It sure is a beauty if it's legit, that's what caught me off guard. I have never held a WW2 M1 in this condition let alone evaluate the authenticity. Thanks for the response!

Found this the other day when I was going through my old newspapers. Pretty cool addition for the collection. Anyone ever seen this before? Advertising the Green River ordnance plant in Dixon Illinois.

I have been gone all weekend. The pictures came in sets for exhibit.  There are  probably  100 pictures some more interesting  than others.

I just returned home from a birthday party for Kassidy’s father-in-law. I was there for over four hours staring at these tempting delicious looking and smelling donuts. But despite it all, I'm proud to say that I did not succumb and did not eat any. But I sure wanted to!  mikie

That third picture is taken at a hellhole outside of Ad Diwaniyah.  We were there after returning from Tikrit on Task Force Tripoli.

It's possible these ERDL covers were part of field trials. The USMC was trying to get their own ERDL uniforms as well as ERDL helmet covers around this time.    I found the attached image in the references of a document. The ERDL "tropical utilities" mentioned would seem to be, or at least related to, the "Coat, Combat, Tropical (MC)" and "Trousers, Combat, Tropical (MC)" that are known about. They are a sort of mix between the old USMC utilities and jungle uniforms, made in poplin ERDL material and are marked "CONTRACT NO. 7910". It would seem from the document that a ERDL helmet cover was also part of the set, and they probably had multiple iterations or versions of the items.

The outside paint job is in beautiful condition.

Thought I would post this.  I “acquired” it in Iraq south of Baghdad when on the push north with the 1st Marine Division in 2003.  We weren’t sleeping much then so the exact location is a bit foggy.  I was able to get a lot of signatures on it including our CG (then Major General Mattis) and our ADC (then Brigadier General Kelly).  I will pass it on to the kids one day. Some of the signatures and comments take me back to a time that doesn’t seem like it was nearly as long ago as it was I hope you enjoy!

P.S. Its amazing what pictures are capable of. After examining the photos I posted I think I see that the heat stamp number is actually "995". This is a detail I could not observe with the naked eye. 

Hi yall, I have been away for awhile. I just recently got back into collecting M1 helmets because I now have some space and decent display cases for them. I recently purchased what was advertised as a Vietnam war era helmet and liner on Ebay. The only pics the seller had was of the liner inside of the shell with a Mitchell cover. No pics of the shell by itself. Everything looked correct and I got a really good deal. When I got it everything was period correct. The Mitchell cover, the liner, the sweatband, the suspension and straps all were indicative of a complete early to mid 70's Vietnam war helmet. Nothing real exciting for a hardcore collector but cool to add into my collection. When I pulled out the pot for inspection I was surprised to first see a front seam. When I peeled the cover off it was like pulling apart Velcro. It felt like it had been on the pot for a really long time. Examining the color and condition of the helmet my first impression was that it had to be a repro or a foreign clone of some kind. The condition was amazing. Cork texture, no dents or damage of any kind and great paint. A little rust around the inside rim was about it. Being that I was sure this couldn't possibly be the real thing I put some citri-strip on the rim and was able to find a heat stamp of "99" and a letter of some type. If it is a genuine WW2 M1, I have never owned one in such great condition and I got the deal of the century. I have attached some pics, if anyone has any insight please let me know. To me it appears to be the real deal but I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Thanks!!!!