Helmets from Smith-Edwards pile

[JimD]

Although these helmets came to me some years ago, I will post here for everyone's viewing pleasure. The pictures are pretty poor because all I had was a disposable instamatic and these are new digital shots of hard copy photos. These helmets came out of the fabled Smith-Edwards helmet mountain in June of 2001. Smith-Edwards is a huge open air surplus yard which, among acres of other gear, had a few six foot tall piles of M-1 helmets that rose from the Utah dirt like small mountains. It is the source of some unique finds, including the pile of fix-loop 29 division pots found by the Sutherlands, and many other individual finds. The area has since been pillaged and holds few remaining treasures but when I partook in it, there was a smaller sized pile that I choose to mine for helmets.

 

Here is the pile, which is a picture of the hard copy picture and not so sharp.

 

 

 

 

 

Among the many crates of helmets I peered into, was this one, viewed in situ from the top. This is what I saw.

 

 

 

 

Here are the helmets I brought back, mostly rear-seam but a few fix-loop and front seam.

 

 

 

 

I am going to post better pic of some of these helmets in the Helmet section the next few days because, even after 7 years,some remain unidentified as to the origin of theie markings.

[sgtdorango]

Oooooooooooooo

[ww2vault]

Wow, I wish I could have found a place like that! To sit and hunt through all of those M1's would have been a blast!

 

- Jeff

[JimD]

I forgot to mention that they had a market incorporated into the surplus yard so you could get a cooler, ica and some beer and sip on a cold one while you were going through the piles of helmets.

[Bob Hudson]

We've seen an old photo or two of that before on the forum, but nothing like yours to make grown men weep. I've changed the topic title so folks won't miss this one.

 

thanks...

[Bugme]

I've seen or have in my possession many pictures like this but, this is by far the most revealing picture I've seen of the Smith-Edwards lot. Unfortunately, that lot has been cleared out for years by the conquering hordes of collectors.

[Polygon]

I forgot to mention that they had a market incorporated into the surplus yard so you could get a cooler, ica and some beer and sip on a cold one while you were going through the piles of helmets.

 

That's pretty awesome to say the least, I'd love to browse a place like this for hours.

[Lawdog]

Keep in mind the year in which these were found.....2001. At that time, only 3 or 4 people (myself included) outside of Ogden Utah knew of this piles existence. Before long, word spread and the vultures descended on this place like a rotting carcass. Now, it's all but gone....picked clean. The few of us that knew it existed had a deal with Larry the yard manager that we would keep its existence under our hats and return the yard to the same condition in which we found it in return for a killer deal on price-per-pots. Before long, dozens upon dozens of folks were climbing all over this place, trashing the yard and leaving it an absolute wreck. Larry caught hell from old man Edwards himself and nearly lost his livlihood over it. That ended what at one time was probably the single largest historical pile of DRMO'd helmets in existence. Am I bitter? Damned right I am! Our small group of people reasearched that pile for our own and others collections and to preserve the many historical helmets that were there. The others raped it for their own greedy needs and ruined it for everybody. This is the prime reason why I refuse to disclose where I get my helmets from. Next to Smith and Edwards, its probably the second largest pile in the US.

[Bob Hudson]

The others raped it for their own greedy needs and ruined it for everybody.

 

Well actually since it was a private business on private property, the owners should have been in charge: it sounds like they dropped the ball or got greedy and opened the gates too wide.

[Justin]

WOW, now that is both amazing and sad

[gtpcamaroz]

Wow, I wish I could stumble upon something like that.

[kklinejr]

I bought a few lids from them two years ago @ something like $4.00 a pop. What I got in return was evidence of an incredibly picked over pile- the lids had been piled together for so long that it took a carefully used rubber mallet to separate them. The others were rusted over and were missing bales. Unfortunately, that is a source that is very much tapped out, especially after a certain California "collector" purchased 6000 in one swoop. Being on the east coast, I would have loved to have lived near there as a kid...I would have been in heaven.

 

Ken

[ccmax]

Please show us pics of these helmets, especially the medics and camo.

[JimD]

I will post some clear pictures of the helmets tomorrow (Wednesday) under this topic. Since I flew to the Smith-Edwards lot in 2001 I was only able to bring 10 or so back, most of which I still have and a few of which I still have not identified as to the insignia origin. In the meantime, here is one for now: It is a rear seam and had the interior hand-written inscription, which I take to be 218th Field Artillery Batt., of the 41st Division.

 

 

[JimD]

Please show us pics of these helmets, especially the medics and camo.

 

 

If you don't mind, I will post pictures of the individual helmets in the HELMETS/PROTECTIVE GEAR Forum since I think viewers of that Forum might be more interested.

[JimD]

I posted this subject two days ago in the LATEST ACQUISITIONS Forum but I am going to start it again in this Forum since it is strictly regarding M-1 helmets. For those who already perused the topic in the prior forum, please forgive the re-iteration here before we get to the individual pics of the helmets in question. Brief background: Surplus lot in Utah had a few hugh piles of M-1 shells for sale and I was able to poke through the pile in 2001 to get a few helmets. Since I flew to the site in Utah I could only take a few home with me and I left a few nice painted pots perched atop the pile for the next collector to find. Some truly phenomenal helmets came out of the pile in the past, but it has long since been played out, I am told. Below are a few poor quality shots of the helmet pile as it stood in June 2001 as well as a pile of helmets lying "in situ" as I uncovered them. I only had an instamatic camera so these pictures are digital shots of hard copies and, thus, suck. However, I will follow this posts with better shots of some of the pots. Any help in identifying the insignia on some of them would be appreciated (which is another reason I moved over to the HELMET Forum.)

Jim D.

 

The pile:

 

 

 

 

The cache:

 

[JimD]

Here is the sole fix loop in the group. It appears to have either camo or, more likey, the chemical detection paint I have read about.

 

 

[JimD]

Here is a white medic that had a naval grey overpaint that literally flecked off. Front seam swivel loops.

 

[JimD]

This one is a mystery to me. Rear seam with hand painted insignia. Same insignia both sides.

 

 

[JimD]

Here is an M1-C para pot that was in the pile. Front seam, OD #7 straps but note: only 10 lines of stitches instead of the accepted 11 lines that are the norm.

 

 

 

[JimD]

Front seam from 9th ID (38th Regt?)

 

 

[JimD]

Another mystery one: a Naval pot but what do CSO and the bars designate? Front seam, hand painted insignia.

 

 

[JimD]

Larhe hand painted medic insignia. Helmet very rusted, but real. Hand painted insignia.

 

 

[JimD]

MP markings. Oddly, they appear to be stencil, over a taped marking, over a hand-painted marking. Front seam.

 

 

[JimD]

And finally, a rear seam, post WWII chinstrap assembly. Stencil on front, actual decal on back.

Thanks for looking