Viet Cong pith Helmet

[ritchie4]

Does this helmet look familiar:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Viet-Nam-War-Era-...d=p3286.c0.m14

[ETN]

hi

just found something i copied of the net some years ago i didn't have a copier then so wrote it down on some paper it might be of interest to enyone collecting vc and nva gear it sayes
wartime nva helmetswhere made from 100% cotten covers which fade over time many post war helmets have a synthetic and cotten blend and therefor a sheen
one can often see a purplish glue stain in theexterior seamsof wartime covers were the cover was glued on this staining is not found onpost war helmets
wartime helmets always have a leather chinstrap post war helmets have a plastic chin strap wartime chinstraps have the edges stained the same color as the top of chin strap postwar chinstraps have the edges unstained

the aluminium chinstrap buckel on wartime helmets are substantial postwar ones often have a very thin buckel that could easily bend

wartime headbands are made of a green vinyl front with a white cotten twill backing postwar headbands are made of plastic
wartime headbands have a curled edges consistent with the material aging postwar helmets do not have this curling
in wartime helmets the semi curved washer that holds the domed vent to the helmet is made of aluminium some postwar helmets have a plastic washer

postwar helmets have a paper label inside

wartime helmets have a flat dark olive green paint inside most postwar helmets have a lighter olive green interior

also some misinformed collerctors have advanced the idea that the shape of the helmet can be used to distinguish a wartime from a postwar helmet however i have been a collector since 1978 (not me) and have seen both highdome and widebrim helmets

nva boonie hats
most nva issue boonies one finds a thin plastic sheeting between the exterior and interior crown this plastic rain shield crinckels when touched vc boonie hats did not have this feature

i cant remember where i copied this from so if the person who wrote it sees this i hope he doesn't mind or take offence i thought it might help nva collector on the forum

Pretty much these are the hard fast rules to follow. But I'm not so sure that ALL wartime chinstraps are stained on the sides but I could be wrong.

[nguoi tien su]

Interesting but it can't be a 100% accurate.

For instance :

postwar helmets have a paper label inside

Tailors were making helmets during the French Indochina war and applied their own labels.

[603dasc]

Interesting but it can't be a 100% accurate.

For instance :

Tailors were making helmets during the French Indochina war and applied their own labels.

I agree - I have a helmet that came straight from a Marine who did 3 tours, plus SOG work, plus embassy work in Thailand. It has a plastic liner and chinstrap and a label, and was a white helmet that was "washed" before the wearer headed South to his destiny. The "plastic" and "label" issues are great guidelines but I also do not think they are 100% accurate. That said, unless I know the vet, as I did with this one (and got a couple of full boxes of goodies including several weapons from him) I use those guidelines also.

[ETN]

I agree - I have a helmet that came straight from a Marine who did 3 tours, plus SOG work, plus embassy work in Thailand. It has a plastic liner and chinstrap and a label, and was a white helmet that was "washed" before the wearer headed South to his destiny. The "plastic" and "label" issues are great guidelines but I also do not think they are 100% accurate. That said, unless I know the vet, as I did with this one (and got a couple of full boxes of goodies including several weapons from him) I use those guidelines also.

I agree that there are private purchase/civilian pith helmets that have a paper makers label that are pre-1975 manufacture, infact some very much earlier.

But as far as standard issue NVA green pith helmets from the 2nd Indochina War, I have yet to see an original wartime example with a paper label.

[danangdave]

i just had a look at the those photos of jane fonda manning the aa guns in hanoi mabye its my eyesight but the chinstraps on soldiers helmets around her look plastic to me the photos are in bxw but they dont look like black leather mabye some forum members could take a look

[Joe Cartafalsa]

VC Pith helmets

The photos of hanoi Jane were taken in Summer of 1972, July I think.
This thread states somewhere that plastic chinstraps started in 1972 so it
makes sense that the ones she and her friends are wearing have plastic chinstraps.
Joe

[mcmike]

The only thing that counts...........

Placeofbayonets:

As you can see, there is no end of experts who do not agree with each other. Here is the ONLY thing that really matters:

1. Your dad was in VN.

2. HE says this is a real VC helmet because HE has seen them.

3. Most, if not all of the other responders were NOT in VN during the war.

4. Your dad is happy.

That is all that is important. Don't worry about the experts. Good for you for giving it to him!

[express06snail]

War time pith helmet:
1. Supplied by Chinese Communist ("high dome" as we often called, no paper label), fiber material, light weight, plastic chinstrap.
2. North Vietnam Department of Defense's Factory made: Stretch brim, back of brim is wider. Paper Label in diamond shaped contain informations: Date, Year, Company made, Quality control checked (pen marking, or stamped), real leather chinstrap, the outside cover is 100% cotton same as Chi-Com. Heavy material. (1.5 times than Chinese, approx 365 grams or 13 US ounces).
3. North Vietnam Private Company made (Family business level): Stretch brim, back of brim is not wider, imitation chinstrap or plastic, lightweight (approx 250 grams), no label, bad stitching, liner strap is thiner.
Post war made:
As same as 2, BUT: cover is not 100% cotton, poly and cotton mixing, hard to fade under the sun, chinstrap buckle made from thin aluminum, real leather chinstrap.
Diamond shaped label had discontinue since 2005, now label as same as my photos. PAVN had stopped making those helmet from mid 2008.
Also, privately company made post war: imitation leather chinstrap, bad material, bad stitching, lightweight, the brim is even around, no label... etc... often show up on eBay for less than 30 bucks.
My photos showing the last batch of PAVN pith helmets, D.O.D 2007.

[express06snail]

Here some photos for your references...
All pith helmets: NVA made and issued, the un-even brim, back of brim is wider, dome not too high... etc

[Wikipedia]

the 1º post are from NVA pics in Saigon not VC

you guys can found more pics abaut saigon fall hear
http://guerradevietnam.foros.ws/t841/victoria/

"Viet Cong" did not generally wear those. They were civilian guerillas.

They were pretty much annihilated during Tet '68.

This is NVA issue with the flags added for flavor.

Commonly seen in use today as well.

You did not get what you paid for.

some ppl usually consused the VC with the NVA

on the Tet I think the VC lose their 30%-40% military structure may be more but they continue with very importand politic forse..

That are Vietcong taliking with american in 73





1º is NVA and 2º is VC


the Vietcong "un official" helmet can be the conical hat

[express06snail]

The photo of 2 colors star badge you post, with the 2 letters A and N is stand for An Ninh, means security guard, has been painted.

[express06snail]

"on the Tet I think the VC lose their 30%-40% military structure may be more but they continue with very importand politic forse.. "

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Is this what the Commies Education System teach you ?

[mcmike]

Quote: "you guys can found more pics abaut saigon fall hear
http://guerradevietnam.foros.ws/t841/victoria/" ~ Wikipedia

I went to the site recommended by Wikipedia and the photos and video really are fantastic. Check it out. Thanks, Wiki.

[Wikipedia]

Some parth of the vid I think are from 1972 no 1975 whatever I updated it with new pics

"on the Tet I think the VC lose their 30%-40% military structure may be more but they continue with very importand politic forse.. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is this what the Commies Education System teach you ?

nop In my country the Education System no teach the vietnam war, some people in Vietnam think the Tet was a nesesary sacrifice but for me that was just a Giap mistake, was better choice wait one year more and strike hard like in 1972, in 1975 giap was remplace for anothers commanders.

I am not vietnamese, if you see I talking the another forum spanish that is my native language

I just studied the war .