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Interesting 29th Div painted helmet


skinsfan
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Hello,bought this from a distant relative of a member of our local Natl guard detachment back in the day(Hagerstown,Md)....It really caught my eye as it has corporal stripes painted on the side as well as being my stated local division more or less....was this a common practice?....It is an American made helmet and has a hole in the front with a shadow of what looks like a collar disk was there???...Thanks folks....I moved this from an incorrect forum,sorry

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I have found in my experience that for things such as this, photographic evidence is one of the best ways to authenticate something as it is purported to be…..easier said than done, right..? Prolly so.

 

In the interwar period troop strength wasn’t as capacity for the National Guard, things were ‘kinda slow’ in terms of readiness and activity. So, you don’t see much going on in terms of soldiers taking personal liberties with their equipment….in fact, most of what they used was lent out and returned on drill weekends, not taken home.

 

All that being said, here is a rare pic from the early 20s of some troops in the 183rd Infantry Regiment, VA National Guard, 29th Division….this shows what they did and what was allowed as a unit, which had to be sanctioned from a higher-up in rank (Company CO or Battalion level)……your mileage may vary. ;)

 

 

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well,it's a bit confusing,but the two sisters i got it from also sold me a ww1 mess kit with his initials and a stack of pre ww2(1940 mostly) manuals....he marked them all with name,rank(ssgt at that time) and 115th regiment....../he belonged to the local guard unit in Hagerstown,MD prior to activation....they had an old note saying he landed on Omaha on d+1.....I am thinking maybe they were a bit confused and the ww1 helmet belonged to his father possibly....or maybe he was much older when ww2 broke out hence the ww1 equipment and later just prior to ww2 manuals etc...she said she found a unit picture and will be forwarding it to me...that may clear some ,things up

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Nice helmet. Here is My Dad's M1917A1 he was issued when he joined the New York National Guard in the spring of 1940.  He wore it until he was issued an M1 sometime in 1942.  He sent it and the 1917 trench knife home to my grandparents as a keepsake. If this soldier was in the guard in 1940, he was probably issued a lot of WWI equipment that was eventually replaced over time after the war started. No idea if sending them home was allowed or not, but if my Dad did it, I'm sure others did it too.  This soldier probably did he same thing with this helmet when he got his M1.   

Mikie

Dad's Helmet top.jpg

Dad's Helmet Bottom.jpg

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On 11/22/2021 at 11:03 AM, skinsfan said:

well,it's a bit confusing,but the two sisters i got it from also sold me a ww1 mess kit with his initials and a stack of pre ww2(1940 mostly) manuals....he marked them all with name,rank(ssgt at that time) and 115th regiment....../he belonged to the local guard unit in Hagerstown,MD prior to activation....they had an old note saying he landed on Omaha on d+1.....I am thinking maybe they were a bit confused and the ww1 helmet belonged to his father possibly....or maybe he was much older when ww2 broke out hence the ww1 equipment and later just prior to ww2 manuals etc...she said she found a unit picture and will be forwarding it to me...that may clear some ,things up


It’s a great piece and who knows, that helmet may have been a keepsake from earlier times in the ‘guard….It would be great to see the unit pic when it’s available. It’s all interesting. :) 

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