Been chewing on this news all day since Dirk brought it to my attention, and I'm absolutely gutted.   In the oft-overlooked niche field of portrait collecting, Eric was an absolute pillar who appreciated the history each image contains.  Armed with an eagle's eye and a bit of good luck, Eric had a knack for finding portraits that contained rare insignias or uniform configurations that challenged long-held norms among collectors and redefined what we thought we knew. Generous with his knowledge, Eric treasured the story every photo tells over possessing the physical item itself, something that is becoming increasingly rarer among collectors obsessed with the ooos and ahhhs to be had online in forums and social media platforms.   Eric and I exchanged many messages discussing the nuances of period portraits and the details they contained, helping each other to discover the stories of the men and uniforms captured in each image and sharing the excitement of solving some mysteries along the way. Some of my favorite Marine Corps portraits came from Eric, and I will treasure them and the discussions we had about them as a connection to a friend now gone. I will deeply miss sharing my latest portrait find with Eric, knowing that a simple photo would spark an exciting conversation.

Hi Fusilier,   In my opinion :   For the second and the third   Type 14.  Post War.   For the first, I wonder if the tab is attached  and I don't recognize this type. Maybe, one member of the forum can help.   Dominique

. Last night the final screen at the end of 1943 Sherlock Holmes film      Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 17  2O25.    ….

. Bought this for my beach-race coveralls.   I saw this reproduction patch at one of the military fairs last week and bought two, one for Mike and one for my race coveralls.      Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 17  2O25.    ….

. Spotted in Ste Mere Eglise yesterday.   I was surprised yesterday to see a tee shirt with the original UK club acronym MVCG and area Corsica,  I think the MVCG club was one of the first worldwide promoting ownership / membership of WWII military vehicles, I was aware at the time of other European countries with associated membership under the MVCG banner, France, Belgium, Holland, but I had never seen or heard of Corsica before, the owner and his wife were visiting from Paris.   I have forwarded a photo of the tee shirt to the current MVT ( MVCG ) club for inclusion in the club magazine.        Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 17  2O25.    ….

. Signal Corp Pigeon Service display   Over the last three years of anniversary weeks I have become friends with a young French re-enactor he combines his two passions of pigeon ownership with displaying at shows as a WWII Pigeon service display. he gives talks to adults and encourages children to write messages which he attaches to the pigeons legs and sends them off returning to his home and pigeon coup.  He then mails out the received messages back to the children as a keep-sake, it's amazing seeing how enthralled the children are when engaged in this activity.  I have donated a number of original pigeon equipment items to his endeavours and displays, talks as I enjoy his enthusiasm and encouragement of promoting the work done by the signal corp and pigeons during WWII. As my days of displaying at shows are well behind me I similarly like to encourage younger blood into the displaying and promoting the memory of WWII events and servicemen.    As it would now be impossible to find an original signal corp pigeon coup he has constructed a copy of one that fits inside a Jeep trailer from original photos and designs.                              Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, June 17  2O25.    ….

Very sad to hear this news... RIP Eric...  My condolences to his family.  

I mean I just bought some stuff recently...      -Mint  TAP 47/ 56 set from the  Groupement Commando Parachutiste -Mint TAP 47/54 -Tow light TTA 47/52  -A set TAP 47/52 (reproduction) -Rezized windproof uk pants and a 2nd model 1945 dated Denison Smoke -French béret para 3 parts(Indo) -French béret 2 parts (Algérie)

Thanks 😀👍

Nooby, I get what your saying. Guys fake this stuff all the time...but every once in a blue moon its not a fake. A while back a guy posted a damaged helmet and everyone called it a fake. I spent allot of time on line collecting period photo's of guys in the field with the exact same kind of damage then I looked for damaged helmets to see the patina to exposed bare metal after 80 years and posted what I found. The doubting Thomas types fade fast after you back it up.  Take the time and dig for the same information I found, maybe you will find my old post. It is not common for me to give a thumbs up on any helmet out of the gate. That transitional liner with the Lt. Col marks was a no brainer, I think this helmet passes muster. It is not enough to say something is bad. You have to explain exactly what makes it bad. On the other hand if I think something is good I have to explain why I think that. If I don't know I say so and look at the input from others then decide what thoughts carry weight and why.