Vietnam-era M1 paratrooper helmet

[P-59A]

This link is good because it shows what the 187th wore in Vietnam.    

 

[P-59A]

Another good link, lots of info.     

 

[Justin]

Ok sorry for my aggressive comments... peace out. 

[elh1311]

47 minutes ago, P-59A said:

This is a 187th  AB helmet that I would agree is correct. Not saying anything towards your helmet. Just saying this is solid.   

 

Well, here's the problem with this helmet. 

 

It's a 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) helmet from the mid-1950's when the 503rd was part of the 11th Airborne Division. 

 

The 187th AIR was originally a Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) of the 11th Airborne Division during WWII. One PIR and 2 GIRs comprised the combat Infantry power of the 11th Airborne in the Pacific during WWII. The 187th was fully jump qualified by the end of the war but didn't become an Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR) until after WWII. Of note, the 187th was detached as a separate combat team from the 11th for service in Korea. 

 

I'm not really sure what point you were trying to prove with this post. 

 

The tac marks on the helmet that is the subject of this thread are consistent with the tac marks used by the 187th ARCT during the Korean War. This is not to say that this a helmet from this unit or era, just simply saying that these are the tac marks for the 2nd Battalion, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT) during its service in the Korean War.

[elh1311]

54 minutes ago, Justin said:

Ok sorry for my aggressive comments... peace out. 

No worries my friend, a robust and healthy discussion is to be expected and appreciated. Please enjoy your weekend and thank you for your insight, it is appreciated.

[elh1311]

1 hour ago, P-59A said:

This link is good because it shows what the 187th wore in Vietnam.    

 

I am aware of what they wore on their covers during Vietnam. Please see my earlier comments were I acknowledge this. 

[Captainofthe7th]

I agree with Mike that the half moon tac marks were not used past 1951.  Once the 187th rotated back to Japan it appears they dropped this altogether.  See the following images:

 

https://www.rcmcollection.com/Archives/BEDDINGFIELD-ALBUM-1951-TAEGU

https://www.rcmcollection.com/Archives/BEDDINGFIELD-ALBUM-1954

 

The idea that the green hardware chisntraps were Korean War issue is mythical.  That may have been the intention on paper, but you will spend years trying to prove they made it to the war in any volume.  I have seen only one photo of a helmet with these in theater and it was very late.  There are maybe two other images that might be examples but they are not clear.  Statistically that is enough for me to pass off any with the hardware as post-Korea use.

 

Of interest is the helmet that accompanies these albums worn by Beddingfield.  He stayed with the 187th from 1951 when the Ranger companies were inactivated through May 1956.  Since we have the other example posted here with the XVIII Corps SSI, this example is likely from before their CONUS assignment and what was worn in Japan.

 

 

 

 

Rob

[elh1311]

3 hours ago, Captainofthe7th said:

I agree with Mike that the half moon tac marks were not used past 1951.  Once the 187th rotated back to Japan it appears they dropped this altogether.  See the following images:

 

https://www.rcmcollection.com/Archives/BEDDINGFIELD-ALBUM-1951-TAEGU

https://www.rcmcollection.com/Archives/BEDDINGFIELD-ALBUM-1954

 

The idea that the green hardware chisntraps were Korean War issue is mythical.  That may have been the intention on paper, but you will spend years trying to prove they made it to the war in any volume.  I have seen only one photo of a helmet with these in theater and it was very late.  There are maybe two other images that might be examples but they are not clear.  Statistically that is enough for me to pass off any with the hardware as post-Korea use.

 

Of interest is the helmet that accompanies these albums worn by Beddingfield.  He stayed with the 187th from 1951 when the Ranger companies were inactivated through May 1956.  Since we have the other example posted here with the XVIII Corps SSI, this example is likely from before their CONUS assignment and what was worn in Japan.

 

 

 

 

Rob

Those are super cool pictures and yep, definitely no tac marks as of 1954. I wish there was better data compilation for KW-era McCords and how their heat stamps correlate to a production date. 

[Crap Game]

On 6/5/2021 at 3:37 PM, manayunkman said:

Or they repainted it with the only green they had.

Joes, even when I was in 1986-1996, used whatever shade Olive Drab paint the Supply Room had, which wasn't always the best quality paint, or whatever shade Olive Drab spray paint AAFES bought.    We stripped the multiple layers of OD paint off our M29A1 81mm Mortar System, gave it a fresh coat of paint for a dog and pony show in the Berlin Brigade.   The paint we bought from AAFES was closer to the WWII Russian brown-tinged OD than  FSC 34087.      We started with the 2 cans of OD the Supply Room "could" give us, which the spray tip dripped, the paint had a mild glossy tone, and it ran like crazy.     For one of those projects that "You ain't getting off until its done", each of us in the 4 man squad bought 2 cans each from AAFES, to paint the mortar bipod, the M3 Baseplate, as well as the Sight case and Aiming Post Light Case.  Matter of fact I got an Army Acheesement (lol) medal for that task.

 

We still had M125A2 81mm Mortar Carriers in the Rifle Companies (only Mech Inf in the 101st), in the 3 color NATO camo, the only time the tracks got new paint was if they were to be used in the Allied Forces Day or 4th of July Parade, including the CARC touch up spray paint cans.  The rest of the time, for recovery after a field problem, we used whatever shade OD/black/brown from AAFES to cover gouges in the track exterior CARC paint.

[elh1311]

Well I'm posting this as a sincere apology to those who pointed at the obvious. Luckily, it wasn't an expensive error. I knew that the helmet wasn't a genuine 187th helmet but some of the responses rubbed me wrong. Regardless, they were right. So the helmet? It came from a mock up for the 187th ARCT by a company called G.I. Concepts. It's headquartered in Orange County, CA. The company is a supplier of military equipment and actors for movie productions. No joke, their catalogue is pretty extensive. 

Anyway, pictures of the helmet when it was owned by G.I Concepts in the not too distant past. Also, a link to the company/mock up in question. 

https://giconcepts.com/korean-warus-army-187th-regimental-combat-team-korea-1950.564.28.military-costumes-film