Of all WWII US Airborne military collectibles, Original helmets are one of the hardest items to obtain for a collection. There were three main types used in WWII. A fiber (cardboard) liner was used early on. This was soon replaced by high pressure (fiberglass) liners made by Inland and Westinghouse.

Original fiber airborne liners are so rare, they are virtually nonexistent. Inland liners are also quite rare. According to www.toppots.com, of the 1,900,000 Inland liners produced from 1942 to 1943, approximately 75,000 were converted to airborne configuration. It’s safe to assume that many of these left in Europe and other theaters.

Westinghouse manufactured liners appeared later in the war and they are the most common, but finding original airborne Westinghouse liners is not easy because of the high demand for airborne militaria. It is unknown how many airborne configured liners Westinghouse made.

Due to the popularity of WWII airborne collectibles and the scarcity of original helmets, the market is minefield of forgeries. That is why I was elated when my friend agreed to sell me my first Inland para liner. It took several years of coaxing, but we eventually agreed on a price and I am delighted to own it.

The kicker is where my friend found this piece of rare headgear; it was rescued from his relative’s costume rental store! When my friend found the helmet, it had General stars hot glued to the front, which he carefully removed (with no loss of paint). The store had also hot glued a bevo weave store tag inside the crown of the helmet over the Inland stamp. I debated over removing this label, but eventually I carefully removed the tag and kept it with the helmet.

The liner has been repainted, but it looks wartime. Strangely, there are traces of 6th Army Div decals beneath the paint. Creases in the khaki web A-straps indicate they have been folded up inside the liner from use as an infantry helmet. It is very fortunate they were not cut off like many Airborne Inland liners I’ve encountered.

With my Inland sitting proudly in my collection, I will now search to find an original leather chin cup for it, and an original M2 or M1-C shell to mate this liner with. In the meantime, I’ll use a regular fixed-bale M1 shell, which was appropriately used by airborne personnel as well.

Chris Hughes is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in 20th century militaria and the owner of Rally Point Militaria and Vietnam Uniform – Military Collectibles sites.

I’ve been visiting Peter Oosterman’s site (www.m-1helmet.com) for a while because, in my opinion, it is the nicest looking militaria-related site on the web. When I heard he was publishing a book on M1 helmets, I was eager to purchase a copy. My expectations were high because the book cost $119.90 (including international postage), but it ended up being money well spent.

M1 Helmets is hard cover with nice binding, excellent quality paper, and top-notch printing. The layout and photography are exceptional. It is written in French and English and easy to follow with 319 pages.

The first half of the book provides details and history about the M1 helmet shell, liner, and components without being text heavy. The second half is called “museum” and features amazing examples of M1 headgear. Most of the helmets are well researched with excellent provenance. I value this book because it is a go to reference that consolidates details that have been discussed and published elsewhere. The museum portion of the book is a wonderful bonus in that you have multiple-view images of helmets most of us will never own in our collections. These are cream of the crop M1 helmets including camos, unit marks, and airborne configurations.

Overall the book is excellent, but I was disappointed the author only discussed fixed bale helmets and left out swivel bales. He also did not weigh in on the ongoing front seam / rear seam debate regarding when the changeover took place, etc. The author did an excellent job verifying contract dates for many other helmet features that I assumed he would have insight to provide for this. Hopefully, his book will be successful enough to merit a follow up that includes these missing subjects and more.

M1 Helmet of the WW2 US GI is available for purchase at www.m-1helmet.com.

Chris Hughes is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in 20th century militaria and the owner of Rally Point Militaria and Vietnam Uniform – Military Collectibles sites.

I just read an article stating there are only three living WWI vets left. It seems like they all faded away without receiving the recognition they deserved. I’ve only met one WWI vet in my life. He was my great uncle Benny. Benny served with the 88th Division and told me that he survived the war but nearly died on the troop ship coming home because of a serious flu outbreak. I wished I had been older when Benny was alive, so I could have asked him about his experiences. Sadly, no one else in my family asked him either and now his stories are gone.

Recently, I had the fortune of purchasing a wonderful footlocker group for a 355th M.G. (machine gun), 89th Division veteran directly from the vet’s son. I asked the son to tell me stories about his father. Like most veterans, his father returned from the war, found work, and did not talk about his experiences. The son told me that his father discussed the war with him only once. On this occasion, they both sat in the attic, in front of his footlocker, and his father told him stories of fighting, being wounded and gassed, having his big toe blown off, and Army life in general. Then they returned from the attic and never discussed it again.

