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WWII Beach Invasion Medic Helmet?


Pudgy (V)
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I'm guessing a soldier. I really don't know. I was hoping somebody came across something similar to how it is painted in the past. Seems like it is something different from the norm.

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I know. It is so interesting though. Would be nice to figure something out on it. I was hoping someone on here could figure it out.

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I know. It is so interesting though. Would be nice to figure something out on it. I was hoping someone on here could figure it out.

Without photographic evidence, it becomes an educated guess. I lean toward invasion markings belonging to USN medical staff. That's the best I can come up with. Also, I know I mentioned it previously, and it may just be the photo's but, it still looks to me like the whole helmet has a layer of shellac on it.

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I agree too, in post #20 it looks to be built up all around the corking, but not between it.

 

I'm going to guess (without photographic evidence of it being worn in 1944) a navy corpsman, and there couldn't have been too many named "Fritz".

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If it is shellac, it wasn't brushed on, I guarantee that. You can tell that from the pictures. I had three people look at it, and thought the same thing I did. If it is shellac, that would only authenticate it more in my book. The VFW obviously thought enough about it to try preserving it. Not sure that necessarily hurts it much. We all agree that it is original paint, so lets go from there. Just would be nice to find something else out about it. I guess that means it could be marine related. Now that is a find.

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I suppose it could just be a general layer of grime, nicotine, and dust mixed together. Either way, neat helmet, hopefully someone will be find more info on the original owner!

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The only A E Fritz I could find was Albert E Fritz Sr, born 1904, Philadelphia, PA, serial # 13151606, Army. I searched the PA, Ohio, and New York area. That means 40 by D-Day!!!

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...Just would be nice to find something else out about it. I guess that means it could be marine related. Now that is a find.

What makes you think it's Marine related? The Navy provided a lot of medical staff for D-Day and Operation Dragoon. The markings for anything in the PTO would almost certainly not have been so obvious like this.

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Didn't the navy corpsman usually get attached to marine units? If you look at Uniforms and Equipment from 1941-1945 by Bruno Alberti and Laurent Pradier page 157, he talks about that.

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What makes you think it's Marine related? The Navy provided a lot of medical staff for D-Day and Operation Dragoon. The markings for anything in the PTO would almost certainly not have been so obvious like this.

Good thing the markings are on the back...

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Just to show the variation of invasion medical markings, you can see 5 different sizes and styles of markings utilized by medical staff on the beach. According to the information with the photo, these were all navy.


Medic Navy.jpg

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Good thing the markings are on the back...

 

True but, the point was that it is still a very odd marking to be found in the PTO and would most likely be found in the ETO or MTO.

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According to the muster rolls, there's a HA1c Alto Ernest Fritz (enlisted 7/6/43 in Erie, PA) on LST 48, and transferred to LST 380 before the Normandy invasion.

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Wow, that is an interesting picture. Sure are a bunch of variations going on there. I think this guy was the smartest one of all of them. I wouldn't want that big red bulls eye on the front or sides of my helmet. That is interesting jguy1986. I think Erie is pretty far away from St Marys, but he is a Pa guy.

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According to the muster rolls, there's a HA1c Alto Ernest Fritz (enlisted 7/6/43 in Erie, PA) on LST 48, and transferred to LST 380 before the Normandy invasion.

 

That is a USN Hospital Apprentice First Class designation and LST 380 was in Normandy. This has great possibilities!

 

800px-SC206438.jpg

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Erie could have been the closest place for him to join up, other than maybe Pittsburgh.

 

And yes, bugme, I limited my quick search to USN medical personnel in 1944. Seemed like the best way to find a possible match.

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