USMC WW2 helmet cover

[Garandy]

Hayes Otoupalik stated he got some in 1987, from a surplus sale at Camp Pendleton.






No post war EGA, but I need the leather strap holding the liner to the shell, and the helmet is my early fixed bail helmet..cover look kosher for 70 years old?

[m1ashooter]

Its a great looking cover. I'd suggest asking the question to these guys /www.usmilitariaforum.com. I can't tell whats real anymore. If this is real its a very early cover before the slited ones.

[Garandy]

Thankyou,,its a fake!
I got this one coming..100% original, 1953 dated from one of the guys on the board you suggested

[boykin]

I think your cover is the real deal! Look at the pict in the Marine Collector's Book. They are identical.

[rayg]

Hayes bought these and sold them with good intentions that they were real. Later found out they were not. I bought two at a show before I had knowlege of what a real one looked like and when I found out they were repros, I called Hayes and he said return them as he wasn't aware they were not original when he bought them.
Possibly could be a newer contract like the 1953 ones and never marked, who knows? Ray

[pvtragman]

Over the years I've had similar experiences with Hayes. During my Marine Corps service (1961-65), we wore the 1953 pattern with slits and matching brownside/greenside shelter half. Due to their tendency to wear along the helmet seam and the necessity of those being issued them to have to slice chin strap slits more or less accurately, this item of 782 gear had probably the shortest service life expectancy. Until the adoption of the M-14, nearly all of my 782 gear had WWII dates. Even then, WWII helmet covers were long-gone conversation pieces.

[UUURah]

It looks exactly like the one I have .... a Repro that I got when I bought my Genuine Repro WWII Marine HBT Utilees.

[Matt K.]

The thread color is wrong and the herringbone pattern is a bit off, which is evident when you get them side by side.

[pvtragman]

Curiosity got the better of me and I dug out my WWII original. It has stitched slits about an inch long on each of the fingers and the stitching around the edge is a more subdued color has an inverted "V" shape. It was at Pendleton before they went into the repro business.