Water slide/Slip Decals WW2 era, or later?

[Toccoa20]

Good-day, I am new on the forum. After having read several postings on this forum about decals I have an interesting "problem".

 

I have a McCord, FB, FS(165C) in original WW2 condition. The liner is International Moulded Plastic with United Carr parts and a headband by FLG Co. (nov.'43)

Both shell and liner do not seem to be repainted at any stage. The liner has two decals:

 

39th Infantry Division ('DELTA") and 108th Cavalry Regiment.

 

The questions I have, after doing some research; :are the two decals WW2 era, or later? Slip Decals were used during WW2, so I have read.

Why these two decals on one helmet? There seems to be a Louisiana National Guard connection between the two?

And another puzzle: the 39th (as such) did not see action during WW2, whilst the 108th saw exstensive battle in the ETO.

 

Looks like an interesting problem to solve.

All informtion will be highly appreciated.

 

Regards from Holland.

[patches]

The 108th Cavalry is one of those National Guard units that have it's Lineage all over the road, it's WWII service was as an Anti Aircraft unit of the Coast Artillery, the 105th Anti Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion Self Propelled, the 105th AAA Bn see's action in Africa, Sicily and Italy only. The other WWII campaign credits one sees for this unit, the ones from France, Belgium and Germany, are for other units amalgamated with it in the 1970s, to wit the 156th Infantry (of the Louisiana NG in 1940), and the 121st Infantry (of the Georgia NG in 1940), the 156th Inf a Separate Regt in WWII, and the 121st Inf, famously fights in the 8th Infantry Division, most notably in the Battle of the Huertgen Forest where it was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation, the 121st Inf suffers huge losses in killed and wounded in the forest.

 

Now comes the tough part, that confuses even me

 

Sometime in the 1946, we start to see a 206th Tank Battalion in the reactivated 39th Infantry Division, though it claims no lineage with the old 108th Cavalry, the unit was reorganized as an Armor Battalion under the Combat Arms Regimental System, or as it known by students of U.S. Army history-CARS, this in 1959, the 206th Armor, the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron 206th Armor, though it's an "Armor" unit it fills a Cavalry mission, don't know what it's unit crest was. At the same time, 1959, the old 139th Tank Battalion of the 40th Armored Division California NG is redesignated as the 185th Armor, meanwhile back east, a new 139th is formed under CARS in the Louisiana NG, the 139th Armor which claims lineage with the old 108th Cavalry, and the WWII Era 105th AAA Bn, and adopts the 108th Cav's unit crest.

 

By 1960 both these unit are in the 39th Infantry Division, the 1st Battalion 139th Armor, the division's tank unit, and the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron 206th Armor, the division's recon unit.

 

Fast forward to 1963-64, the Army reorganizes it's combat divisions again, this being Reorganization Objective Army Divisions or as it's known-ROAD, pronounced as RO-ADD, both the 139th Armor and the 206th Armor are reorganized, the 139th becomes a Cavalry unit, the 1st Squadron 139th Cavalry, the 206th, becomes a tank unit.

 

BUT there's more, see, Confusing right, there was in existence another 108, this being the 108th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Mississippi National Guard, and this had no relation or affiliation with the old 108th Cav, I guess they just used the number cause the 108th Cav was now the 139th , see HERE they get a DI in 1974, see HERE, don't know what if any DI they used before, then this HERE, this says it was always a part of the Georgina NG, Huh??? This must mean only the current 1st Squadron 108th Cav, this HERE, now mentions the 139th Armor/Cav of the 39th Inf Div days, the successor unit of the current 256th Cavalry.

 

NOW having said all this Your Liner with these Decals will date from the late 50s till the mid-sh 60s and will be for the 139th when it was either an Armor Battalion or later the Cavalry Squadron in the 39th Infantry Division (Delta).

[Toccoa20]

Wow Patches, that is quite an answer. So, the decals are post WW2. However the liner is genuine WW2, with the decals added on a later date.

Where did you get al this unit information? Very interesting! No wonder I was confused…….

Thanks

[patches]

Wow Patches, that is quite an answer. So, the decals are post WW2. However the liner is genuine WW2, with the decals added on a later date.

Where did you get al this unit information? Very interesting! No wonder I was confused…….

Thanks

Well you ask for the connection of the unit

 

But I got a lot of info from a book I have as well as online, and seeing right off the bat it was one of those units with a confused and contradictory lineage, I had to go back and forth, back and forth to make sense of it all.

 

Yes the liner is WWII, WWII Liners and Shells seen continuous issue for years and years after WWII along with the newer models, not so much the nape straps and sweatbands, these were seen too for years after WWII, but the newer stuff was used mostly, like in example, a WWII Liner with 1953 dated parts, 1959 dated parts, with a mix of dated parts etc etc etc.

[Toccoa20]

Is this combination of decals a rare one?

[patches]

Is this combination of decals a rare one?

Original Liners from the 50s and 60-70s (A lesser extent from the 70s as the fashion went out of fashion basically) that have unit decals present are what's rare, this included similarly marked steel pots, WWII ones rarer still,

 

Check out this topic for 24 pages of examples of Marked Liners from WWII-70s.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19550-marked-helmet-liners-the-unsung-hero-of-the-m-1/

[Toccoa20]

Thanks for your info, Patches.