patches Posted February 21, 2015 Share #1 Posted February 21, 2015 Wanted to post this one for awhile, an up close view of the White painted helmets I mentioned a few times in the past. This was worn without cover for the winter of 81-82, in Fall/Early Winter of 82 we where ordered to wear the cover, but not ordered to re-paint them OD. Tough guy eh, wit the belt of blank 60 rds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellasilva Posted February 21, 2015 Share #2 Posted February 21, 2015 Great picture! Thanks for your service man. Gotta love the poster in the background.."Your family benefits when you re-enlist". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted February 21, 2015 Great picture! Thanks for your service man. Gotta love the poster in the background.."Your family benefits when you re-enlist". Oh yeah, there were a few thumb tacked around the barracks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted February 21, 2015 Here's two additional photos, these taken in November 81, the opening one with me by myself was taken in late February 82. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted February 21, 2015 Share #5 Posted February 21, 2015 Is that Clint Eastwood??? Have to start calling you Mr.Hollywood!!! Great picture Kevin.Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted February 21, 2015 Is that Clint Eastwood??? Have to start calling you Mr.Hollywood!!! Great picture Kevin.Thanks for posting. Why because I was so good looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted February 21, 2015 Share #7 Posted February 21, 2015 Why because I was so good looking Yeah...all that manly-ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted February 21, 2015 Thanks Doyler for kind words Back to the White pots. This one I,m wearing and all the rest in the Battalion were OD, it was issued to me from CIF in OD, probably old, probably a re-paint several times over (wish I would of known back then to see if it was a front seam ). We didn't have the new snap on chin cup type straps, it was the old type clamp on straps, these were unissued I recall, not worn or used but new, black hardware etc, the straps were just clamped on by QM, dirty bastards, maybe they had a special tool or something? I had to adjust them to make them long enough to buckle behind the helmet myself, had no tools, and no one I asked had one either, like a screw diver, a guy in my platoon winds up letting me use his personal field knife, a Bowie, it was a bitch to do, prying the tabs of the clamps open, I was lucky I didn't cut my hands or fingers open. OR do something to his edge It was around late September we were told to paint them, spray cans were handed out from supply, and we did the cardboard on the ground routine and painted them, to prevent the straps from getting painted we green taped them and tucked them under the shell. Now I don't know if this was done only by the 4th of the 9th, but I recall the other associated combat units had them White too, the 1st 32nd Arty, and the Engineer Company, E Troop 1st Cav (Air Cav). Can't say if other units at Wainwright did it for the winter of 81/82, like the support units, maybe not sure, the two other Battalions down at Ft Richardson, the 4th of the 23rd, 1st of the 60th did it as well, since we aggress-ed against them frequently at Eielson AFB and Ft Greely. When I ETS-ed in mid December 82, the helmet still painted White, was turned in along with all the rest of my TA-50, I was never ordered to re-paint it before hand while out processing, but we did by then have the new or newer (came out in the mid-ish 70s) snap on chin/cup straps, these were on them when i turned them in. I wonder now if the QM re-painted them OD for re-issue, certainly the type would see a lot more use since the new Fritz's wouldn't be issued for at least a couple of years up there I,m thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted February 21, 2015 Share #9 Posted February 21, 2015 Patches, Great to see photos of them in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted February 21, 2015 Share #10 Posted February 21, 2015 Very interesting, I assumed that all the white ones were VFW or whatnot. Is it safe to say that usually white shell is snow camo and white liner is parade / VFW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted February 21, 2015 Share #11 Posted February 21, 2015 Very interesting post, and thank you for your service. -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted February 21, 2015 Share #12 Posted February 21, 2015 Fine pics, Patches, and highly interesting!And thanks for your service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnDuc49 Posted February 21, 2015 Share #13 Posted February 21, 2015 Is that you John Wayne, or is it me??? Thanks for your service and great pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted February 21, 2015 Share #14 Posted February 21, 2015 When I ETS-ed in mid December 82, the helmet still painted White, was turned in along with all the rest of my TA-50, I was never ordered to re-paint it before hand while out processing, but we did by then have the new or newer (came out in the mid-ish 70s) snap on chin/cup straps, these were on them when i turned them in. I wonder now if the QM re-painted them OD for re-issue, certainly the type would see a lot more use since the new Fritz's wouldn't be issued for at least a couple of years up there I,m thinking. You were fortunate, CIF at Rich made us repaint them OD before we turned them in for the Kpots in 86. In the early 70s the 4/23 used to stencil a black tomahawk on the sides of the white pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 21, 2015 Share #15 Posted February 21, 2015 Hi patches, great photos But don't you mean WWII winter camo helmet??? Oh wait, errrmmmmm Hehe J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #16 Posted February 21, 2015 You were fortunate, CIF at Rich made us repaint them OD before we turned them in for the Kpots in 86. In the early 70s the 4/23 used to stencil a black tomahawk on the sides of the white pot. Funny you mentioning stencils Rolf. Sometime prior to the time I was there, the 4/9th did have White shells, I seen old blown up framed photos scattered around nailed to walls of the first floor of the barracks, around the CO's and Top's office, the Day room etc. Here one seen funky Dragon stencils in Black on the pots. Don't know the dates these were in use, could of been anywhere from 1972 to 1980, as you see in the three photos ours then where plain. I only know that by the time I got up there in July 81, the helmets were OD. One might argue that it was a winter time thing only, OD then White with the approach of winter, then back to OD towards or after break up, but as mentioned, we never did or were told to repaint them OD in say May, further more the covers were prescribed for wear