M1 Helmet Liner

[Kilroyjp]

I recently purchased an M1 and it came with this liner. As far as I can tell it’s a Firestone liner from Vietnam era. But what does that cross symbol and the number 16 mean? 

[Gildwiller1918]

Hello Killroyjp, welcome. Would it be possible to post images of the webbing and associated hardware in the interior, this will help to better date your liner. Typically the number would indicate a mold lot. This may be a late Vietnam liner made for/or by the South Vietnamese. Late production M1 helmets are not really my area of expertise. Does the webbing have any stamps? 

[Kilroyjp]

Hi Gildwiller1918, here is a photo of the inside of the liner. I couldn’t find any stamps on the webbing anywhere. 

[Gildwiller1918]

Thank you for posting the image, so it is a paratrooper liner, you can tell by the A-frame straps on the side as well as the button snaps for the chinstrap. It has the incorrect nape strap which is at the rear of the helmet and green colored, this usually has a ink stamp with makers info. The strap you need still goes in the same place but connects to the black buckle just behind it in your image. The webbing that supports the leather sweatband was usually marked on the side facing the liner, and may be faded or hard to see. If I had to make a guess, I would say that this is late Vietnam or early 1980's liner. The helmet cover looks like the woodland pattern, so it might be a Vietnam helmet that was used after the war, which was not uncommon, and sometimes the webbing was replaced as needed. I still do not have a definite answer on the stamping inside the liner. 

[Gildwiller1918]

I did find some images of a late Vietnam era helmet with a similar marking to yours. As you can see it was made at the tail end of the war, as the soldiers had returned home in 1973. However the war did not officially end until 1975.