WWII Japanese Helmet Covers, Field Cap, and Flag/Banner

[FT.Monmouth1943]

These items were brought back by Luke E Vittetoe, who enlisted in June 1942 and served with A Co. 583rd Signal Air Warning BN. The highlight of the group in my opinion are the helmet covers, which are in very good condition but do show signs of wear. The field cap is also in great shape and appears to be named on the sweatband. The banner/flag on the other hand is in horrible shape, but it’s still an interesting piece nonetheless, and if anyone knows what exactly it is I would very much appreciate it.

If you would like to see more photos of any particular piece feel free to ask.

 

- Jakob 

 

[FT.Monmouth1943]

Covers and flag:

 

[USCapturephotos]

Cool bring backs! Thanks for sharing. Those signal air warning units are interesting.

Paul

[blademan]

The helmet cover is fantastic!

[FT.Monmouth1943]

19 minutes ago, USCapturephotos said:

Cool bring backs! Thanks for sharing. Those signal air warning units are interesting.

Paul

Thank you! I couldn’t agree more. I really hope I can find out more about his service.

[Mr. Bushido]

Hello

Thank you for introducing such an interesting item!

 

The contents of the stamp on the cap are as follows.

① Right side: middle size
② Center: Manufactured in 1942
③Left side: Inspection at the Hiroshima Clothing Depot
*Please note that it is written vertically.

 

The letter written on the inner band is the same as the first letter of ①.
In other words, it indicates a medium size.

 

As for the helmet cover, the wording on the right indicates the large size, and the rest is the same as the cap.

 

Stamps outside the frame were illegible in the image.

It may be possible to read depending on how the photo is taken.

 

Finally, as for the badly damaged piece of cloth, I think it's a drawstring bag.
The letter on the left is "慰問袋", which is the name of the bag for sending daily necessities to encourage soldiers.
The letters on the right side indicate "praying for good luck on the battlefield".

[FT.Monmouth1943]

6 hours ago, Mr. Bushido said:

Hello

Thank you for introducing such an interesting item!

 

The contents of the stamp on the cap are as follows.

① Right side: middle size
② Center: Manufactured in 1942
③Left side: Inspection at the Hiroshima Clothing Depot
*Please note that it is written vertically.

 

The letter written on the inner band is the same as the first letter of ①.
In other words, it indicates a medium size.

 

As for the helmet cover, the wording on the right indicates the large size, and the rest is the same as the cap.

 

Stamps outside the frame were illegible in the image.

It may be possible to read depending on how the photo is taken.

 

Finally, as for the badly damaged piece of cloth, I think it's a drawstring bag.
The letter on the left is "慰問袋", which is the name of the bag for sending daily necessities to encourage soldiers.
The letters on the right side indicate "praying for good luck on the battlefield".

Thank you so much for the detailed information! I would have never guessed the “flag” was a laundry bag, but it makes sense since it looks there’s a slot at the top where a draw string could have gone. I’ll try to take a better picture of it later today and post it here.

[AxolotlHelmet]

To add onto this, here is a bag from Griffin that looks almost identical to the one shown in the image.

Furthermore, if you look up "Japanese Comfort Bag" on google, you'll find additional bags that look similar.