that second winter, again never told redo them up in OD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted February 21, 2015 My thanks to all for their interest and their kind replies. Also to point out that Camo Bands were worn by some, and not by some, as seen with me. Funny thing with Camo Bands up there, guys who where up there might of experienced this too, or remember this. Once out in the frigid weather for awhile the bands froze to their max shape around the rim, this made the bands prone to slipping off if you took you helmet off and inverted it, you know placed it on it's dome on the ground/snow, it just literally slid off, it now having zero elasticity. This happened when I wore the band a couple of times out in the field, having almost lost the band a few times I didn't anymore (for that one, losing the camo band, would get gig-ed and docked for a new issue, or buy a new one if you liked at Clothing Sales). Then came the early winter of 82, now the covers were to be worn, bands too, however even with the cover the bands did not stay on that well, same deal, just froze to a large circle the circumference of the lower shell. When I did wear the cover on a huge FTX in November, Jack Frost, or Kris Kringle or something (can't remember name ), Like a lot of others, I eventually took the band off completely, and just had my cover pulled tight like a Marine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtdorango Posted February 22, 2015 Share #18 Posted February 22, 2015 Great pics Patches and love the white snow camo helmets!....hey i think you might be able to help nail down this mystery helmet i found a year ago...sounds like it could be the unit you are talking about with the dragon stencil....someone else that saw it thought it might have an Alaska connection too, they mentioned maybe 515th/377th FA (Airborne) Alaska....does it look familiar to you?...hope you dont mind me posting it in your thread.....thanks...mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share #19 Posted February 22, 2015 Great pics Patches and love the white snow camo helmets!....hey i think you might be able to help nail down this mystery helmet i found a year ago...sounds like it could be the unit you are talking about with the dragon stencil....someone else that saw it thought it might have an Alaska connection too, they mentioned maybe 515th/377th FA (Airborne) Alaska....does it look familiar to you?...hope you dont mind me posting it in your thread.....thanks...mike Picture 2073271985.jpgPicture 2073271988.jpg Wow that's unbelievable, that's the one. That's it's with the Parachute Badge stencil on the other side can only mean Charlie Airborne, IE C Company (Airborne) 4th Battalion 9th Infantry, the ones I seen in those old A Co unit photos had the stencil on both sides. To prove it has no connection to the 515th/377th FA, their crest is a griffin, this one on the pot is a Dragon, the Manchu Dragon, a stylization of it to be more accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted February 22, 2015 Share #20 Posted February 22, 2015 Not trying to hijack your thread Patches but I think you might be interested in these pictures. My good friend loaned 2 photos of their 1974 Barter Island jump by Charlie Airborne 4/23 Inf. These photos show the white painted M1 helmets. He said he is still looking for the picture of the white helmet and black tomahawk. Old guys like us are always losing things, especially our minds. Sheer excitement about jumping in the middle of nowhere. Kinda fuzzy but you can see the white helmet, 3 chutes already on the ground and an assembly area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted February 22, 2015 Not trying to hijack your thread Patches but I think you might be interested in these pictures. My good friend loaned 2 photos of their 1974 Barter Island jump by Charlie Airborne 4/23 Inf. These photos show the white painted M1 helmets. He said he is still looking for the picture of the white helmet and black tomahawk. Old guys like us are always losing things, especially our minds. Sheer excitement about jumping in the middle of nowhere. 5 Inflight waiting-sleeping.jpg Kinda fuzzy but you can see the white helmet, 3 chutes already on the ground and an assembly area. BI Airborne.jpg Not at all, great pics thanks for adding them. As customary with topics I start, I always encourage other members to add photos or recollections related to the topic, even if they sometimes go off tangent, they still are interesting. Take sgtdorango's addition, never thought in a million years I would see the 70s Manchu Alaska dragon winter white steel helmet again, and an originial example, the ones I seen where in old photos, well old for 1981-82. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share #22 Posted February 23, 2015 Anyone know where Member Bear is? He was in the Army up there in the 70s, C Co (Abn) 4/23 Inf, wanted him to look in and give his customary first hand knowelge replies, but seen he hasn't been on the Forum since mid November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share #23 Posted March 20, 2015 Very interesting, I assumed that all the white ones were VFW or whatnot. Is it safe to say that usually white shell is snow camo and white liner is parade / VFW? Sorry for the late reply, in answer to you question is no, one will see legit White painted shells and liners that have no connection too the VFW or the AL (American Legion). For the most part these, both shell and liners if liners were worn by themselves can be Military Police or 50s-60s Army Honor Guard related, Air Force Honor Guards, or Air Police with the MP/AP related, the MP or AP was for whatever reason not applied, even now that I thinking certain Navy Honor Guards might of used them. Another group that could of worn White painted stuff were your Training Cadres of Army Basic and AIT units in the 50s and 60s, they could be White among other colors, but these usually had unit decals on them and or some designator, a designator from the range or the position the Officer or NCO held. A White painted shell that are claimed to be WWII Ardennes Alsace worn may be legit, but must be approached with extreme caution, because there's a very good chance it wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share #24 Posted March 26, 2015 Welp I just spray painted a Low Dome w/clamp on bracket chin straps I had lying around, Flat White. All I need now down the line is a late 70s dated liner complete with late 70s dated nape strap and sweatband w/snap in suspension, excellent to used very good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted March 26, 2015 Share #25 Posted March 26, 2015 I can send you a "Tomahawk" stencil for your helmet ... much better than some creepy 9 toed dragon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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