The "inner tube" helmet band

[patches]

And a just found by accident foto to add if I may, 1st Mar Div USMC circa 1965-66.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sgt. BARney]

I was in the Marines 1979-83, and remember quite a few different things being used to keep the helmet cover tight - several rounds of electrical tape or green duck tape and green elastic boot blousing bands were pretty common. I also used two elastic bands off of a reserve parachute hooked together around the helmet. One of our Navy Corpsman got a pair of panties in the mail from his fiancé and wore those on his helmet (he only put them on his helmet for show ).

 

The bands helped keep the helmet cover tight on the helmet and putting it on could be a process. First you would get the helmet cover wet, put it on the helmet and pull it on as tight as you could. Then you would gather up all 6 of the flaps, and hold them tight while you spun the helmet around. This would twist the flaps and really stretch the cover tight. Next, you slip on a band of some kind to hold the cover in place, straighten out the flaps and lay them into the shell and jam the helmet liner in tight. As the cover dried, it would shrink some and pull it even tighter over the helmet. Often, when you later took the cover off the helmet, the flaps would be rust stained from having been wet and up against the steel pot.

 

We always had to have some kind of band in place on our helmet covers when jumping. Apparently this was to keep a loose cover from catching wind and coming out as you exited the plane. I'm not sure how much of a concern that was, since the pictures of WW2 paratroopers show all sorts of stuff on their helmets, but you do what the Jumpmaster says.

 

Note in photo, the Marine on the far right has elastic boot bands around his helmet.

[Sgt. BARney]

In the first photo below, I am on the left and have elastic bands off of a reserve chute connected and stretched around my helmet (it took two to fit around). The guy next to me - Hogman - is wearing a football helmet. He was also jumping the CIWI bag that day - note the large object next to him with the red "apple' on top.

 

 

In the next photo, showing me standing - I have electrical tape wrapped around my helmet. Note the guy to the far right holding up his rucksack - the Jumpmaster is inspecting his rigging before he boards the CH-53 in the background.

[AnDuc49]

Also to note, in Vietnam rubber seals from ammo cans and other places were used
In some cases a piece of rubber was taken and they just tied the ends together

 

[conn]

post 23 shows point on the rubber band from tube cut

 

this is the same as my father's that he brought back from the pacific

 

they had many uses during the war and after

 

he used them after the war to hold S&K socket tool boxes from opening up and spilling tools out.

 

I also found one on his poncho, holding it in a tight square. it is still on it, I never touched it

 

semper fi

[AnDuc49]

Here's a color photo from Hill 881S of the FAC Cpl. Robert Arrotta

Note the helmet laying on the sandbags has tape on the cover as well as what looks like a thin band holding some flechettes

 

[Salvage Sailor]

Nice 'field expedient' photos of different straps.....and I had this Mitchell strap on mine over the inner tube band