doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share #51 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 THanks for checking Dick.I really appreciate it.Maybe something will show up through NARA on line.maybe the owner was Navy or Army?? RD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Gecko Posted May 31, 2012 Share #52 Posted May 31, 2012 Wow! really a stunning helmet and liner. Best of luck with your research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share #53 Posted May 31, 2012 Apparently pulling the liner out wasn't a bad idea! Very fascinating. :thumbsup: Yes!! well worth it and finding the namee was not expected.With the liner being so frail and dry/flaky I was worried about it cracking/tearing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share #54 Posted May 31, 2012 Whatever its story, I know that helmet is finally in the right hands. Nice find, Ron. Best regards, Paul Thanks Paul BOLO Robert Gecko really appreciate everyones input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 7th Armored Posted June 1, 2012 Share #55 Posted June 1, 2012 Wow, i dont mean to be redundant, but that is an amazing piece of history you have there! I am glad it is in your hands and not somewhere else! Haydn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted June 1, 2012 Share #56 Posted June 1, 2012 I found him! I looked on the Ancestry USN, USMC and Coast Guard list and he was listed as wounded. I then checked Jack H. Wren on the USMC Muster Roll and found him. He enlisted Sept. 2, 1942. On the Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division for July 1 to July 31 1944 he is listed as GSW scalp. That's your man! The Battle of Saipan was fought from 15 June – 9 July 1944 and the Second Marine Division was there. He was from Detroit, Michigan. That is an amazing helmet!!! Name: Jack H. Wren SSN:373-12-0900 Last Residence: 48390 Walled Lake, Oakland, Michigan, United States of America Born: 21 May 1922 Died: 17 Sep 1993 Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskjl Posted June 1, 2012 Share #57 Posted June 1, 2012 I found him! I looked on the Ancestry USN, USMC and Coast Guard list and he was listed as wounded. I then checked Jack H. Wren on the USMC Muster Roll and found him. He enlisted Sept. 2, 1942. On the Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division for July 1 to July 31 1944 he is listed as GSW scalp. That's your man! The Battle of Saipan was fought from 15 June – 9 July 1944 and the Second Marine Division was there. Dick Awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted June 1, 2012 Share #58 Posted June 1, 2012 These are his USMC muster records: 2 Sep 1942 Rank: Private Station: Caual Company, Recruit Depot, Marine Corps Base, San Diego, Calif Oct 1943 Rank: Private First Class Station: 2D Antitank Bn, 2D Mar Div, Fmf, In The Field Jul 1943 Rank: Private Station: "C" Battery, Second Antitank Battalion, First Marine Amphibious Corps, Fleet Marine Force, In The Field Apr 1943 Rank: Private Station: C Battery, Second Antitank Battalion, Fmac, Fmf, In The Field Jan 1944 Rank: Private First Class Station: Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division, Fmf. Apr 1944 Rank: Private First Class Station: Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division, Fmf Jul 1944 Rank: Private First Class Station: Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division, Fmf, In The Field Apr 1945 Rank: Sergeant Station: Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division, Fmf Oct 1945 Rank: Sergeant Station: Second Casual Company, Guard Battalion, Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etienne Posted June 1, 2012 Share #59 Posted June 1, 2012 Great lid by itself ... and besides it's identified to a combat Marine :w00t: You're one lucky guy, Doyler !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdphll Posted June 1, 2012 Share #60 Posted June 1, 2012 Killer! Could not have went to a better guy. Wade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted June 1, 2012 Share #61 Posted June 1, 2012 Very awesome helmet with the I.D. and story to go along with it! I had a strong feeling the wearer would have been on the casualty/wound list, judging by the damage on the helmet. There is absolutely no way an individual wearing this helmet would have been unscathed by that impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share #62 Posted June 2, 2012 I found him! I looked on the Ancestry USN, USMC and Coast Guard list and he was listed as wounded. I then checked Jack H. Wren on the USMC Muster Roll and found him. He enlisted Sept. 2, 1942. On the Third Battalion, Second Marines, Second Marine Division for July 1 to July 31 1944 he is listed as GSW scalp. That's your man! The Battle of Saipan was fought from 15 June – 9 July 1944 and the Second Marine Division was there. He was from Detroit, Michigan. That is an amazing helmet!!! Name: Jack H. Wren SSN:373-12-0900 Last Residence: 48390 Walled Lake, Oakland, Michigan, United States of America Born: 21 May 1922 Died: 17 Sep 1993 Dick Dick YOU ARE THE MAN :bravo: :salute: Thankyou for all your hard work and efforts for putting this all together.Simply amazing. Maybe now I can check and see if he was a member of the 2nd MARDIV association and if anyone may have known him.I may have to get the records for him.Thanks again for giving this relic a breath of new life, RD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share #63 Posted June 2, 2012 Very awesome helmet with the I.D. and story to go along with it! I had a strong feeling the wearer would have been on the casualty/wound list, judging by the damage on the helmet. There is absolutely no way an individual wearing this helmet would have been unscathed by that impact. When I didnt see an exact match on the WW2 registry for the name I was considering the fact he was either wounded and survived or the helmet had been lost and damaged while lying on the ground.As the seller had stated a lady brought the helmet into a antique mall and said her brother, a Marine had sent/brought this home after finding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share #64 Posted June 2, 2012 Awesome!!! You can say that again brother... :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Posted June 2, 2012 Share #65 Posted June 2, 2012 WOW!!!GREAT FIND!!! This helmet should be insured!! Absolutely priceless in my opinion.Most collectors will go a lifetime without having a helmet like this in their collection.That it survived the shell is one thing......it survived the war another........that it survived being thrown away in the many years after the war.....A MIRACLE!!!Congratulations and by the way......I am JEALOUS!