akriener

Good to know. Thanks for sharing Allan!

Very fair points. And if you've gotten them directly from veterans in both hollow and solid backing, then they must be good. If you're looking at clutch back wings, I understand the pegs should be soldered metal. But I have also read about plastic prongs that look metal at first glance. If you're looking online at an item like this, what's a good way to tell? Is there a certain position for the prongs to be to establish WWII wings vs later? Are the prong covers plastic or metal, or a mix?

Now I know there are some German items in this one but bear with me folks. If this belongs in a better section feel free to move. Got this haul from an estate sale in IL this weekend. The lot was much larger but someone else bought the rest. Turns out the husband of the granddaughter who was running the sale (selling her grandfather's items) is an active duty Navy SEAL. They were kind enough to send this t-shirt and a legitimate Trident purchased on his base. I probably overpaid a bit (paid $600), but I was also helping her identify items and I thought this was a very unique opportunity to get some SEAL items that they didn't have to get me. Have not yet received the items, this is a seller provided photo but was too excited to wait to share. The Mein Kampf is personalized. The flag is double sided with a rope tie, size 88" x 41". Multi-piece construction armband. All medals belong to her grandfather, Irving Kangas. My understanding is he had something to do with communications during the war.

Thanks for the comments! A lot has happened since I've posted this. Here's all my current M-1's including that special signed helmet I posted about. M-1's: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0OGgZLKuJG647o 33 signature helmet: https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/343418-33-signature-helmet/

Isn't there a bit of a debate still about solid back vs hollow back wings being issued via the military and not private purchase/post war? I'm positive someone else on another thread that any wings that were maker marked were not allowed to be issued to paratroopers via the military due to some kind of anti-compete clause. That STERLING only on the back was issued.

I'm not sure. I got it from someone who got it from the guy in PA. Don't know how long the last guy owned it. The research I've done is that Dick Winters only signed Hang Tough.

I can't speak to Dick Winters, though I know it's authentic. Remember this helmet was owned for 15 years living in the same town as him so many he made a connection that way. I also believe one of the signatures may be Bert Winzer and the unknown Malmedy Massacre one is now confirmed as George Fox as per https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1QZX5T/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_LPU5Eb8NDZR79 He is the very top signature on this item

They were gathered over 15 years so I'm sure it was at that one a few times. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those are some great experiences you have. Thanks for sharing!

