sure how I missed this, but according to the US Veteran Gravesites Record, he enlisted 29 Dec 1946. He would have met the criteria for service during WWII if this information is correct:

 

 

Definitely need to pull this guys record!!

[anton67]

Here is his VN record:

 

 

U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 aboutWilliam Ruebel

Name: William Ruebel Gender: Male Birth Date: 11 Oct 1930 Death Date: 12 Feb 2002 Branch 1: ARMY Enlistment Date 1: 4 May 1967 Release Date 1: 31 Jan 1969

 

Maybe he lived in Alaska before he enlisted or was stationed there in the reserves before being called to duty?

[anton67]

505th History during VN War:

On 24 July 1967, the 3rd Brigade deployed to Detroit, Michigan to assist local authorities in quelling a civil disturbance.

Less than a year later, on 12 February 1968, the 3rd Brigade was alerted for deployment to the Republic of Vietnam in response to the Tet Offensive. After 13 months, the Brigade had helped secure the region south of the DMZ and redeployed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in March 1969, the only Brigade of the 82rd Airborne Division to participate in the Vietnam conflict.