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmax Posted June 3, 2012 Share #66 Posted June 3, 2012 Outstanding helmet Ron. Humbling to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share #67 Posted June 3, 2012 Outstanding helmet Ron. Humbling to say the least. Thankyou sir and thanks again to all who have commeted and took time to look. kanemono(Dick) deserves a big hand shake from me as with out his help the identity may not have surfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harlan Posted June 4, 2012 Share #68 Posted June 4, 2012 I think you own a true treasure Doyler! There are few words to really describe how rare and astounding that helmet really is when you think about it - There would have been no way, ever, to know if the owner survived that kind of damage if you hadn't discovered his name. I would have guessed he didn't, and to me it would have left a certain sadness to it. (Maybe even a bit morbid too) For the delicate liner to have survived the elements alone is incredible. To have removed the delicate liner and to have discovered a legible and complete name to research such a horrifically damaged helmet really is a One in a Million! And then to find a 100% positive I.D. along with a description of the wound? The odds are almost infinitesimal. Discovering that the wearer positively survived the war and lived a full life leaves no morbid semblance over the helmet at all now - The helmet almost surely saved his life from the shrapnel, which is what these helmets were intended to do! Even an extreme shrapnel hit like this one was deflected enough to possibly save his life. To me, this is the most rare helmet I've ever seen, or know of. The one and only thing I can think of that would have been better about it would have been if it would have been discovered and given to the original veteran when he was still alive! I feel certain that in a case such as his, the helmet was knocked off from the impact and left on the beach as worthless, while a corpsman or the like worked to save his life. I think this find and the provenance is above anything we'll ever likely find. I'm very pleased it went to a deserving gentleman who'll fully appreciate it! Also shows you that there are some wonderful helmets "Still out there" too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share #69 Posted June 4, 2012 Harlan Thankyou for your comments and appreciation of this relic and thanks to all the other members who have looked and contributed to the post. But with out the forum and the detective work done to identify the owner by kanemono(Dick) this piece may have never had a complete story. I feel very fortunate to own this and agree it would have been fitting if the veteran was still with us to see his helmet once more.I was glad I listened to the little voice inside that said "buy it" as in the past I have not followed my instincts and regretted not buying something because of the price or lack of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau-Brummel Posted June 4, 2012 Share #70 Posted June 4, 2012 Truly Incredible, congratulations Ron! Whilst a very nice Item on It's own the provenance just brings It alive. That's the main reason I like to try to put provenanced Items In my collection, It elevates a humble relic to something really special. Well done Dick! Yours, Guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share #71 Posted June 5, 2012 Truly Incredible, congratulations Ron! Whilst a very nice Item on It's own the provenance just brings It alive. That's the main reason I like to try to put provenanced Items In my collection, It elevates a humble relic to something really special. Well done Dick! Yours, Guy. [/quote Thanks Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken88 Posted June 5, 2012 Share #72 Posted June 5, 2012 Happy you found the guy!!! That doesn't happen too often. That's great! Glad he survived WWII. Sorry to hear he's not amongst us anymore. Best, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harlan Posted June 6, 2012 Share #73 Posted June 6, 2012 I was glad I listened to the little voice inside that said "buy it" as in the past I have not followed my instincts and regretted not buying something because of the price or lack of information. I'm also extremely happy that you ended up with it, Ron! I was thinking about it before I left my last response - I almost shuddered thinking about what 'might' have happened to it if you didn't buy it when you found it. It is SO fortunate that it ended up with an expert helmet collector like you. The chance that it went to you, an expert, is really small - It could have easily ended up with someone who would have never tried to ID it, or even cared about it that much - Just a curiosity to them. It could have ended up banged around and eventually being stored out on a shelf or on a pile of junk in someone's garage. Or "SHUDDER" the liner pulled out and given to a kid for playing army or something, and the liner destroyed in short order! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king802 Posted June 6, 2012 Share #74 Posted June 6, 2012 This really is a fantastic story :thumbsup: Having it ID'd as well is the icing on the cake. What a great bit of history to have in your hand. Very impressive find. Regards Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share #75 Posted June 6, 2012 This really is a fantastic story :thumbsup: Having it ID'd as well is the icing on the cake. What a great bit of history to have in your hand. Very impressive find. Regards Rich Thanks Rich :thumbsup: Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now