I have noticed that in Band of Brothers the soldiers have Spades on their helmets while in Brothers in Arms they have Hearts. Is this a difference between the 502nd and the 506th.

Yes indeed they do. The heart being the 502nd and the spade being 506th. Also clubs for the 327 Glider Infantry, diamonds for the 501st PIR and an "E" for the 326th Engineers to name a few. To identify which particular sub unit an individual was from there were also "tick" marks placed at clock points around the unit symbol.(These have been omitted in BiA) 12 O'clock for HQ Battalion, 3 O'clock for 1st Battalion, 6 O'clock for 2nd Battalion and 9 O'clock for 3rd Battalion. In the case of the 326th Engineer Battalion the ticks referred to HQ, A, B and C Companies.


My M2 Paratrooper helmet marked as for C Company, 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion.

The book is Michel De Trez's "At The Point Of No Return"
D-Day Publishing