So I just bought a helmet.. in Normandy.. on the 75th anniversary of D-Day

[ClaptonIsGod]

Lucky enough to be in Normandy for the 75th anniversary commemoration and celebrations. I just got back from the D-Day Village in Carentan, which was a mix of vehicles parked and on display and a big surplus store having a flea market-type sale, mainly of reproduction and Euro gear aimed at the thousands of reenactors here. I decided before I came to Normandy that I had to bring a nice helmet back, and this was only my second chance to buy one. The first was at the Maisy battery, where the owners were selling a decent number of relic-condition M1s and two shell-liner combos, but I felt the prices were pretty steep for what they had and decided to hold out. At first this seemed like a mistake in Carentan because all I was seeing was Euroclones in the market, and was starting to worry I should have bought one at the battery. Then I found the smaller table of original items at the end of the market. It was here I saw a strange blue lid marked USN WW2.

 

I think the pictures mostly speak for themselves. I was looking it over, trying to assess it, and not get carried away and remain objective. Pretty soon I knew it had to be mine. Seller said he had bought it from another Normandy dealer and that it was found in Normandy (I know, buy the item, not the story, but whether it originated here I still bought it pretty close to where the 506th fought and that is good enough for me).

 

Fixed bail front seam, stamp hard to make out but appears to possibly be 40C, original chinstraps with good stitching and a field repair on the long strap, blue exterior, green interior, probably 5-10% cork remaining.

 

Westinghouse liner, D25 stamp, great webbing, folded over nape strap suspension, original brass chinstrap, SMC size 5 nape strap, S&SM Co. (?) sweatband, and its marked Langley on the front. Has some blue paint marks which appear to match the shell and in overall phenomenal condition.

 

I will be happy to say how much I paid once some people chime in, I think that it is a good one and I kept the day from getting to my head, but eager to hear opinions and hope I did well. I have no reason to think the parts are wrong, but could use confirmation there and thoughts on it being USN/any research on a Langley from the Navy who might have been here (already checked for USS Langley, it was a light carrier in the Pacific). Being here for the anniversary has been an incredibly special and powerful experience, and whatever the verdict on this helmet, Im proud to be bringing it home to the US.

 

[ClaptonIsGod]

[yp221]

Nice helmet, looks like it's been posted here before:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/221497-us-navy-m-1-helmet-opinions-please/?hl=langley

 

The liner chinstrap looks like a European copy, but still a nice honest helmet

[ClaptonIsGod]

That is funny, thanks for finding it for me because I never would have found it (or at least not for a while). Had me scared for a second there before I clicked on it, was afraid I had accidentally bought a known lemon. If doyler, sigsaye, etc. like it, I feel pretty comfortable with it. If only I could prove the D-Day provenance. Pretty cool I have photos from five years ago to compare it to.

[dmar836]

So it made it from Spain to a flee market in Normandy?

[ClaptonIsGod]

So it made it from Spain to a flee market in Normandy?

When I bought it I asked the seller where it came from/its history, and he said he bought it from someone in Normandy who said it was found in Normandy. The guy I bought it from was Spanish, so I have to assume it was that member (unless it changed Spanish hands over the last five years, considering all possibilities) and have hope he is credible; ergo, off this version of events, he bought it in Normandy 5 years ago likely while attending the 70th and brought it back to sell at the 75th along with other militaria he deals in.

 

I have dated all the components (with the exception of the liner strap now, but the green hardware strap remnants from the post 5 years ago check out to 1942-43 and I plan on getting a proper reproduction) to earlier than D-Day: nape strap contract was late 1942, folded over nape strap webbing is also on the earlier side, unpainted A washers, 40C would be mid-1941 or 40[X]C would be late 1942 if there is another digit, etc. Assuming it has been in Europe for the last ~75 years, who can say whether it was actually here on D-Day, or if it was in Sicily, the Mediterranean, etc. I will personally go with the D-Day story because it makes me feel good, but hopefully I will be able to narrow down Langleys serving in the Navy in the ETO.

[dmar836]

Good plan. I asked as I would be very cautious buying anything in Normandy. We will be there next June and I don't plan to purchase anything. A pop up flea market would be hard to pass up though.

Dave

[ClaptonIsGod]

Have a possible ID (or rather, one possible ID). Without anything more to go off than Langley I may never get full identification, but I did find the following obituary for a Delbert C. Langley, who died April 12, 2006, age 87:

During World War II he served in the Navy on the USS Monrovia and the USS Dorother and was part of the amphibious assault in the invasion of Normandy.

 

He worked as the supervisor of buildings and grounds maintenance at the Naval Academy for 27 years.

Based on the fact that the USS Monrovia was an attack transport, I made an inference that USS Dorother is a typo for the USS Dorothea L. Dix: https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dorothea_L._Dix_(AP-67)

 

She was at Normandy:

On 23 March 1944 Dorothea L. Dix sailed from New York for Belfast, Northern Ireland, arriving on 3 April. After amphibious training in the Clyde area, she sortied with Temporary Transport Division 97 from the Isle of Portland, England, on 5 June for the invasion landings at Normandy the following day. She returned to Weymouth Bay on the 7th to debark casualties, then embarked troops in the Clyde area and tanks at Avonmouth which she carried to Naples, arriving on 16 July.

As you can see in the photo, the entire deck is covered in what appears to be LCVPs. Since his obituary states Mr. Langley participated in the amphibious assault (as opposed to just saying he participated in the invasion), I think it can be inferred he was an LCVP crew member. If this was his helmet, he must have somehow lost it while either making his runs to shore or helping to load casualties aboard his LCVP on the 6th/7th.

 

This is all based on just a last name, and I will never really know for sure, but I do believe the liner is original to the helmet and the consensus on the other thread seems to be that it is a solid WWII USN helmet. So, my gut leads me to believe this is a distinct possibility. Admittedly it is the same gut which made me think the liner chinstrap was original, but this is probably the closest I can get. Once I get back to the US, I will try to figure out which beach the Dix was at. My thinking is Utah since they were evacuating casualties as early as the 7th, but hopefully I can confirm that.

 

Edit: Confirmed the Dorothea L. Dix theory, found Langley on this crew roster from 1943:

https://www.fold3.com/document/307975668/

 

Also found out his Navy service number was 6026768.

 

Edit 2: Scratch Utah, found the after-action report by the CO for her actions at Omaha: https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/battle-of-normandy/after-action-reports/amphibious/uss-dorothea-l-dix. Multiple LCVPs were lost in the early waves and the crews were left scrambling for cover on Omaha at the beginning and then helped with the wounded. If this is indeed my Langley, that is likely where he lost the helmet.