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Pair of Named M1 Helmets, Could Use Help Researching Them


Captain Woody
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Captain Woody

I planned on showing off this pair of named lids eventually and I've hit a dead end trying to find the exact soldier it belonged to, so I guess I'll kill two birds with one stone here. Back in July I acquired two helmets from an eBay seller that specialized in estate sales. It appears to be the only militaria she has handled in recent years, and they were in fantastic shape, albeit very dirty. In fact, all the saltiness was due to poor storage, and seemingly not much use. Had to remove A LOT of dust, dead bugs, and literal mouse turds out of em', but they cleaned up quite nicely. She says she handled the estate for the grandchildren of whomever they belonged to.

 

 

The first one is a McCord fixed bail with an early Hawley liner retaining the riveted leather chinstrap. It has absolutely seen better days, but i see no reason it won't stay intact as long as I don't go messing with it. The liner is mostly intact save for what appear to be a few "pin holes" in the dome. Kind of looks like somebody poked it few times with a pencil or what have you. They're not obvious from the outside, but they're pretty easily seen inside behind the webbing.

 

 

The second is a Schlueter fixed bail with a Firestone liner. The inside of the shell is painted with a laundry number of "B-2390" and then a partial name and complete officer's serial number that reads as follows: "CAPT L.R. BROWN. O-902390". The liner came with a very nice double wire sweatband and fantastic green buckle chinstrap. It has Captain's bars painted on the front and "CAPT L.R. BROWN" etched on the outside.

 

 

Searches on wwii-enlistment.com and AAD didn't return any possible candidates, sadly. (The third screenshot was a search with just laundry# and last name). I was worried that with such a common last name I'd have had a lot of records to sift through, but the opposite has proven true. I've reached out to the seller to see if she could offer any other info such as a first name, DOB, or state of residency at the time of enlistment, but the sale was several months ago so I'm not holding my breath for a reply or any useful info (assuming she even remembers me). The seller was based out of northern California, which does make sense given the number 9 following the "O-",

 

 

This is the first named lid I've been able to add to my collection, so this is a little discouraging, but not the end of the world as they are still very nice pieces. Am I going about it incorrectly? Is there another database I should be searching, or do they all generally have access to the same records? Any and all help is truly appreciated, and I've included as many photos as possible to share with the community and in case they help provide any further info I may have missed. If nothing else, enjoy these nice helmets.

 

-Charlie

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stealthytyler

The handwriting match is iffy but the letter C with the swirl is spot on with the C on the inside of the shell... but the handwriting on the shell vs the liner shows differences as well...if that means anything

 

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Captain Woody

C on the shell vs the C on the draft reg card

 

attachicon.gif Screen Shot 2019-11-12 at 10.16.18 PM.png

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking how/where did you get this info? I tried searching by the serial number formatted 50 different ways (dash, no dash, space, no space, etc), searched by laundry # & surname, and this was the best I could come up with. The former got me nothing at all post-2159-0-41183900-1573630285_thumb.jpg
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WWII Enlistment doesnt show officers.

So if you search for an officer who did wrote his laundry number like enlisted men, they doesnt show up there.

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Captain Woody

WWII Enlistment doesnt show officers.

So if you search for an officer who did wrote his laundry number like enlisted men, they doesnt show up there.

I had a sneaking suspicion that WWII enlistment didn't. Does the same go for AAD? Or should I have been looking for an officer-specific database? And is there anywhere I can get more details about his career such as unit assignments? If the info can only be found with subscription based services I'd be happy to compensate anyone that would use said resource to help flesh out his story!

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I had a sneaking suspicion that WWII enlistment didn't. Does the same go for AAD? Or should I have been looking for an officer-specific database? And is there anywhere I can get more details about his career such as unit assignments? If the info can only be found with subscription based services I'd be happy to compensate anyone that would use said resource to help flesh out his story!

WWII enlistment is gaining results from AAD.

It is just easier to search.

 

Unfortunately there is no Database for officers for free. I dont know where to look for officers.

You could ask other members here on the forum.

But maybe should you ask for him in the Individual Search forum.

 

Blueprint

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I see a Leonard Richards Brown from Chico, CA (Northern California). 1907-1989. He retired a Major. Possible match?

Same one I found at billiongraves.com

 

Marty

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Very nice helmets.

 

Agreed, I'd be happy with one of those in my collection let alone both!

 

I like how the sweatband in the Hawley is installed backwards. I've got no idea how someone would find that comfortable but the helmet barely looks worn so I doubt comfort was much of a concern.

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Captain Woody

WWII enlistment is gaining results from AAD.

It is just easier to search.

Unfortunately there is no Database for officers for free. I dont know where to look for officers.

You could ask other members here on the forum.

But maybe should you ask for him in the Individual Search forum.

Blueprint

Thanks, hopefully this topic gains a little more traction and I get some more advice. I wouldn't mind subscribing to a service year round if the cost was reasonable and/or they offered per use pricing as it's not as though I have many pieces to try and associate with a person. If these sorts of resources are on the pricey end of things I also wouldn't mind compensating an individual with access. I'll definitely checking out the Individual Search Forum, thanks for the tip.

 

Same one I found at billiongraves.com

Marty

Is billiongraves just for graves/family plots, or is there a section that allows you to search for an individual's military history as well?

 

Very nice helmets.

Thank you very much! They were absolutely filthy when I got them, but cleaned up quite nicely. I still have to work on some of those rusty washers in the Hawley. I'm thankful all the original components are present and intact, but man do I wish these were stored better.

 

Agreed, I'd be happy with one of those in my collection let alone both!

 

I like how the sweatband in the Hawley is installed backwards. I've got no idea how someone would find that comfortable but the helmet barely looks worn so I doubt comfort was much of a concern.

Thank you ! I was elated to get TWO pieces attributed to the same individual officer.

 

Regarding the sweatband, I wanted to turn that back around in the worst way, but my obsessive compulsive tendencies are thankfully outweighed by my fear of causing ANY damage to the liner and/or webbinv. I've worn a liner re-webbed with rayon and a matching sweatband for re-enacting and man, do those button snaps get uncomfortable quickly. I have a size 7¾ head, so I imagine these configurations were only comfortable for people with smaller heads.

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I use fold3,familyseach and ancestry.com as my main searches and while using one of them the billiongraves.com came up and that was a first for me, so to answer your question, I don’t know anything about the site but I plan to check for graves I’ve not been able to find on others sites.

 

Marty

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Captain Woody

I use fold3,familyseach and ancestry.com as my main searches and while using one of them the billiongraves.com came up and that was a first for me, so to answer your question, I dont know anything about the site but I plan to check for graves Ive not been able to find on others sites.

 

Marty

Do the first three that you named allow to to search databases for military records, or just enlistment records? What about officers?

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Cap Camouflage Pattern I

I have only used fold3 on a free day they had so my experience is limited, but I searched a few items in my collection and my great grand father and found some draft cards, WW1 ship passenger lists, and a list of officers which had rank, branch, and some other info. I did come up with nothing on a few names. Seemed like a good service to me but I didn't feel a subscription was worth it for me as I don't regularly acquire named items and was able to do all my searching on that free day.

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I like all three sites, I know there are more but I can’t afford to join them all. Familysearch is free and is useful. To find family members addresses and telephone numbers I like fast people search.com, I’ve found multiple families Addresses and numbers using that site.

On Fold3 I was not have any luck with one of the Chaplains I was researching but when I typed in his field hospital in the search bar I was able to find him and also adding his or her rank helps. One more thing I’ve discovered on these sites, if for example the vet was a major also search under captain, Lt. more information sometimes pops up.

 

Marty

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