1A 'til KIA

During the Viet Nam War a total of 2.2 million men were drafted into military service. The average age of a draftee was 19 years old. There was an expression during those years that a young draftee was “1A ’til KIA”; sardonically translated “fit for full duty until killed in action”. 

The draftee, as opposed to the professional soldiers of the day, often voiced their disdain for the war by adding unauthorized slogans and graffiti to their helmets. “Short timers calendars”, song lyrics, the names of fallen comrades and expressions of everyday exasperation dominated the unusual art form. 

“1A ’til KIA” is my tribute to all those who served in Viet Nam and is dedicated to the memory of US Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Harry T. Bowman of my hometown of Wood Ridge, NJ who was KIA on 9 May 1968 while serving with the 1st Marine Division, Mike 3/5.

All the inscriptions on this vintage M-1 helmet were reproduced from photos of soldiers of the Vietnam War. One photo of a USMC LCPL shows a similar bullet hole which he annotated with the date of his near miss, 15 July 1969. The bust is a naive plaster casting by an unknown artist “C.A.S.” created in July of 1960. The dog tags are vintage stock tags and the base was created from an inverted carved wood bowl that was made in Vietnam.