Went to another great country auction today. Bunch of cool old farming tools, implements and early 20th century swag. There were a lot of old ww2 era ammo crates stuffed in a barn, I knew there had to be something somewhere. Then I saw it, a Japanese bayonet, amongst a bunch of drill bits and glass jars filled with screws and bolts. It was pretty dirty, it had probably been hiding in the barn for 80 years but I knew it would clean up nicely. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) only one other person bid on it. He must not have wanted it to badly because I got it for $60.00. I'm pretty sure it's early to mid war. I've never been a bayonet expert, if anyone has any insight please let me know, Thanks!

My helmet shell comes from a village where the A.E.F. troops were stationed ( Apr 18), in the vicinity of the city of Toul. South salient of Saint Mihiel. I visited a house where emblems of the 7th Division were painted and engraved.

I want to borrow the horse shoe your sitting on....Talk about luck!

Picked these 2 items up at the monthly flea market. First is a workers picture ID card for the Navy Yard. Which specific Navy Yard location might this be? The patch is a nice post-war German made one 

Memory Eternal! My sincere condolences to you and your family, Dan! I'm fortunate to have a few of your Dad's knives; they definitely stand out from the crowd; when you see one of your Dad's knives, you can always tell it's an EDMF at first glance! I'll have to learn and discover more early backstory on your EDMF and your dad. 

Thanks guys for keeping the rest of us up-to-date on your Normandy celebrations and adventures!  Looks like you guys had a blast! 

WWI-era 7th Division painted helmets are quite common.  They can be found with the insignia on the front, on the front and rear, or on the sides.  A camouflage design with a patriotic shield and the 7th Division insignia on top are also fairly common.   I don't know of any evidence that suggests any were painted before the Armistice.

Looks like official government engraving to me, but not from the Vietnam War era (more likely the 1990's). 

How much was the junk silver?

Bonjour. 😎