Viet Cong Viet Minh Reed Helmet with Faded Blue Cover & Net

Here is a very rare Vietminh, Viet Cong bamboo reed helmet.

The shape if this helmet us very similar to the NVA sun helmet which suggests it might have been made that way for an NVA cadre to a Viet Cong Main Force Regiment.

It has a sun-faded, very rare, blue cotton cover on the exterior which is sewn to the bamboo frame.  Although we have seen VCMF and NVA blue uniforms and boonies, we have seen no other reed helmets with a blue cover.

The exterior is covered with a hand tied cotton net which has the characteristic VC-NVA circular ring at the top.  Obviously, the net is not as faded as the cover but is correct nevertheless. The net is tied on and should come off easily if you desire.

This is the classic Viet Minh and Viet Cong reed helmet.

Few bamboo helmets like this survived the journey home in a duffel bag in the mini decades sense.

These helmets are a fascinating study and how small, guerrilla units manufactured equipment for their use using only locally available materials, such as split bamboo reeds, inexpensive cotton and plastic ground sheet coverings. Each one is unique since they were handmade.