Grant S. Posted December 10, 2015 Share #1 Posted December 10, 2015 The museum recently had donated to it this helmet, which I thought you might find interesting. The donor, Robert Barnard, was a member of the 7th NBB. He landed on Omaha beach and was quickly wounded. As he dropped his helmet flew from his head. A nearby medic grabbed him and before dragging him to safety grabbed his helmet and a liner and put them back on Mr. Barnard's head. Later Mr. Barnard discovered that the liner was not his, but belonged to a member of the 29th Division. As you can see from the pictures the helmet has the red arc in front typical of the 6th and 7th NBB, although the numeral 7 is lacking. There is a gray band around the bottom and in the back it is clear that a previous "USN" has been painted over and a new "USN" painted above it. Inside the helmet Mr. Barnard marked it twice with his name, "R J Barnard" in one case and "BARNEY" in the other. He also marked the inside "7th BB". The liner has the SSI of the 29th painted on the front, about 1 9/16" in diameter. The horizontal white bar in back is appx 7/8" high and 3 1/4" wide. The inside of the liner is unmarked. Coincidentally Mr. Barnard also donated a copy of Spearheading D-Day, which I greedily incorporated into the reference library. He had marked the section on Beach Battalions with a note sheet and interestingly, has written "1st Platoon" next to the top photo on page 230. He also included copies of photos he took of a trip to Normandy, specifically photos of a monument to the 5th ESB, of which the 6th NBB was a part, and a separate plaque to the 6th NBB dedicated 6 June 2001. Needless to say I am thrilled beyond belief at having this helmet in the museum collection. Although it is still in good condition I padded and double wrapped it before putting it in the archives. My goal is to get it on display before the museum re-opens in the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant S. Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted December 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant S. Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted December 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted December 10, 2015 Share #4 Posted December 10, 2015 Great looking Navy helmet.Thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant S. Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted December 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamingeagles101 Posted December 10, 2015 Share #6 Posted December 10, 2015 That's AWSOME ! Surely this helmet will be a great reference for comparing NBB Helmets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted December 10, 2015 Share #7 Posted December 10, 2015 Great story behind this historical piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted December 10, 2015 Share #8 Posted December 10, 2015 What a beautiful historic helmet!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfryman Posted December 10, 2015 Share #9 Posted December 10, 2015 Fantastic! Love that you have all the history to document it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtdorango Posted December 10, 2015 Share #10 Posted December 10, 2015 Holy smokes what a story!.....mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny67 Posted December 10, 2015 Share #11 Posted December 10, 2015 Voted best helmet of the year right here. Painted to TWO amazing units, direct vet provenance, AND it was there at D-Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonm Posted December 10, 2015 Share #12 Posted December 10, 2015 WHOA! What a treasure and historical helmet. Amazing piece of history. I really don't know what else I can post..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USdog Posted December 10, 2015 Share #13 Posted December 10, 2015 That's one piece of history! Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonBoy09 Posted December 10, 2015 Share #14 Posted December 10, 2015 Awesome helmet man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted December 10, 2015 Share #15 Posted December 10, 2015 Not a helmet guy but that is what I am talking about! Congrats on a great score. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted December 11, 2015 Share #16 Posted December 11, 2015 Great story, great helmet and great liner. This post is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted December 11, 2015 Share #17 Posted December 11, 2015 Speechless! But can still type. BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugme Posted December 11, 2015 Share #18 Posted December 11, 2015 Great helmet! I've moved this thread to the helmet section where it will get more attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burning Hazard Posted December 11, 2015 Share #19 Posted December 11, 2015 Holy smokes! now that's a piece of history (times two) with the original 29th ID liner included! Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted December 11, 2015 Share #20 Posted December 11, 2015 Great helmet, any idea which wave he landed with and which sector he landed upon? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill47 Posted December 12, 2015 Share #21 Posted December 12, 2015 Love it, and I'm glad that it's in a place where future generations will be able to see it and appreciate the sacrifices of Mr. Barnard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1canpara Posted December 12, 2015 Share #22 Posted December 12, 2015 Wow! Simply amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 12, 2015 Share #23 Posted December 12, 2015 Fantastic! Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy144 Posted December 12, 2015 Share #24 Posted December 12, 2015 Hi Thanks for taking the time to post. What a truly amazing peice of history... It just goes to show the chaos that was on the beach that day. Regards Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthytyler Posted December 13, 2015 Share #25 Posted December 13, 2015 I hope it is displayed asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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