This hand painted Vietnam helmet from 1968 and marked HUE 1968 to denote the fighting in that city during the Tet offensive is quite remarkable. The piece is a liner —a lighter weight inner component of the heavy M1 to provide comfort and suspension.

The owner of this piece hand painted it with the notable 502nd regiment or ‘Five-Oh Duce’ insignia .

This highly decorated division has been involved in key operations such as the D-Day Normandy jump, the Battle of the Bulge, and numerous engagements during the Vietnam War. 

This helmet is such a unique record of the soldiers experience and has transformed a regular piece of equipment into a work of art .

The piece is in good condition other than a crack that runs through the letter E in HUE as shown in the second to last photo.