ClaptonIsGod Posted November 26, 2018 Share #1 Posted November 26, 2018 I recently decided to get back into buying M1s, after a hiatus of several years and (once) being content with the collection I had. I've been a little surprised at how much prices for WWII M1s, and even Korea/Vietnam pots, have gone up in the last five years, but am finding a decent number of deals. My focus has always been WWII helmets, but I'm realizing I should also be buying up later helmets when they're available and affordable. This one I just picked up for a very reasonable price met both of those conditions, as the description was poor and photos alright. I could tell from the photos that it was a front seam from the rim being exposed stainless in one photo, and that the chinstraps were sewn on. It's clearly a repaint, but that doesn't bother me too much. The liner is an earlier style Vietnam model, and I'd actually wanted one for a while with the WWII/Korea fiberglass pattern. It arrived today, and I had several surprises. The first being that the paint inside the shell looks like it may be original, the second being the chinstraps appear to be WWII original (although I'm a little rustier in my strap expertise and they could also be Korean era), and the third being that the liner sweatband is named. I was able to make out the name, and given that it's a pretty rare name, I'm just about certain the helmet belonged to LCpl. Robert Weiglien, USMC, who fought at Hill 881S north of Khe Sanh in 1967 – 1968. Heat stamp is too hard to make out currently, but definitely a McCord front seam. All in all, I think it was a good re-entry. Perhaps those dents on the top came from Hill 881S. LCpl Weiglien on the left (too bad he isn't wearing it in this shot): from http://www.hmm-364.org/warriors-web-site/album-881s/album881s-054.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted November 27, 2018 Share #2 Posted November 27, 2018 Very nice find. Love it when there is a clear enough name to ID it to a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaptonIsGod Posted November 27, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted November 27, 2018 Yeah, this is one of my first M1s where I managed to get a pretty solid ID, and it's certainly cool knowing that this one was almost definitely in combat. Plus, now I guess I could say that all my other M1s "had a brother at Khe Sanh, fighting off the Viet Cong." And it was born in the USA, to boot. Any thoughts on the chinstraps or inside shell paint being original WWII? Also, is the liner paint original? I am assuming it is, it's just in pretty good shape but not too hard to believe if it was issued new and then kept inside the shell with a cover. It also has small pieces of tape on each side which I am guessing may have been used to help keep the liner inside as it's a bit of a loose fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted November 27, 2018 Share #4 Posted November 27, 2018 That's very cool! Although I get the Bruce Springsteen reference, Khe Sahn was fought against the PAVN (NVA) not the PLAF (VC). I'm still hoping to get lucky and find an ID like this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray42 Posted November 27, 2018 Share #5 Posted November 27, 2018 I am not an expert so take this with a grain of salt but I think that the paint on the inside of the shell is likely WW2 era, I have seen that shade before with helmets of that era and it appears to be similar to my only front seam helmet. The chin strap I believe would probably be right also, the Korean era helmets had the same sewn chinstrap but the difference is the color. WW2 the straps were OD I think which was a lighter color then the Korean era, or I could be remembering that backwards. The liner paint is correct, I believe all Vietnam era liners started out that color. Hope that was correct and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberThe5thESB Posted November 27, 2018 Share #6 Posted November 27, 2018 Liner paint is definitely correct, I've got an identical period liner with the same paint. The inside paint looks original WW2. You should check if theres any layers beneath it for a sure fire way to check. I believe those are late WW2 chinstraps as well, as I have a RS schlueter with blackened steel hardware and OD 7 fabric. I'm not too sure though. Just my opinion. Sent from my SM-J327V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaptonIsGod Posted November 27, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted November 27, 2018 Thanks for the opinions, sounds correct and when I get home I'll check it against a Korean issue RS Schlueter which I'm pretty sure has Korea straps. Unfortunately it looks like the former wearer passed away thirteen years ago, there seems to be some variation on Weiglien or Weiglein even on the site the photo is from, but he looks to be about 28 in the photo above which would make sense for 1967/8: https://newspaperarchive.com/robert-weiglein-obituary-211391693/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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