robinb Posted April 1, 2013 Share #1 Posted April 1, 2013 Brought home by Harry Ried, 111th Seabee Battalion. He was a heavy equipment operator at D-Day Normandy, driving a bulldozer and clearing mines on the beach, when he heard a shot fired close by and saw the German soldier who was wearing this helmet fall. The German wasn't dead, just knocked silly. Harry captured him and turned him over to an Army officer. There is a bullet dent in the right front of this helmet, and by the looks of it it was most likely done by an M1 Carbine. Harry kept the helmet and the soldiers passbook. He later served on Okinawa with the CB's. I got these from Harry about 10-12 years ago before he commited suicide. He was suffering from cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted April 1, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2relichunter Posted April 1, 2013 Share #3 Posted April 1, 2013 wow wonderful story and a nice piece very sorry to hear he commit suicide that is a shame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludwigh1980 Posted April 1, 2013 Share #4 Posted April 1, 2013 That is nice Cammo helmet thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot12 Posted April 1, 2013 Share #5 Posted April 1, 2013 Very nice war trophies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted April 1, 2013 Share #6 Posted April 1, 2013 I like UGLY good helmets . owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted April 7, 2013 Share #7 Posted April 7, 2013 Beautiful! I really love that camo helmet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotxxyyzz Posted May 16, 2013 Share #8 Posted May 16, 2013 interestig story - great bring-back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted May 16, 2013 Share #9 Posted May 16, 2013 Interesting as his first name is certainly German but his last name is Polish (it means little birch tree). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunkerhillburning Posted May 16, 2013 Share #10 Posted May 16, 2013 Interesting as his first name is certainly German but his last name is Polish (it means little birch tree). I noted that mix of German and Polish as well. Must be an interesting story. Great piece of history, robin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgawne Posted May 16, 2013 Share #11 Posted May 16, 2013 Ok, I have to ask then, why is it got Cherbourg in it? Could he have meant a beach at Cherbourg? Its a bit confusing as June 30 was the day after the main garrison surrendered, but some areas held out til July 1st. While there were men of the 726th in the beach area, I think (and I have not double checked this) that some of them fell back into fortress Cherbourgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted May 16, 2013 Share #12 Posted May 16, 2013 A REAL German camo? How refreshing! Let's remember that many of the defenders at Normandy were NOT German's per se, but had come from other areas of the Reich. So the fact that his last name is Polish is not surprising at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotxxyyzz Posted May 16, 2013 Share #13 Posted May 16, 2013 i think the fact that the family name sounds polish ain't that mysterious inbetween the wars a lot of folks from poland immigrated into germany on the search for a job and also - and like patriot already mentioned not only people from germany fought in the wehrmacht did you guys notice the name "Scholz" on the leather liner just above the "Cherbourgh" - Scholz is a real typical german family name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOLO Posted May 17, 2013 Share #14 Posted May 17, 2013 that is a very nice set and intersting story about how it was captured, I wonder if it's possible to trace the German soldier? he may still be alive today? he would be about 88 - 89 if he was still alive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry K. Posted May 17, 2013 Share #15 Posted May 17, 2013 He was part of Staff Company, Infantry Replacement Battlion 328 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvmhm Posted May 18, 2013 Share #16 Posted May 18, 2013 He isn't listed on the German War Graves Commission site as being KIA or MIA... Mark sends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
man860 Posted May 19, 2013 Share #17 Posted May 19, 2013 Great helmet and story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDecker Posted May 23, 2013 Share #18 Posted May 23, 2013 AWSOME Piece! Great Story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share #19 Posted June 6, 2017 Thought I'd bring this old post back to life with the D-Day anniversary coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awo41 Posted June 6, 2017 Share #20 Posted June 6, 2017 That's super cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCapturephotos Posted June 12, 2017 Share #21 Posted June 12, 2017 Oh wow. I missed this piece the first go around. Absolutely love it. I have a few good GI bring back helmets in my collection but have yet to find a camo helmet with GI provenance. Your's also has a tropical look to it. I have a buddy that was given a camo helmet brought back from D-day in total tan camo...more typical of Sicily or Italy. I love the differences that one sees with these. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Kraut Posted June 16, 2017 Share #22 Posted June 16, 2017 I noted that mix of German and Polish as well. Must be an interesting story. Great piece of history, robin. Absolutely nothing uncommon here. In the 19th and early 20th century hundreds of thousends Polish people emigrated to the industrializing Ruhr Valley. The soldier was born in Gelsenkirchen, heart of the Ruhr valley, and he was for sure a descendant of the back then so called "Ruhrpolen". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrpolen Interestingly the German name "Scholz" can be seen written in the liner. Would love to know the letters prior to that name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share #23 Posted June 17, 2017 The name appears to read Olie Scholz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Kraut Posted June 17, 2017 Share #24 Posted June 17, 2017 Thanks, Olie is rather unusual. I thought it maybe could be Oblt (Oberleutnant = 1st Lt) but obviously I was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinb Posted June 18, 2017 Author Share #25 Posted June 18, 2017 Thanks, Olie is rather unusual. I thought it maybe could be Oblt (Oberleutnant = 1st Lt) but obviously I was wrong. It could be what you say. It's hard to make out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now