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WW2 USMC burlap Raider Helmet


ArchangelDM
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It would be neat to see what is beneath. Maybe a stenciled or UNIS marked liner in addition to a name? Though, a search of a name if found, could yield less than desirable results in regards to it being Raider used if that matters to you? My Uncle was at Tulagi but to my knowledge he was a Scout/Sniper and not a raider. It sure is a beauty though! Good luck whatever your decision is and congrats on the helmet! Scott

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SEABEE SON

That is a thing of beauty. If the original liner was a Hawley, that would explain the need for a replacement at some point. My 2 cents is if there is the slightest chance of doing any damage, leave it together.  If you pull them apart and mess something up, and there is no name inside, you will be kicking yourself in the you-know-what for a very long time.  If you a planning on keeping this in your collection, there is no rush to decide what to do with it.  At least until you have thought it out for a while.  Whatever you decide, good luck with it, and please keep  us in the loop.

Mikie 

Agreed. I would leave it as it is.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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ArchangelDM

What an amazing find!

Thankyou

Believe me when this came up I literally hit the ceiling. With the photos I have of raiders this was bang on the money.

I really really want to open this up , but still indecisive

Thanks for the nice comments

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ArchangelDM

That is a thing of beauty. If the original liner was a Hawley, that would explain the need for a replacement at some point. My 2 cents is if there is the slightest chance of doing any damage, leave it together. If you pull them apart and mess something up, and there is no name inside, you will be kicking yourself in the you-know-what for a very long time. If you a planning on keeping this in your collection, there is no rush to decide what to do with it. At least until you have thought it out for a while. Whatever you decide, good luck with it, and please keep us in the loop.

Mikie

I totally agree Mikie

I'm taking my time with h this one , I'm currently filming away and the helmet is in the safe hands of my wife. I actually haven't even opened the box yet or handled it , these are photos taken by the previous Owner. I'm told the liner is totally stuck so I still have lots of time to decide.

But if I do try to take it apart and it won't hurt the whole rig I will film it , as you never know what's underneath !

Thanks for your lovely comments

Best

Dean

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  • 1 month later...
ArchangelDM

Decided to try and take the liner away carefully , and will do a video.

Last week of filming this week so will get it up next weekend

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ArchangelDM

very nice helmet :) Thanks for sharing. i wouldnt have open it

Something keeps telling me to take a look , and then I think to leave it Alone

 

Thanks for the comment

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Lucky 7th Armored

Dean, first off, what an amazing helmet with photo provenance! As you saw with my recent USMC Helmet find, im glad I took the liner out to find it named and unit marked.

 

If you do decide I recommend going at it in intervals. I tried on 4 separate occasions to remove the liner and it wasn't until the fourth time that the liner just slipped out with little struggle. Move around the rim and pull, rinse and repeat.

 

Good luck!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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ArchangelDM

Dean, first off, what an amazing helmet with photo provenance! As you saw with my recent USMC Helmet find, im glad I took the liner out to find it named and unit marked.

 

If you do decide I recommend going at it in intervals. I tried on 4 separate occasions to remove the liner and it wasn't until the fourth time that the liner just slipped out with little struggle. Move around the rim and pull, rinse and repeat.

 

Good luck!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice

I'm going to be home Saturday from filming so going to record the event by filming it. Hopefully there will be a shred of info on who the marine was.

I haven't even held the helmet yet it's still in its us mailer box with my wife , these where professional photos taken by the previous owner.

Exciting times

Thankyou for your kind comments

Dean

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  • 2 months later...

NEw photos from member government issue shows marine raiders with nearly identical helmets preparing for landing on the islands.

 

Amazing just how close my helmet is and the period photos are

 

Thanks to the member for sending me the pics

post-8861-0-08176000-1504637564_thumb.jpg

post-8861-0-21157400-1504637573_thumb.jpg

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Dean, I saw one helmet like yours for sale on eBay some 13 or 15 years ago. It was a sleeper and it indeed looked original. It had a Hawley liner. I saved the photos somewhere and will try to find them.

 

A helmet with this kind of cover was also posted on the WAF forum a long time ago.

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Why do you think he did that Ron? Can't see the left chin strap at all.

Ronnie

 

 

Dunno Ronnie...Just seem to see it on combat used helmets.I was told its a quick way to shorten/adjust the the chinstrap.

 

Either the left one has been removed or its tucked up inside the helmet?Hard to say.There are very few pictures of Sgt Strank.

 

You may recall this Marine helmet I posted

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/144261-if-only-it-could-speak/?hl=wren

 

post-342-1338429815.jpg

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I do remember that helmet Ron and this picture of Strank and the picture of your helmet is the reason for the question. Your answer makes logical sense to me.

Thanks for the info.

Ronnie

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Dean, I saw one helmet like yours for sale on eBay some 13 or 15 years ago. It was a sleeper and it indeed looked original. It had a Hawley liner. I saved the photos somewhere and will try to find them.

 

A helmet with this kind of cover was also posted on the WAF forum a long time ago.

Thanks CC

These helmets are as rare as they come , 1 in 13-15 years ! Like finding hen teeth

 

I've been collecting for 15 years on and off and I have seen 2 of these

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Raider Mike Strank..Bouganville and Mt Suribachi Flag Raiser

 

KIA Iwo Jima 3/1/45

 

RaiderMike Strank.jpg

 

Cropped photo often used in books.

 

Mike_Strank.gif

 

 

Great photo

If you look at the twists in the metal on his they are the same as On mine.

I would say mine is near identical to his

Fantastic pic

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Government Issue

I thought I'd add some more close ups of the photos along with links to the images as well. The USMC has been digitizing photos and categorizing them over at usmcu.edu's website and they are all incredibly high quality. Here's a link: http://www.usmcu.edu/historydivision Click on the photo galleries to view them.

 

After going over everything again, I came across the photo captions as well as some new pictures and I believe we may be able to ID this helmet to a unit. Bear with me as this is going to take time to build this up, but trust me it's worth the wait.

 

First off there's the photo of the guys in the rubber boat with the officer in khakis, Official US Marine Corps Photo 54668-A. http://www.usmcu.edu/hdphotos/Raiders?page=18 The caption simply states "Marine Raiders maneuver in rubber boats" with no designation to date or place. I have a theory where this may have been taken, but more on that later.

 

Looking at the first three Raiders in the boat, they've got burlap covers with nets. They're the exact same configuration as the helmet you've got, and you can see that the guys in the photo overpainted their helmets much like how yours has a green overpaint on the burlap and net.

 

post-8235-0-39522500-1504851966_thumb.png

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Government Issue

Alright, the next photo is the one with the Raider squad in a rubber boat, Defense Department Photo (Marine Corps) 54765.

post-8235-0-71724500-1504852934_thumb.jpg

https://www.usmcu.edu/hdphotos/Raiders?page=16

 

The caption for this photo: "Marine Raiders negotiated another stepping stone to Tokyo when they landed late in February on the Russell Islands, North of Guadalcanal. The rubber boat-load above was prepared for Japanese traps, but they found that the Japanese had hastily evacuated."

 

Here's some more close ups of the helmets.

post-8235-0-02118600-1504852654_thumb.png

post-8235-0-50346200-1504852673_thumb.png

 

Where this got interesting was the location and date being the Russell Islands in February (1943). After some research, I discovered that the 3rd Raider Battalion assaulted the Russel Islands as a part of Operation Cleanslate. http://usmarineraiders.org/about-the-raiders/history/combat-operations/new-georgia/russell-islands/

 

 

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