The US Army Air Force was formed 20 June 1941, so if each boot contained an "'ARMY AIR FORCES' winged star decal" then they would be from 1941 or later. The OP mentioned they might be "early WWII" and that lines up.   The US Army Air Corp was formed 2 July 1926 and many of the items used during WWI were commercial products. Making an historically accurate WWI-period balloon flyer mannequin would be tough, as exact dating may be difficult. Great project!

Does anyone have a picture of the original box that this award comes in?   this is what I could find.    another variation, I guess   I also saw many yellow, green, or blue non descript boxes.     

I liked to watch that show when I was a kid.  This M1 may be real...there were a lot around at that time.  The two tone ricasso area is not what you would normally see on on M1, however it may have worn that way.  I have a battle worn prop M1 that looks pretty cool, it is obvious up close. It is cast aluminum.  I have had guys try to remove it from the scabbard, not realizing it's a one piece casting.  They keep pushing down hard on the release lever. Thanks for the memories. Marv

Very nice! As put, hard to find an early one that has not been tampered with...

I reckon this post slipped by me.  The Chaplain, the man, the helmet, the story is AMAZING!  So wonderful.  Thank you for sharing this and maybe others will comment on this post as it surely deserves it.  Take care and God Bless!  -- Matt

I see! That explains a lot for me :) Thank you so much!

That is a beautiful rifle!     OD

It is remarkable that you dont have more comments on it. And views.....Not something you see.. ever! How many people have a film of the helmets owner wearing it during a war? I would guess very very few examples.... Its a great one Marty!!!

One more thing about the sleeves that I would like to add, is that it was never ones  personal choice to roll them up. Everyone rolled em up or no one did. That was a call from higher. You would never have some guys with em up and some with em down. Uniformity. And the cuff roll over was an Army thing for appearance. And from what the other guys said it was an Airforce thing too. Not the USMC though. No idea about the Navy back then? I think they had short sleeve utilities though.. Out in the field.. you wore em down. And top button buttoned..Cravat around the neck. Protect the skin from weather thorns the sun critters etc... hot or not... Besides that in the cammo BDU you had to cover the neck.... in the field because a white neck stands out same with the face. Thats what the cammo for the face was for. And gloves for the hands Un cammoed skin was a becon..... Un cammoed arms would stand out like a sore thumb. I always envied and respected the Helo Pilots and crews.. And when not flying.. they lived like human beings.

I sent a PM