Jump to content

Sun Helmet "Anchor"


GLM
 Share

Recommended Posts

This seller has been selling pairs of these for a couple of months now. They always seem to find a bidder or two. I agree that they're nothing I would spend my money on, but I would certainly like to know the history behind who is or was responsible for making them. Because the same seller is selling some pretty nice lots of original USMC uniform buttons (...and has been), it just makes me wonder if these cast iron emblems weren't an attempt by some maintenance type Marine back in the 1930's at casting emblems in his spare time. The brass screws, washers and nuts sure look like something that would have been in quantity in a Maintenance Shop. We'll never know for sure, but we've all seen some pretty strange, ugly stuff show up that we'd swear was fake junk, only to find out it was period made by bored Marines.

 

Here is something along the same line. I found this in a junk shop maybe 20 years ago. It took me 10 years and allot of letter writing to try and identify it. Finally, I met an "Airedale" or Air Wing Marine at one of our local Marine B-Day Balls. He IDed it as a "Sun Helmet Anchor" he had seen being worn on the West Coast during WWII. Seems some bored Marine Aviation Machinist started cranking these out and selling them to Marines for wear on their helmets. You just never know??

 

s/f,

 

Gary

post-84-1190167928.jpg

post-84-1190167941.jpg

post-84-1190167954.jpg

post-84-1190167965.jpg

post-84-1190167979.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gary...................Great item! Never seen or heard of anything like this..............a Sun Helmet Anchor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! Just goes to show you....ANYTHING is possible...........................Maybe those cast droopy pieces have a legitimate background.....Ya never know!!!!!

Semper Fi.......Bobgee

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Bob! Back in the days when I collected uniforms and deuce gear, I would set up a table of stuff at the Marine Birthday Balls here. I never bothered to set a sun helmet out, but always put the "Anchor" out, hoping one of the old geezers could ID it. When John Wayne Sneed finally made the ID, linking his eyewitness sighting of them in 1942, I could hardly wait to get home and try it on a sun helmet. Perfect fit! I have no idea how many of these this Marine cranked out, but this is the only one I've seen or even heard about. I'm truly hoping someone will post another at some point so I can at least tell them what it is. :)

 

I think anyone who has collected USMC for awhile has seen some strange stuff. About 20 years ago, a picker friend here in Colorado turned up an end or coffee table that had 4" by 4" porcelain tiles that when all fitted together, illustrated a beautiful "Gooney" EGA with a foot and a half, maybe two foot wing span. I recall it was a blue emblem on off white tiles. The table itself was the most god awful ugly, welded angle-iron monstrosity, so knowing my wife would most likely kill me if I hauled it home, I passed on it for 50 bucks. Thinking back on it now, I'm guessing that tile mosaic was probably out of a USMCB swimming pool or building from the 1930's. I now think of how nice the table itself would look in the city landfill and "Big Bird" hanging on my wall. You just never know what is going to pop up!

 

s/f, Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...