ABOVE:
The Marine Corps helmet cover was made with the same 8.5‐once printed camouflage herringbone twill material as the jacket and trousers were. It was fully reversible with a green side for areas with lush vegetation and a brown side that could be used on beaches or other sunbaked areas. The photos above show the six flaps that were folded into the steel helmet to hold the cover in place. This example was made to the original specification dated 17 September 1942 and includes a buttonhole on each of the flaps in addition to the sixteen found on the crown. Some examples lack buttonholes in the flaps and others are without buttonholes entirely. It is unknown whether these variations represent incremental changes to the official pattern or were simply the result of attempts to increase manufacturing under wartime conditions. The USMC helmet cover was the most widely used and long‐lived camouflage uniform item developed during WWII. It was produced into the early 1950s and used by the Marines into the 1960s.
