Original Item: Only One Available. This is a unique US Military Issue Tanker Helmet used during the Vietnam War. This Combat Vehicle Crewman (CVC) Helmet is a model T56-6. These Helmets were worn by crewmen aboard Tanks and other Combat Vehicles such as the M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier. This helmet is unique in that it features period paint p on the front of the helmet which features a rendition of the Devil’s Pitchfork and the words “Hell Trackers”. This most likely was quite possibly from a crewman of an M-113 used by the 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division. It was common practice for crewman in Vietnam to give their vehicles nicknames, and likely that's exactly what this was.

The Helmet is incomplete as it is missing its headphones (which were built in) and the microphone (although the adjustable portion is still present). The Transceiver mounted on the left side of the helmet is intact, although the cords have been cut. Likely this was done after the helmet was being salvaged for spare parts to use on other helmets, which would explain how the soldier brought it home, as they were considered unit property and had to be turned back in. Size is marked “Regular” with it being roughly a size 7 ⅛ US.

The original label is intact which bears not only the date of manufacture(April, 1966.) but all the nomenclature as well.

The 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division was known as the “Go Devil” Brigade, which was a play on its nickname stemming back to WWII, when the 60th Infantry Regiment was known as the “Go Devils”.

The 9th Division was reactivated on 1 February 1966, and arrived in South Vietnam on 16 December 1966 from Fort Riley, Kansas. On deployment the division was assigned to the III Corps Tactical Zone of Vietnam where it commenced operations in Dinh Tuong and Long An Provinces (6 January-31 May 1967) in Operation Palm Beach. Its area of operations was in the rivers and canals of the Mekong Delta from 1967 to 1972. Operating deep within the Viet Cong (VC)–controlled Delta, the Division was charged with protecting the area and its population against VC insurgents and ensuring the success of the South Vietnamese government's pacification program. Faced with unrelenting physical hardships, a tenacious enemy and the region's rugged terrain, the Division established strategies and quantifiable goals for completing their mission

Division commanding generals were: Maj. Gen. George S. Eckhardt (February 1966 - June 1967), Maj. Gen. George G. O'Connor (June 1967 - February 1968), Maj. Gen. Julian Ewell (February 1968 - April 1969), Maj. Gen. Harris W. Hollis (April 1969 - August 1969).