Even as a youngster, I have always been obsessed with the Vietnam war. I remember being 4 years old listening to Walter Cronkite report on the evening news of the atrocities that were happening beneath or very noses. I remember the music, the images, the colors, seeing the olive drab G.I. body bags and pine boxes draped in our red, white and blue flags as they were loaded off the planes on the television. At the early age of 4 years old, I knew that something was "happening here".
To me, the Vietnam war was the first rock n roll war. It was the first war where Americans and pop icons such as John Lennon, Jane Fonda and Muhammad Ali all spoke out publicly against the US Government. It was a time that broke down the racial barriers that where so prominent during the 1950's.
Images of steel rifle barrels clashing against a back drop of Flower Power.
In the late 1950's the United States began to send troops to Vietnam. During the following 25-years the ensuing war would create some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2,5 million people on both sides were killed.
It was the era of Rock & Roll and more people turned up for James Brown at the yearly USO extravaganza, than for Bob Hope. The AFRVN radio networking was grooving from the Delta to the DMZ. Accompanying the music of the era was a new mood towards the war and a lack of faith in the objectives became more common among the servicemen than ever before.
In Vietnam, the M-1 helmet, with minor modifications, was the soldier's standard headgear. A cloth helmet cover was designed with a disruptive camouflage pattern. The cover was reversible with leaf patterns in green or brown for fall or winter operations. The helmet cover also contained small slots for inserting natural foliage. The camouflage helmet band was designed to hold foliage in order to blend the helmet shape and color into the surrounding terrain. In Vietnam, this band more commonly held cigarettes, insect repellent, or an extra rifle magazine. Early in 1967, writing on helmet covers began.
Helmets were often used to express feelings of the Servicemen. The helmet of 'Nam was very similar to the t-shirt of today; A wearable surface in which to express, "who I am", and "what I'm about". A social bill board of sorts to express, loneliness, nihilism, peace, war, love, hate, drugs, music. Most commonly seen were nick-names, names of girl friends, names of home states or towns, or a short time list of dates of return to "The World".
Helmet by Erik Brunetti.
The dichotomy of such slogans and sayings that were on these helmets speaks volumes about the state of the country at that time and the confusion mounted in the minds of the G.I.s Statements written on helmet covers in permanent markers and ball point pens saying: "KILLING FOR PEACE IS LIKE FUCKING FOR VIRGINITY" or "WHEN HELL IS IN SEASON, TOO MANY WAYS TO DIE".
Some soldiers would wrap necklaces and handcrafted beads made by loved ones that they brought over with them, or were given to them by "friendlies". The most common symbol used by american soldiers was The Ace of Spades.
The Ace of Spades was used by American soldiers as a psychological weapon in the Vietnam War. The first pop culture references where made on the silver screen with Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now; in a scene where Robert Duvall's character is tossing "Cards of Death" on dead bodies of the V.C. previously killed by the Air Calvary and ground platoon. US troops erroneously believed that Vietnamese ancient traditions held the symbolism of the spade to mean death and ill-fortune and in a bid to scare away NLF soldiers without fire fight, it was common practice to leave an Ace of Spades on the bodies of killed Vietnamese and even to litter the forested grounds and fields with the card. This custom was erroneously believed to be so effective, that the Bicycle Playing Cards company was asked to supply crates of that single card in bulk. The crates were often marked with "Bicycle Secret Weapon".
The Ace of Spades, while not a symbol of superstitious fear to the VC, did help the morale of American soldiers. It was not unheard of for US soldiers and Marines to stick this card in their helmet band as a sort of anti-peace sign.
Original FUCT helmet art, created in 1994 for catalog cover.
It reads "FUCT" (on the helmet) and on the band wrapping around it
reads: "When I die, bury me upside down, so the whole world can kiss
my ass goodbye." With M16 bullets and original Vietnam-era pin.
Erik wearing the OG helmet (FUCT press photo, 1994)
