Jump to content

Out of the Woodwork 101st Airborne Graffiti Vietnam M1


36thIDAlex
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

 

A buddy of mine just messaged me some real cool photos of a helmet he picked up today directly from the daughter of a Vietnam vet who served from 1951-1973, doing almost 3 years in Vietnam with the 101st.

 

The vet was SFC Frank Palevo of New Jersey. I didn’t find too much at first look but the helmet speaks for itself. It’s pretty clear this ones been through a bit and is stuck together so no way to safely date it.

 

The graffiti includes a lot of neat stuff including his rank, calendar, the phrase “Days Spent in Hell-562”, and most touching, the name of who I presume was his buddy and the date he was killed. I was able to look up the name on the wall and sure enough it lines up. Really touching stuff we find ourselves dealing with sometimes.

 

I found it a great example of an unmessed with late-war helmet straight from the family.

 

If anyone knows what the Vietnamese says feel free to mention it.

Sorry for the quality, his phone camera isn’t that great

Posted Image

 

Posted Image

 

Look above the calendar for “days spent in hell”

Posted Image

 

Posted Image

 

Name of his buddy

Posted Image

 

Posted Image

 

Posted Image

 

Info of his pal from the Memorial website

Posted Image

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cap Camouflage Pattern I

Quite the helmet. I have asked my Vietnamese friend what it says, and will get back to you when he responds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He says the Vietnamese is hard to read, could you post a closer and clearer picture?

I’ve asked him for a closer picture but from what I can tell it says “Tôi du ban tôt”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

not sure if it translates to " Im Good"

That’s what I got from google but I wasn’t sure if the phrase has a more cultural meaning or the like

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried "TÔI du ban tôt" using all capital letters for TÔI which translated to "I am a good traveler"

 

I dont speak Vietnamese but the first word might have some additional meaning since its upper case

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me, it could have two meanings, though it's written incorrectly.

 

1. "Tôi đụ bạn tôi/tốt" - "I :) my friend (very well)"

 

2. "Tôi dụ bạn tôi/tốt" - "I cheat my friend (very well)"

 

Honestly, a bit hard to tell since it's written by an American, hence incorrect letters and accents, but that's my best guess

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi there i am new to this forum so hopefully i have posted this correctly.

 

I am looking for an m1 vietnam helmet named and or with history or markings, it is to add to my collection of photos mainly from the period by in the field photographers that evoke the political situation or the life of the men on the ground.

 

can anyone help

 

thanks pete post-214687-0-25266100-1549708012.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...