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German helmet souvenired by commander of the 100th ID, 442nd CIR


SEABEE SON
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This M42 Heer half basket chickenwire ET64 helmet was brought back by Col. Gordon Singles, commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion (Hawaiian Nisei, or Japanese Americans). The buyer bought it from his widow. These were the famous Nisei or Japanese-American warriors. They fought side by side with the famed 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment of the 34th Division.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

"The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare The 4,000 men who initially made up the unit in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 2.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, earning 9,486 Purple Hearts. The unit was awarded eight Presidential Unit Citations (five earned in one month). 201 Twenty-one of its members were awarded Medals of Honor. Its motto was "Go for Broke"."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)

 

 

The widow confirmed that this helmet was picked up during the famous rescue of the Lost Battalion, 141st Regiment, 36th ID, in the Vosges Mountains, near Biffontaine, France, in October, 1944. It was during this battle that the only Banzai charge in the European theater was conducted by men in this unit. This was a particularly difficult battle for the unit, which was heavily decimated. Col. Singles held a personal grudge against the commander of the 442nd for his poor leadership in this battle, which lead to very heavy casualties.

 

It is said that German machine gunners were chained to their guns to prevent them from breaking ranks. I am not sure I believe that, but the soldier that wore this helmet was likely in a concealed position, with branches of European silver fir in his helmet (I have carefully identified the species through microscopic examination. The branch has always been on the helmet, according to Col. Singles' widow). The wearer also likely died in battle, given the extensive blood damage to the liner. The 100th infantryman charged these position going uphill in steep, wooded terrain, lobbing grenades at close quarters into the machine gun nests.

 

Here are a few links highlighting this history, and Col. Singles' involvement.

 

http://www.historynet.com/american-samurai.htm

 

http://standwheretheyfought.jimdo.com/the-vosges-2009-battle-of-bruy%C3%A8res-and-the-relief-of-the-lost-battalion-by-the-442nd-rct/

 

You can read more about the helmet here:

 

http://ww2germanhelmets.com/Blog-12.html

I appreciate this opportunity to share.
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More about this engagement from Wikipedia:

 

Lost Battalion[edit]

After less than two days in reserve, the 442nd was ordered to attempt the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" two miles east of Biffontaine.[18]:139 On 23 October Colonel Lundquist's 141st Regiment, soon to be known as the "Alamo" Regiment, began its attack on the German line that ran from Rambervillers to Biffontaine. Tuesday morning, 24 October, the left flank of the 141st, commanded by Technical Sergeant Charles H. Coolidge, ran into heavy action, fending off numerous German attacks throughout the days of 25 and 26 October. The right flank command post was overrun and 275 men of Lieutenant Colonel William Bird's 1st Battalion Companies A, B, C, and a platoon from Company D were cut off 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) behind enemy lines.[17]:61–62 The "Lost Battalion" was cut off by German troops and was forced to dig in until help arrived. It was nearly a week before they saw friendly soldiers.

At 4 a.m. on Friday 27 October, General John E. Dahlquist ordered the 442nd to move out and rescue the cut-off battalion. The 442nd had the support of the 522nd and 133rd Field Artillery units but at first made little headway against German General Richter's infantry and artillery front line.[17]:66 For the next few days the 442nd engaged in the heaviest fighting it had seen in the war, as the elements combined with the Germans to slow their advance. Dense fog and very dark nights prevented the men from seeing even twenty feet. Many men had to hang onto the man in front of him just to know where to go. Rainfall, snow, cold, mud, fatigue, trench foot, and even exploding trees plagued them as they moved deeper into the Vosges and closer to the German frontlines.[11]:185,187 The 141st continued fighting—in all directions.

When we realized we were cut off, we dug a circle at the top of the ridge. I had two heavy, water-cooled machine guns with us at this time, and about nine or ten men to handle them. I put one gun on the right front with about half of my men, and the other gun to the left. We cut down small trees to cover our holes and then piled as much dirt on top as we could. We were real low on supplies, so we pooled all of our food.
—SSgt. Jack Wilson of Newburgh, Indiana.
:80

Airdrops with ammo and food for the 141st were called off by dense fog or landed in German hands. Many Germans did not know that they had cut off an American unit. "We didn't know that we had surrounded the Americans until they were being supplied by air. One of the supply containers, dropped by parachute, landed near us. The packages were divided up amongst us."[17]:83 Only on 29 October was the 442nd told why they were being forced to attack the German front lines so intensely.

The fighting was intense for the Germans as well. Gebirgsjager Battalion 202 from Salzburg was cut off from Gebirgsjager Battalion 201 from Garmisch.[17]:72 Both sides eventually rescued their cut-off battalions.

As the men of the 442nd went deeper and deeper they became more hesitant, until reaching the point where they would not move from behind a tree or come out of a foxhole. However, this all changed in an instant. The men of Companies I and K of 3rd Battalion had their backs against the wall, but as each one saw another rise to attack, then another also rose. Then every Nisei charged the Germans screaming, and many screaming "Banzai!"[14]:83 Through gunfire, artillery shells, and fragments from trees, and Nisei going down one after another, they charged.

