Beau-Brummel Posted May 22, 2012 #26 Posted May 22, 2012 Unbelievable awesome relic....a poignant reminder that "war is hell"................mike Absolutely, a sobering piece but a fantastic historical Item! Thank you for posting It Ron and I hope your research pays off. Yours, Guy.
67Rally Posted May 22, 2012 #27 Posted May 22, 2012 Stunning. This certainly brings about a significant amount of perspective.
aef1917 Posted May 22, 2012 #28 Posted May 22, 2012 That looks like damage from a shell fragment to me. I think it's very possible that whoever was wearing the helmet survived. The trajectory is very shallow along the top of the dome, and likely mostly above the webbing. I do see what could be blood in the right area on the webbing, but the wound could have been superficial.
Justin Posted May 22, 2012 #29 Posted May 22, 2012 Ron, that's a fantastic piece of history you have there. Amazing helmet. Thanks for posting.
etienne Posted May 22, 2012 #30 Posted May 22, 2012 Great helmet indeed ... I really like those battlefields artifacts :thumbsup:
hink441 Posted May 23, 2012 #31 Posted May 23, 2012 What an awesome helmet!! Congrats on a great pick-up. Chris
doyler Posted May 23, 2012 Author #32 Posted May 23, 2012 Thanks again to everyone who has looked or commented.I was really drawn to this helmet and it spoke volumes .All of your input is greatly appreciated. RD
dskjl Posted May 24, 2012 #33 Posted May 24, 2012 That is quite a helmet and if indeed that damage was from battle it must of been ugly as all hell. Nice lid, one can only imagine what it was like when that thing took the hit.
doyler Posted May 24, 2012 Author #34 Posted May 24, 2012 That is quite a helmet and if indeed that damage was from battle it must of been ugly as all hell. Nice lid, one can only imagine what it was like when that thing took the hit. Thanks D
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author #35 Posted May 31, 2012 Took a few more pictures today.Thought I would addd some close ups Tied chinstrap
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author #36 Posted May 31, 2012 After much debate I decided to carefully remove the liner : Interior Helmet shell
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author #40 Posted May 31, 2012 The unexpected surprise....... Named liner.Stenciled in the USN/USMC style
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author #41 Posted May 31, 2012 Searched the WW2 Registry and didnt find any match for the name,a good sign he may have survived the war.
1canpara Posted May 31, 2012 #42 Posted May 31, 2012 Wow Ron! That is an amazing unexepected surprise :w00t: I hope someone will have a way to help you further research this very extraordinary helmet! Having a name attached to it makes it even more poignant. Thanks for sharing this new discovery with us! Rick
Sgt. Boghots Posted May 31, 2012 #43 Posted May 31, 2012 Whatever its story, I know that helmet is finally in the right hands. Nice find, Ron. Best regards, Paul
ken88 Posted May 31, 2012 #44 Posted May 31, 2012 Apparently pulling the liner out wasn't a bad idea! Very fascinating.
Corpsmancollector Posted May 31, 2012 #45 Posted May 31, 2012 Fantastic Ron! Hopefully this will be the start of tracking down the vet and uncovering the history of the helmet...Odds on he's USMC/USN with a name stencil like that. Such a terrific piece. Will
'Flage Guy Posted May 31, 2012 #46 Posted May 31, 2012 That is a true museum-grade Helmet. The first thing I thought of when I saw the pics was that SecMarDiv guy on Betio in a 'flage suit standing with a light artillery crew, with a similar gaping hole in his lid. I rechecked the photo, and the hole appears to exit at the front, with the entry point at the rear side. "Attaboy" on a tremendous find, Ron :thumbsup:
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author #47 Posted May 31, 2012 That is a true museum-grade Helmet. The first thing I thought of when I saw the pics was that SecMarDiv guy on Betio in a 'flage suit standing with a light artillery crew, with a similar gaping hole in his lid. I rechecked the photo, and the hole appears to exit at the front, with the entry point at the rear side. "Attaboy" on a tremendous find, Ron :thumbsup: Thanks again guys for all the positive comments.I really had that light bulb moment when I rolled the liner over and saw the name Im usually a less is more guy and tend to leave things alone.But I was hoping to see a name or initials on the interior of the steel shell. Flage, I like your scenario and I hope that the name can be researched.So far Im drawing blanks on my end.Maybe the crew here will find something. RD
kanemono Posted May 31, 2012 #49 Posted May 31, 2012 I couldn't find J H Wren on the USMC Muster Rolls on Ancestry.com. There is a list of WWII USN personnel but I haven't any luck working with the file. Dick
BOLO Posted May 31, 2012 #50 Posted May 31, 2012 I think it's a true battlefield relic from the Pacific Campaign, very cool find , most things like that probably got buried in landfills and never brought back, a rare find
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