That looks like a nice WWII set! You don’t show a front view of the liner but I assume it has the WWII grommet hole in the front center? I think the number is a mold batch number? Here’s an interesting link to liner manufacturers that was posted years ago -  Nice  helmet! Frank

Yokota57, Your post brought back a memory from my youth.  My Father had a saying when he witnessed bad driving - "It's not the Tiger in the tank, it's the Jack-rump behind the wheel".  Thanks for the memory.  Brian please pardon my hijacking of your thread.  Great patch.

Amazing find and so complete; all of it tells such a horrific tale.   Kurt

Hey Brig, Just like with Dave's post above, if you ever get out this way please let me know.  We can meet up and go, I would love to see these items again.  Thanks for your comment. Paul (aka Scarecrow)

Tim, Thanks for posting the photo.  It is a very close match for my belt and would explain why the belt looks arsenal or factory made, but just not as quality a product as the US military would have excepted.  

From the reverse, it looks US Made.   Very Kool patch. Thanks for sharing it with the Community.

Great finds!! 

Hey, jsand, well, to start off I’m sorry to hear of the whole convoluted transaction. The buckle is authentic and this style, with the soldered rounds on each side has been common since WWI … yes, since WWI. However, this particular one looks to be WWII or a bit later.    Not particularly rare, but a nice buckle. I would have thought $50 was more than reasonable, so your offer was extremely fair and then some.

A few schools of thought for retention methods. Generally for smaller knives, that are to be worn concealed under clothing a button loop would attach to a button inside of a garment, and it would hang upside down and could be drawn out when needed. For longer knives, a button was probably the intention here too, sewn to the outside leg or for a knife pocket let into the outer seam of one’s pants. A pattern of British battle dress exists with this in mind for fighting knives . Note that a button slot punch was used on the tab rather than a hole punch with or without a metal eyelet.    For relatively static activities, this is fine but the button method forms an anchor point and eventually gets pulled or ripped with motion over time. The lace attachment allows the scabbard to rotate around the leg or thigh slightly, you’ll find this method on M6 M8 and other sheaths such as mk1s and 2s as well as pistol holsters.   

After a 2 week break due to my buddy's vacation, work on the jeep continued.   It took about 4 weeks of work, but I did manage to rescue the rear under-floor profile and welded it back in the correct location, which was the whole purpose of the exercise anyway.           Of course, once the body is on no one will see it anymore 🤣   Other work done was some more minor repairs to the front floor, which is getting ready for a coat of primer.