Heres one more example of what Im getting at. I purchased a helmet on ebay.. WW2 Hawley liner with a pilots name penciled into the inside brim of the hawley. This guy flew with Butch Ohare.. He was an ace.... The guy I bought it from had gotten it from a well known Dealer online of militaria. I saw the original ads for it. The only Provenance to is the name in the hawley and the paint of the steel style of helmet and symbols painted on the front. Was this definitely the Mans helmet whose name is penciled into the Hawley? The big dealer who initially sold it says it was.... I think it is the Mans helmet? But for rock solid bona fide proof? There is none.  I cant say. The Man is long gone. Did he have any kids? Are they still around? If I could find them would they accept a call from a stranger to ascertain if this was their Dads helmet? I kind of doubt it. This is what I mean by you cant say for certain. Unless you are certain.

Very cool 30mm! Would you want to sell one of each variant? 

Shameless plug. 200 auctions ended tomorrow morning. https://www.ebay.com/str/ocsfollowme   Will have another 200 squadron patches going live later tomorrow too. 

For beginner U.S. Helmet collectors ... I learned from collectors on the forum here.. that unless you have a bona fide name, number you can look up etc etc or a Vet handed it to you or their family, or your Dad Uncle Grandpa wore it, you cant for sure say 100% where its been. This is coming from me, a guy who has in the past done some wild speculations on helmets. Thats how  I learned from Collectors of M1's and all US helmets, not to speculate. As tempting as it is......... As an aside.... Ive got a 1941 Johnson rifle that came with an un numbered bayonet with a Marine Raiders name carved into the sheath. So... Is my rifle one of the 1941 Johnsons that was brought home in a sea bag after the War by the guy whose name is carved on the back of the leather sheath? Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way to tell and I will never know and no one else will either. 🤣  

This is a  last generation liner and a repro chinstrap riveted to it? Modern ACH pads glued in? Ive seen modified Airborne helmets. And Liners.... that sometimes involve a pad in the crown and green high speed tape around the loose straps.. And some even a pad back in the nape area. But this looks like no Airborne modified M1 liner and helmet that Ive ever seen, and certainly not contemporary to when M1 helmets were worn for a serious purpose. My two cents. Not an expert.

Getting this hat in a trade and was wondering what type of tiger stripe this is and if its vietnam war. I dont think its vietnam era but post war or something, but its still good to check.

Thank you kindly. Ive had my eye on getting a hold of one for a while, like 6 years... lol... I just finally did it. Really never studied on them just always admired the knives. I was pretty sure it was good. But nice to hear I didnt make a bad choice. Cheers! Dave

Very nice Presto, congrats.

Thats a nice lid. My only question as to it being worn in Vietnam is how can you tell? Is it authentically marked in some way that would lead you to believe its worn in Vietnam? Im not trying to knock it but I think many folks don't realize that at the same time the Vietnam War was going on..... 10 years.... we had a whole lot of troops in places like West Germany and South Korea on the DMZ. And in Japan etc etc. Not small numbers either. Im sure you know that. But some prob dont.

I’ve never been to the show but my old friend Dave would go every year.