Colonel Rolin's grenadiers put up a desperate fight, but nothing could stop the Nisei rushing up the steep slopes, shouting, firing from the hip, and lobbing hand grenades into dugouts. Finally the German defenses broke and the surviving grenadiers fled in disarray. That afternoon the American aid stations were crowded with casualties. The 2nd platoon of Company I had only two men left, and the 1st platoon was down to twenty."[17]:89 On the afternoon of 30 October, 3rd Battalion broke through and reached the 141st, rescuing 211 T-Patchers at the cost of 800 men in five days. However, the fighting continued for the 442nd as they moved past the 141st. The drive continued until they reached Saint-Die on 17 November when they were finally pulled back. The 100th fielded 1,432 men a year earlier, but was now down to 239 infantrymen and 21 officers. Second Battalion was down to 316 riflemen and 17 officers, while not a single company in 3rd Battalion had over 100 riflemen; the entire 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team was down to less than 800 soldiers. Earlier (on 13 October) when attached to the 36th Infantry, the unit was at 2,943 rifleman and officers, thus in only three weeks 140 were killed and a further 1,800 had been wounded, while 43 were missing.[14]:83,85

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General Dahlquist's Legacy

220px-2nd_Battalion%2C_442nd_RCT_near_Sa
A Japanese-American unit moves out of its old command post. The unit, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, is holding a section of the front lines near St. Die Area, France, 13 November 1944.

General Dahlquist's dubious command of the 442nd received mixed reviews, chiefly from the unit's officers rather than the enlisted soldiers, who believed that Dahlquist considered his Nisei soldiers expendable cannon fodder. Despite examples of ostensibly courageous behavior, his decisions were undermined by the failure to tally victories without considerable costs to his men. A particular example was when his aide Lieutenant Wells Lewis, the eldest son of novelist Sinclair Lewis, was killed while Dahlquist was issuing orders standing in the open during a battle.[14]:82 When Dahlquist ordered his men to take Biffontaine, it was despite the sparsely populated farming town being militarily insignificant, out of the range of artillery and radio contact. In another example, Lieutenant Allan M. Ohata was ordered to charge with his men up a hill toward the enemy, who were dug in and well supplied. Ohata considered the order a certain suicide mission. Despite the threat of court-martial and demotion he refused, insisting that the men would be better off attacking the position "their own way."[11]:190 Lt. Ohata was ultimately awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Italy while holding the enlisted rank of Staff Sergeant.

On 12 November, General Dahlquist ordered the entire 442nd to stand in formation for a recognition and award ceremony. Of the 400 men originally assigned to K Company only eighteen turned out, joined by eight survivors from I Company. Upon reviewing the meager assemblage Dahlquist became irritated, ignorant of the sacrifices that the unit had made in serving his orders. He demanded of Colonel Virgil R. Miller, "I want all your men to stand for this formation." Miller responded simply, "That's all of K company left, sir."[14]:95

Some time later, while the former commander of the 442nd Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Singles was filling the role of brigadier general at Fort Bragg (North Carolina), General Dahlquist arrived as part of a review. When he recognized Colonel Singles he approached him and offered the colonel his hand saying, "Let bygones be bygones. It's all water under the bridge, isn't it?" In the presence of the entire III Corps, Colonel Singles continued to salute General Dahlquist but refused to take Dahlquist's hand.[14]:91[19][20]

During and after the war, the 442nd was repeatedly commemorated for their efforts in the Vosges Mountains. A commissioned painting now hangs in The Pentagondepicting their fight to reach the "Lost Battalion."[14]:89 A memorial was erected in Biffontaine by Gerard Henry, later the town's mayor. A monument was established in Bruyeres to mark the liberation of that city. At first a narrow road led to the monument, but the road was later widened to accommodate four tour buses and is now named "The Avenue of the 442nd Infantry Regiment" in honor of those brave soldiers.[11]:201

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USCapturephotos

That is an incredible bring back piece. I personally knew one 442 vet and was able to record a few minutes of his story with him. Thanks for sharing.

Paul

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beerdragon54

I am speechless for many reasons. Your a lucky man to own such a piece of history.

 

 

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That helmet just talks to you what a Great piece of history.Thank You for showing it on the Forum.Scotty

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Brian Dentino

Fantastic helmet and a great background to the soldier, and unit, that took it with great cost. Thanks for posting the Helm, and for taking the time to really fill in the back story of the soldier and the units actions. Superb!

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Thanks, everyone, for your kind words. I appreciate it I am honored to be its custodian and to share it with you.

 

Scott

 

 

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That is an incredible bring back piece. I personally knew one 442 vet and was able to record a few minutes of his story with him. Thanks for sharing.

Paul

Nice! My childhood neighbor was a 442nd vet. There were several where I grew up.

 

 

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They fought while their families were in detention camps and in many cases had lost their property and livelihoods. That makes their efforts all the more impressive.

 

 

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