United States M1 combat helmet: chinstraps

 Have you ever noticed how seldom you see WWII GIs with their helmet chinstraps fastened. 

There's a reason for that.  Apparently, the concussion from a nearby explosion could cause the helmet to become a hazard if the chinstrap was fastened, as the strap could cause the neck to be injured as the helmet was jerked back by the blast.  For a long time I thought that this was merely collector folklore, until I encountered these original documents.

Here's another

Collectors should spend more time finding and paying attention to primary sources.  The hobby is fraught with collector folklore, and as time goes by, and opinions get repeated, people assume that they are facts.  That's why it was so exciting and gratifying to find these two documents.

See you next time with another cool helmet from the collection.

Mannie

 It's an exciting thing to open a carton filled with the book one wrote.

Retirement project. I wrote a book

 Hello friends,

I have been pretty delinquent in posting over the past year or so.  The reason for my absence is that I have been writing a book.  It will be available on Amazon starting in August of 2006.  But I also have it free, and in its entirety, which you can find here:

Lie, Cheat, and Steal: one boy's Navy adventure

I hope you enjoy it.

Best wishes,

Mannie

M1 chinstraps It's never a good idea to speak in absolutes

 

This is the first photo that I have encountered of soldiers in the ETO with their chinstraps deployed.

Never say never.