Just thought I'd get things started by posting this frequently asked question.

By Jo Davidsmeyer (Kingtwo) on Unrecorded Date:

Answer:

1) Because it's not a Marine helmet. It's a standard issue helmet that has Camoflage parachute silk over it. This was something that soldiers in Normandy were known to do -- photos from the period exist of this addition soldiers made to their standard issue.

2) It makes it easier to keep track of Saunders in the battle sequences.

By Rose Ann Schrock (Carbine) on Unrecorded Date:

I agree with Jo D. His helmet makes it simple to spot Saunders a mile away in an entire company.

By Sharon Hazlett (Ivy) on Unrecorded Date:

And hey...the camo helmet really compliments those blue eyes:-)

By Ray Castagnaro (Fantomflyer) on Unrecorded Date:

This one has plagued me since I was eight! As a child, the "urban myths" to explain this error were as follows:

1. Sgt Saunders was supposed to have been prior service Marine Corps and had been sent to Europe because he was either in the Philippines or Pearl Harbor when they were attacked. He had a grudge against the Japanese, so he was transferred to the Army in Europe. (This one is far-fetched, I think, although the Air Corps did this as a matter of practice. i.e If you were at Pearl or in the P.I., they transferred you to the ETO. Perhaps the Infantry did as well...)

2. Sgt. Saunders' brother was a Marine, who was killed in the Pacific, and brother Chip is wearing his "colors" in tribute. (This one sounds the best, and is in the best spirit of the "Samurai" we all know Sgt Sauders to have been patterned after.)

3. Vic Morrow was,himself, a Marine and decided to wear it, despite its being incongruous, because it looked "cool." (I tended to believe this one, myself, as achild, although we now know Vic Morrow had been in the Navy!)

As to Jo Davidsmeyer's (Kingtwo) contribution above: Alas, that is a real helmet cover Chip wears, not a makeshift para-silk contraption. The photographs of G.I.s wearing camo at Normandy are most likely Marines assigned to the landings, but who did not go inland. U.S. camouflage was prohibited due to its similarity to Waffen SS field camo. The fratricide implications are obvious.

By Rose Ann Schrock (Carbine) on Unrecorded Date:

I always thought that it was because Saunders had been a former marine. I know that this is probably not true, but his rough warrior-like character always reminded me of other marines. For whatever reason there might be, it was very useful to Combat watchers. You never had to guess where the Sarge was in any battle! He is the only American on Combat that I ever remember seeing who wore one of these. Bet the producers did this on purpose to make him seem "one of a kind". I noticed this with all the characters. Even though they are all infantrymen, they all wear certain defining cloths. Lt. Hanley, of course, wears the officer's helmet as well as his famous pinky ring.
Billy has his burnt helmet that the men all cooked in, Braddock had camo pants, Caje his beret, Kirby his BAR, and Doc his medical cloths. These differences in their appearances made it easy for fans to "spot" their favorites in any size of a battle. The wonders of wardrobe!

By Dana Eugene Creasy (Deecee322) on Unrecorded Date:

Several points. First of all, the helmet camo cover that Saunders had was a genuine Army issue... same as mine was when I was in in the late 1970s... so, that's where it came from in reality. In point of fact, there are indeed pictures of ETO GIs with camo covers on their helmets, although generally of a different pattern, ie. something from the 1940s, not the 1960s (as it was then-current issue). Interestingly, in one episode, Kirby ends up wearing the helmet belonging to last season regular William Bryant (McCall), who wore a wide "rubber band" cut from a tire inner tube around it to hold foliage, etc. Sometimes, even the prop and wardrobe people screw up... only you didn't hear that from me!!!

By Amerikaner on Unrecorded Date:

As I understand it, camo uniforms were also issued to ARMY units but were quickly discarded by the troops themselves because of their similarity to Waffen SS camo uniforms, and the fact that soooo many mixups occured (i.e. friendly fire). I dont think the Army had to ban them - nobody wanted to wear them!

By Ben Ballengee (Codger62) on Monday, May 20, 2002 - 01:09 am:

Here's a source that I'll bet could definitively answer our questions: "U.S. Combat Helmets of the 20th Century" (September 1997), ISBN 0-7643-0357-0, Hardcover with 108 pages including over 250 photographs, $39.95 from Schiffer Publishing, available at amazon.com.

Since Saunders helmet cover was definitely of Marine Corps origin (in my opinion), I'm betting that "Carbine" is right and that the helmet cover was issued by wardrobe to provide fans with an easy way to identify Saunders from a distance during battle scenes.

Regardless of its authenticity, my friends and I thought Saunders was the coolest character by far and everyone wanted to wear a camouflage helmet cover and carry a plastic Thompson when we played Army as kids.