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Original Vietnam corpsman graffiti helmet ! The real deal


ArchangelDM
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ArchangelDM

Well today came my new all original helmet which belonged to Richard A Metsker. Metsker served with the USMC in Vietnam from 66-67.

Richard was from Joplin and recently his fMily sold his estate , after the Vietnam war he was a doctor in Joplin and sadly died 2012.

Seemed like a great man and I would of loved to hear his stories as a corpsman in the USN.

This helmet is a fixed bail that shows large amounts of wear , the camo cover is just a real beauty. It has that been there look , anyone that has ever had a camo used in country knows the look I mean.

Camo is marked in numerous places with heavy bleaching, the name Metsker with HM2 USN , then a series of symbols. I'm guessing it relate to him being a doctor in some way.

Then Heal thyself is written. On the top is written , "end the war in Vietnam , use the bomb"

 

Then there is m3/9

The pen is stronger in places and I'm guessing as it got bleached he went over it again. Even the top pen shows sufficient bleaching and wear.

The cover has rust stains consistent with the shell

 

Enjoy

D.C

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nice find, it does look like the real deal , used in Vietnam, I also think he went over the faded markings with a black pen, or simply added them himself later to document the dates of his tour in country

 

66 - 67

 

did it come with the liner?

 

thats a valuable piece of history, a hard to find ID'd in country used helmet from his family estate, right out of the wood work.

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ArchangelDM

nice find, it does look like the real deal , used in Vietnam, I also think he went over the faded markings with a black pen, or simply added them himself later to document the dates of his tour in country

 

66 - 67

 

did it come with the liner?

 

thats a valuable piece of history, a hard to find ID'd in country used helmet from his family estate, right out of the wood work.

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ArchangelDM

nice find, it does look like the real deal , used in Vietnam, I also think he went over the faded markings with a black pen, or simply added them himself later to document the dates of his tour in country

 

66 - 67

 

did it come with the liner?

 

thats a valuable piece of history, a hard to find ID'd in country used helmet from his family estate, right out of the wood work.

Hey Bolo

You can actually see the original pen underneath , I'm guessing he went over his name just in case something happens to him maybe. The 66-67 I agree was put on to remember his time out there ,

I really wish it could speak. Looks as if this was really in the thick of it ! He didn't spend his time on the boat.

 

Unfortunately no liner but I'm guessing the liner was shot , due to weather etc. guessing the webbing rotted away , the helmet is a fixed bail which is nice , the camo is original to the helmet and not a marriage which is really nice.

Don't know how he came back with it but it has this beautiful sandy burnt out look that only time In the sun and in the s**t can age.

 

Thanks Again

Dean

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Camo is marked in numerous places with heavy bleaching, the name Metsker with HM2 USN , then a series of symbols. I'm guessing it relate to him being a doctor in some way.

 

 

The first five symbols stand for -

 

Man

Woman

Birth

Death

Infinity

 

They were used in the 1960's television series "Ben Casey" in which he plays a doctor. A internet search will give you additional information on the symbols. One source provides the following -

 

"It is obvious that the list of concepts here is meant to represent the path of human existence and also to reflect on the cycle in which doctors became deeply enmeshed."

 

I would suspect the use of the '?' was added to deal with the uncertainty of service in Viet Nam.

 

 

Nice helmet.

 

Larry

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ArchangelDM

 

The first five symbols stand for -

 

Man

Woman

Birth

Death

Infinity

 

They were used in the 1960's television series "Ben Casey" in which he plays a doctor. A internet search will give you additional information on the symbols. One source provides the following -

 

"It is obvious that the list of concepts here is meant to represent the path of human existence and also to reflect on the cycle in which doctors became deeply enmeshed."

 

I would suspect the use of the '?' was added to deal with the uncertainty of service in Viet Nam.

 

 

Nice helmet.

 

Larry

Wow

 

Larry I can't thankyou Enough !

That has made total sense of it , I can't believe how deep those symbols are and they tie in with his service in Vietnam

Thanks man

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ArchangelDM

Thats awesome!.....mike

Thanks Mike

That info from Larry blew me away , people's knowledge on here always astounds me , what a fantastic group of people on this forum.

 

Thankyou

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