The 355th group included:

1. Wool overcoat with 89th Division machine gunner insignia
2. Wool tunic with 89th Division machine gunner insignia and a 3rd Army patch (for German occupation)
3. Fur felt campaign hat
4. Two pairs of wool trousers
5. Footlocker and tray
6. Canvas meat tin pouch (worn on his haversack)
7. Mess kit, utensils, and two canteen cups
8. Trench art ashtray made from brass
9. French-made leather gloves
10. Several sets of puttees (leg wraps)
11. Color copies of the veteran’s wound certificate, tinted photo, and draft cards (the son wanted to keep the originals)

I verified the vet being wounded by gas on 11-4-1918 (during St. Mihiel) in the 89th Division unit history. His wound certificate lists him with the 145th Infantry (37th Div), so he fought with the 145th prior to the 355th. I am researching 145th Infantry records to determine when and how many times he was wounded while serving in the 37th Division.

It was a rare pleasure to acquire this original group from the family and hear details about the veteran that I would have never been known had I found these items at an auction or militaria show. Opportunities like this are few and far between these days!

Chris Hughes is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in 20th century militaria and the owner of Rally Point Militaria and Vietnam Uniform – Military Collectibles sites.

I recently acquired my first M42 Reinforced jump jacket. This jacket was even CC-2′d (Chemical impregnation to protect skin from gas), which led me to believe that it was used on the Normandy jump. Based off the canvas used and the rigger sewing construction, I could tell that it was 82nd Airborne.

The jacket was not attributed to a vet when I got it, but there were two matching laundry stamps inside the garment. On enlisted men, the laundry ID is the first letter of the soldier’s last name and the last four digits or his ASN (Army Serial Number). Identifying a vet with a laundry ID number is a like finding a needle in a haystack, but I felt that this jacket merited the research.

I used the power of Wiki and posted my jacket and the laundry ID number on several militaria boards I subscribe to. In little time, I was contacted by an airborne collector who had a database containing the names and ASN’s for 43,000 WWII 82nd Airborne vets. He ran my information and came up with exactly one match. The soldier was T4 Gordon P. Hannan of Regimental HQ&HQ Company, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne.

The 504th PIR fought and made two combat jumps in Italy prior to arriving in England (4-22-1944) with the intent of participating in the Normandy jump. However, their numbers were depleted and they did not have enough men to participate in the jump. Note: A handful of 504th troopers did volunteer as pathfinders and Pathfinder Security Teams (T4 Hannan was not one of them).

The 504th PIR were issued the same reinforced M42 jump suits as all the other regiments that were jumping into Normandy, but since they didn’t jump, they did not have to turn their jump suits in when everyone returned to England. In fact, the 504th were the only regiment to wear reinforced M42s in the Holland jump (Operation Market Garden). So, it is likely that T4 Hannan wore this jacket on the Holland jump.

This is a firsthand example of how the power of the Internet and “collective intelligence” can be a real benefit to collecting and research. I encourage everyone to post and let the world hear your stories and share in your research projects.

Chris Hughes is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in 20th century militaria and the owner of Rally Point Militaria and Vietnam Uniform – Military Collectibles sites.

Until recently, little was known or published about MACV-SOG, an elite US Special Forces reconnaissance unit in Vietnam. SOG was under joint command by 5th Special Forces Group and CIA with an objective to recon and disrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail by running cross-border operations into denied areas, primarily Laos and Cambodia. SOG recon teams were small, typically 6 to 8 men. They had a 1-0 (pronounced “One Zero”) who was the team leader, a 1-1 assistant team leader, and a 1-2 radioman. The remaining personnel were indigenous mercenaries. Depending on region, they could be Chinese Nungs, Montagnards, Cambodes, or Vietnamese.

The 1-0 was a leader with innate skill coupled with experience. Rank was irrelevant on SOG teams. Being “good in the woods” is what ultimately determined survival or failure. 1-0’s commanded respect from all of the Special Forces community. The 1-0 jacket was a symbol worn at camp to distinguish themselves from other SOG personnel. The 1-0 jacket was awarded to 1-0’s after completion of the Recon Team Leader course at Long Than. Initially, they were intended to be worn in the field. Photographic evidence verifies this. However, the nylon material was noisy in the brush, so 1-0’s opted to wear them in camp only. Often times, jackets were modified with direct embroidery bearing the wearers name and SOG related themes like recon team names, “shell burst” skulls, etc.

There were three patterns of 1-0 jacket. The first pattern (shown here) is a pull over with a removable hood. There are two front slash pockets, single snap cuffs, and a rear map pocket in the lower back with a snap closure. There is a small oilskin tagged marked “M” inside the hood and collar to denote size (medium). The second and third patterns are not pullover and do not have a removable hood. SOG was a relatively small unit, so these jackets are extremely rare and often overlooked as being a simple windbreaker.

Chris Hughes is a WorthPoint Worthologist specializing in 20th century militaria and the owner of Rally Point Militaria and Vietnam Uniform – Military Collectibles sites.