Attributed WWI US Helmet; Soldier's name, division and battles written on chinstrap

[drmessimer]

Alex: Well done. Now that you have his particulars, you can probably obtain more information about William U. Day online at the US National Archives web site. Just enter US NARA in a google search and it will take you right to it. You also should search for the Telephone Society of New York, since virtually the entire battalion was made up of NY Telephone & Telegraph employees. I'll go back to the sources that I have on the shelf to see if I can come up with any more useful leads. I look forward to reading your posts about any future developments. The Best to you, Dwight

[drmessimer]

Alex: This is a somewhat more coherent summary than my earlier posts, which I hope will be useful to you.
The 2nd Reserve Telegraph Battalion was raised during the months before we entered the war. The 1916 National Defense Act had created the Army Reserve but little had been accomplished by April 1917 in the way of actually creating a reserve force. According to the combined sources of Chief Signal Officer, Report to the Secretary of War, 1919 and A History of Army Communications and Electronics at Fort Monmouth, the 1st and 2nd Telegraph Battalions were the first Signal Corps reserve units to be fully organized, having drawn on employees of the Bell Telephone and Western Union companies. Both battalions were called into service in June 1916 and sent to Camp Little Silver (NJ) were they arrived on 18 June. There they were brought up to strength with the addition of Regular Army NCOs from Fort Sam Houston. On 7 August 1917 they moved to the Port of Embarkation for transport to France, arriving in France on 20 August. Both battalions were assigned to the GHQ, AEF, Services of Supply (SOS). In October the 1st Telegraph Battalion became the 406th Telegraph Battalion and the 2nd became the 407th Telegraphh Battalion commanded by Maj. H. H. Shearer. Both battalions remained in the SOS for the duration of the war. Dwight

[Javelin4life]

I wanted to update everyone quickly:

I was able to find a vital piece to complete this puzzle: I acquired William Day's authentic ribbon rack (a wwi victory ribbon with 3 stars and a nys victory ribbon) from the vendor who I had originally bought the helmet from. I know that the medals can be replaced with no problem, but I knew that without this ribbon bar, I wouldn't have anything to help show Day's awards. The NYS victory ribbon is in pretty rough shape.