Hello everyone! I’d like to share with you a very special and one of a kind helmet I acquired. Some of you may have seen me previously post about my great uncle on my dad’s side (my dad’s mom’s brother). He was in Able Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He jumped on D-Day and fought through to the Battle of the Bulge where he was wounded. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, two Oak Leaf Clusters and four Bronze Stars. I have attached his obituary and can provide some unit documents if anyone is interested. Unfortunately I did not get an opportunity to meet him and he never spoke to anyone in our family about his time in the war. The helmet I am going to show you is perhaps my closest connection to him, by extension. The helmet itself is a Schlueter with heat stamp 84A. It is a front seam, swivel loop with a Seaman Paper Company liner. Shell chinstraps are original and the liner chinstrap is a postwar, black painted steel version. There is a Guadalcanal sticker applied by a veteran on the right side of the shell as well as hand painted, postwar paint of the Screaming Eagles logo on the left side and a 2nd Rangers insignia on the rear. This helmet contains 33 veteran signatures from WWII. Every signature on this helmet is someone notable or of a notable unit, company, unit, division, etc. , division, etc. This helmet was previously owned by a collector for 15 years who lived in Pennsylvania. When the Band of Brothers series came out he made a point to attend many of the shows in the state. My understanding is that he also lived in Hersey, PA which is where Dick Winters lived. He was in need of funds and sold this helmet to another collector who I then acquired it from. I have included a sampling of photos of some of the veterans signing it at some of these shows. I was able to identify 22 out of 33 signatures on this helmet. I will be posting the unidentified ones in hopes that people may recognize them. The signatures have been authenticated. And before anyone asks, no this helmet was not cheap [emoji51] But who are we to put a value on history? “Easy” Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division Dick Winters Wild Bill Guarnere Babe Heffron Donald Malarkey Buck Compton Ed Mauser Brad Freeman Bob Noody, “Fox” Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, https://www.valorstudios.com/Images/VictoryPass/bob-noody.htm Bill Gast, M4 Sherman driver, 743rd Tank Battalion, landed on D-Day, one of 5 out of 15 tanks that survived, Silver Star and Purple Heart, https://teachinghistorymatters.com/tag/bill-gast/ Jake McNiece, 1st Demolition Section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. “Filthy Thirteen” - This unit was the inspiration for the book and subsequent film The Dirty Dozen, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_McNiece Guy Whidden, paratrooper machine gunner in HQ Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/18/us/guy-whidden-mohawk-wwii-vet-trnd/index.html Hank Kudzick, USS Nautilus (SS-168) - Sank Japanese carrier at Midway, https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/bethlehem-sailor-recalls-defective-torpedoes-nearly-changed-trajectory-battle-midway Harold W. Billow, Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, Malmedy Massacre Survivor. Ted Paluch, Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, Malmedy Massacre Survivor. Unreadable signature, Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, Malmedy Massacre Survivor. Emmett T. Lang, 334th Infantry Regiment of the 84th Infantry Division of the Army, Battle of the Bulge, Author of Always a Soldier But Never G.I.: A World War II Soldiers Personal Journey. Harold Derr, turret gunner Grumman TBF Avenger, Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 232 VMTB-232 “Red Devils”, Okinawa. Thomas R. Vaucher, B-29 pilot part of the B-29s test team charged with preparing it for combat use (first to fly it at 38,000 feet), flew first B-29 combat mission over Japan June 15, 1944, mission commander for the Show of Force Flyover of 526 B-29s over the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS Battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945, flew almost 40 different types of planes and completed 117 combat missions, https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/military/2019/11/11/veterans-day-nj-centenarian-vets-honored-special-lunch/2564706001/. Sidney Philips, How Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division and saw combat as an 81mm mortarman in a number of battles including the Battle of the Tenaru during the Guadalcanal Campaign and the Battle of Cape Gloucester, played by Ashton Holmes in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Phillips. RV (Romus Valton) Burgin, mortarman K-Company (King Company from 1913 to 1957 – Kilo Company after 1957 with the new Military Phonetic Alphabet), 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Battle of Cape Gloucester, Battle of Peleliu, Battle of Okinawa, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, played by Martin McCann in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romus_Burgin. Joe Berardi, B-17 bomber pilot in the 8th Air Force, 351st Bomb Group, 509th Squadron. He flew 32 missions and accumulated 1,000 hours in the cockpit. His 30th mission was over Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr, Tuskegee Airman William “Bill” Broadwater, Tuskegee Airman M.L. (Mahlon) Fink, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, Iwo Jima, the veteran witnessed the flag being raised on Iwo Jima as per http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.66537. RE (Richard Eugene) Cole, Doolittle Raid, co-pilot to Jimmy Doolittle in the lead airplane of the raid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Cole. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven't looked at any of these in detail. Just got the alert and wanted to share so people can make their own judgements! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some great pieces coming up for auction. Though the buyer premium at 20% is absurd. A lot of helmets, too many to list: https://milestoneauctions.hibid.com/catalog/214837/june-military-extravaganza/?q=helmet&ipp=100 Notable mentions: M-2 377TH with unit paint: https://milestoneauctions.hibid.com/lot/66315616/wwii-us-army-377th-painted-paratrooper-m2-helmet/?q=&ipp=100&ref=catalog M-1 fixed loop 5th division painted: https://milestoneauctions.hibid.com/lot/66315614/ww2-us-army-fixed-bail-5th-division-painted-helmet/?q=&ipp=100&ref=catalog

This is on the shell chinstrap, not the liner Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

His was definitely post war because of the metal used to attach to the shell loops instead of being sewn on, but that's good to know as well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He thought exactly that originally ha Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk