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WWII Medic Helmet


SammyT
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I was thrilled to pick up this 3 panel Medic helmet .   I wanted to post as a clean example of this type of helmet.

 

Sammy T.

 

 

 

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The woman I purchased it from found it in the attic while cleaning out her deceased father's home.   I questioned her about how it came to be but she had very few answers.   The father was not in the war but she feels that uncles were.   But she was pretty oblivious to any supporting info.    based on the condition of the helmet and the oxidizing to the metal pieces, the helmet was undisturbed for decades. 

 

The first pics you see is how I purchased it, with the liner strap still across the brim of the pot.   the leather had definitely shrunk over time and it was extremely tight fit.   I was leary about trying to undo it for fear of breaking the leather but I did manage to get it free and was able to remove the liner.   Nothing of interest was found on the liner though.

 

Sammy T.

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Those stories of "clueless" sellers always imply to me that they don't really know what they have found and likely aren't asking a lot of money. It's ironic that so often what the "clueless" find is so often a sought after version of about anything. Was there anything else found that was military? Keeping your WWII medic helmet wasn't a common thing to steal.... I mean do. If you kept Uncle Sam's helmet, you likely kept much of your kit.

If she wanted $50 then I'd say the story is more likely true. If she was asking a lot then at the minimum she did some research - research which would likely add "medic" to her explanation of her relative's story. Also a larger asking price adds the profit potential for moving a fake.  

JMO

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dmar836,   the helmet is not up for sale as I have already purchased it from the family member.   I'm going to be keeping this in my personal collection.

 

Sammy T.

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dmar836,  I just noticed your comments that you posted earlier and wanted to comment as well.    In my opinion there was no set rational for what a particular GI brought back or kept throughout the years.  Some things might have special meaning while other things (for whatever reason) do not.    If the soldier wanted to keep his helmet as a momento, he did,  regardless whether he served as a grunt on the lines or a medic or rear eschelon.    

 

I've made purchases directly from vets and family members over the years and sometimes there is a trunk full of items and sometimes there is only lapel pins.   Sometimes things are kept intact and sometimes for whatever reason items are lost in time whether from selling, mishaps, or unfortunatley being thrown out.

 

In this particular instance with this helmet this was all she had come across.   So for me,  I purchase the item(s) based on what they are and not whether they have accompanying items with them.

 

...not trying to be argumentative but just wanted to express my experiences and opinions.

 

Sammy T.

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One must admit it has "the look". My question was just from my personal observations. The items I've purchased from families are typically come with such a low asking price, I give them more. Then again I'm not good at taking advantage of a deal. To me that's sort of an indicator.

Thanks for the response,

Dave

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dhcoleterracina

While it will stay in your collection for now, at some point it will be for sale. When that happens, any provenance will make the difference in the sale price. You will thank yourself later if you can say...I bought this helmet on xxx, from xxx, who lived at xxx, uncles served in WW2 named xxx, etc etc etc.. 

 

If you didn't get this info, go back to check if she found anything else and ask for the uncles names. Perhaps she's remembered more. Otherwise most collectors will be suspicious. 

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14 hours ago, SammyT said:

dmar836,   the helmet is not up for sale as I have already purchased it from the family member.   I'm going to be keeping this in my personal collection.

 

Sammy T.

 

Great helmet and good for you!!! I will add the "price" is often determined between seller and buyer. Its irrelevant in the big picture what someone pays as price doesnt make it real or not and then we have all the types that say "buy the item not the story" but then want the story".

Being clueless is pretty common as most people have no clue what their family member did or how something came to be. In my own family even. When my grandmother( mothers side) moved off the farm in the mid 70s I found a WW1 helmet in her attic. I had always spent my summers on the farm and  time in her attic as a kid digging through stuff. My parents even left stuff there when they got married and all of this had to be moved. When I asked gramma where the helmet came from she said " I have no clue". My grandfather (mothers side) wasnt a WW1 vet and had never been in the military. She could think of no relative that it could have belonged to or how it got in the attic. She had never seen the helmet before and lived in that house since 1931. I asked my dad if he knew who it came from. He had no clue. Possibly he picked it up as a boy in the 40s or speculation was it may have been a helmet that belonged to his grandfathers son who had been in WW1 and left home after returning never to be heard from again. My dad was raised by his grandfather as his mother had died in 1940. Then his grandfather died in 1952 before he graduated high school. This helmet was in a old peach crate with some other stuff that was my dads but again no clue to where or who it belonged to. I still have it to this day. There is one picture pf the relative and another soldoer manning a machine gun in WW1. But no one has a "clue" if it was his or not.

 

 

  I really dont know how I have managed to collect or buy something for the last 50 years with out the internet ( cough choke, vomit...ebay) for "research"  or having the item "named" so It can be matched it to a grave marker. I bought the item as I liked it or the price was fair and I could afford it. I guess I was a collector of opportunity. If I had the opportunity and the money to buy the item I did. If not I had to pass and save up. When I was a kid I gave $30 for a HJ knife. Had an older more experienced "collector" tell me I paid to much as he pays $15-$20 and sells them for $30-$35. I said doesn't matter I like it and thats what I offered the vet and he said he wanted $5 for it. I paid him what  I thought was fair and then he sold me other items to include his 98K he brought home for $80. Now before we go down the road that I "ripped off a vet this was back in 1977-78 rifles at pawn shops and gun shows were priced from $60 to maybe $100 if someone would pay it.The vet said $80 and I agreed. I had a summer jib working for farmers and had saved all summer to buy stuff. Japanese rifles wre abput $35 then each and not flying out the door at pawn shops opr gun shows. Actually saw a friend buy several at $20 a rifle from the pawn show we had 30 miles from here. Different times but much better I feel than the age of the internet and instant information and everyone is suspect of what someone pays or sells. 

 I ran into the  "collector" I know Saturday at the small collectors club show I started and he was crying again about how all those HJ knives he has sold in the past for $25-$35 are now $300 or more. I finally told him you made money then and stop living in the past and worrying about money that "he could make now". I added I wont pay $150 for an HJ knife no matter what. There are thousands of them out here and wait till the collections start being sold off or people are not buyin the TR stuff due to the changing attitudes. There may be a lot of $30 HJ knives again....

 

Enjoy your helmet its a great piece.

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Burning Hazard

I like the look of this one, no red flags come up for me.

 

Shell and liner were together for a long time which is also a good sign.

 

From my period photo research, 3-panel medic helmets first started appearing during Battle of the Bulge and continued to be worn all the way into the Korean War.

 

I have a 3-panel medic helmet as well but not in as good condition as yours.

 

Pat

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23 hours ago, Burning Hazard said:

I like the look of this one, no red flags come up for me.

 

Shell and liner were together for a long time which is also a good sign.

 

From my period photo research, 3-panel medic helmets first started appearing during Battle of the Bulge and continued to be worn all the way into the Korean War.

 

I have a 3-panel medic helmet as well but not in as good condition as yours.

 

Pat

 

 

I still like this one and the pictures you found to post in the topic. Its not super cool to most but being USAF related is interesting to me. I also know the person who got it from the veteran.

 

 

https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/274721-monday-was-medic-day/

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THis is an odd one I still have. Seems to been a set for ever. Cross's are really a pink color. Very thick paint. Mo name or history on it. bought it on line from a coin shop several years ago and if I sold the chin strap and sweatband I would double what I paid for it. I bought it as a oddity and to study more than anything. 

 

 

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