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Relic Talker's helmet with intersting story


BOLO
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http://cgi.ebay.com/WW2-Relic-Talkers-Helm...emZ130313292761

 

Up for auction is a relic Talkers Helmet from WW2 that was found on the beach during in 1945 along with a mans toe. This helmet was in my aunts house for years up in her attic and you can see how time has taken it's toll on this Navy helmet. The only really bad spot on the helmet is on the left "ear"area. There are two holes in each side of the helmet probably for listening devices and the padded liner is still there as you can see (a little stiff but all there). There are NO markings on this helmet and very little gray paint is present so this will have to be put into a "relic" category. My Aunt, Mother and Grandmother while walking on the beach found the mans toe and helmet that washed up on the beach while the war was still going on. They told me about the ships that were sunk off of the South Jersey coast, sometimes at night they could see explosions way off in a distance.

 

 

East Coast

Several ships were torpedoed within sight of East Coast cities such as New York and Boston; indeed, some civilians sat on beaches and watched battles between U.S. and German ships. The only documented World War II sinking of a U-boat close to New England shores occurred on May 5, 1945, when the U-853 torpedoed and sank the collier ship Black Point off Newport, Rhode Island. When the Black Point was hit, the U.S. Navy immediately chased down the sub and began dropping depth charges. The next day, when an oil slick and floating debris appeared, they confirmed that the U-853 and its entire crew had been destroyed. In recent years, the U-853 has become a popular dive site. Its intact hull, with open hatches, is located in 130 feet of water off Block Island, Rhode Island.

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BOLO,

Could be a ring of truth to the story.My Mom told us kids that while she was living in the Tidewater area during WWII (Hampton/Newport News VA) they could see black smoke from torpedoed ships on the horizon over the water and there were many times they would find sailor caps and hats washed up on the shore.The helmet seems it would be too heavy to float but maybe the padding in it gave it enough bouyancy to wash it ashore.

Steve

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normaninvasion

There were over 200 ships sunk all along the east coast during WW2, but as always "buy the item, not the story" :think:

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"Found the man's toe and helmet"

 

OK, they might have assumed that if they actually found an item like a toe, then it came from the man who wore the helmet...

 

And yes, my Dad saw burning ships on the East coast of the US when he was a child during WWII. There's a great book called "Torpedo Junction" about all of that u-bootswaffe activity and how the USN's tactics and effectiveness in combating it evolved

 

But the story? Yeah, its a good story, they found the helmet and that man's toe. I don't believe a word of it, but shucks, that's a good story nonetheless. Mark Twain made a living out of stories that weren't true but that folks found amusing, too

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BOLO,

Could be a ring of truth to the story.My Mom told us kids that while she was living in the Tidewater area during WWII (Hampton/Newport News VA) they could see black smoke from torpedoed ships on the horizon over the water and there were many times they would find sailor caps and hats washed up on the shore.The helmet seems it would be too heavy to float but maybe the padding in it gave it enough bouyancy to wash it ashore.

Steve

 

Probably from mines the Germans laid, as well as torpedoes. My memory also tells me that a German saboteur party came ashore in Maryland, but they turned themselves in after a few days!

 

I would not doubt a bit that caps came ashore.

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btw THIS IS NOT MY HELMET , I thought the story of how it was found was interesting because I never knew about the sea battles / attacks so close to the cities on the east coast.

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VAWARMEMORIAL

Helmets, artillery shells and other military relics was ashore all of the time in VA Beach. A friend of mine found an rusty M1 fixed bail just a few years ago..... you never know what will wash up after a storm.

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Sgt. Boghots

Not to make light of or be irreverent to the serious nature of the helmet and toe story. . .

 

But I spent TOO MUCH time wearing one of those ill conceived helmets. If your hat size is larger than about 6-1/2, they are almost unusable !!

 

After a couple of hours with one of those compression-fit lids being squashed on my size 7-1/4 head, I would have cut off my own toe if I could have gotten rid of the d&*?n thing !!!

 

Being a sound powered phone talker on the bridge of a DE during GQ didn't leave a guy many other options, though.

 

I've been a helmet collector for well over thirty years now, and I'm not saying I'll never OWN one, but I can promise you I'll never WEAR one again.

 

:crying:

 

Best regards,

Paul

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