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My grandfathers M1 helmet

Article about: I'm not very big on collecting U.S. WW2 items, but I do have a few pieces in my collection. Id say 75% of my U.S. WW2 collection came from my grandfather that served in WW2. Ever since he pa

  1. #1

    Default My grandfathers M1 helmet

    I'm not very big on collecting U.S. WW2 items, but I do have a few pieces in my collection. Id say 75% of my U.S. WW2 collection came from my grandfather that served in WW2. Ever since he passed ive been finding some pieces he brought back here, and there.

    In all honesty it does sicken me when I think about his war trophies. He brought back some really cool stuff, but over the years my other family members have had a negative effect on those items. Here are three examples. #1- My uncle sold my grandfathers bring back EK1 for $10 at school in the 70s. #2- My other uncle sold my grandfathers M1-carbine to a pawnshop in the 80s. #3- My grandmother donated the two copies of mein kampf he brought back from the war to a half price books by accident. I wish I was around when these terrible events took place so I could have preserved my grandfathers legacy, and kept those items in the family. Well today I want to show you one of the few pieces I have that (SEMI) survived the wrath of my family.

    Here is my grandfathers M1 helmet. I uncovered it while digging around in his garage sometime after he passed in 2009. I was so exited when I found the helmet, because at that time it was the only piece I had from his WW2 days. Almost immediately after finding it my mind began to wonder. Why is this helmet in such bad shape? As far as I knew he drove a troop transport for the big red one, and he never saw combat. All of the webbing is missing from the liner, and it looks like it has impact damage on some spots. Well about two years later I received an answer to this question. One of my cousins stopped by for a visit, and he spotted the helmet sitting on a shelf in my room. He picked up the helmet, and started to laugh. I asked him what was so funny, and this is what he told me. (Strap in for this one guys!) "Me and my brother were bored one day, so we filled this helmet with gasoline, lit it on fire, and kicked it around the backyard" He then proceeded to tell me "Grandpa was so angry when he found us kicking it around" "He put out the fire real quick, and threw the helmet in the garage"

    At that moment I wanted to say some choice words to my cousin, but instead I contained myself. The icing on the cake was when he told me the helmet was pretty much in mint condition before they got hold of it Although its seen better days, this helmet is still very special to me. Its one of the few pieces I have that belonged to my grandfather, and it will be proudly displayed with the rest of my collection.

    Best regards- Jarret

    My grandfathers M1 helmetMy grandfathers M1 helmetMy grandfathers M1 helmetMy grandfathers M1 helmetMy grandfathers M1 helmet

  2. #2

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    Regardless of its condition, it's a wonderful reminder of your grandfather's service. The personal history of it is still there, even if some idiot family members did abuse it. Unfortunately, the majority of people don't have the collector's mindset. They don't look at these things and see valuable historical items; they view them as annoying junk that they need to get rid of after the relative passes. Those without the passion will lump them in with the rest of the person's estate. Essentially, they see it as money to be made and nothing more. That's also why so many items of this nature are often found thrown away with household rubbish.

    Your story about family members selling bringbacks resonates with me on a personal level. Both of my great grandfathers fought in North Africa and Italy, and my great grandad on my father's side supposedly brought back a 'German desert cap'. Any militaria collector will know exactly the type of cap that likely was. A family member took it after he passed, and the story is that they promptly sold it, probably for a fraction of what it's actually worth.

    To any reasonable person, you'd think the sentimental value of these items would massively outstrip any monetary gain. It seems not. To many, it's just 'old junk'. It's only us collectors that really appreciate it for what it is. All the more reason to ensure that it passes from our hands to those of the next generation as smoothly and as safely as possible.

    Regards, B.B.

  3. #3

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    There are endless stories such as this. Post war abuse. I am guilty of a few incidents myself as a pre-teen. Won't bore you with the details, many of us here have some stories of abuse to tell.
    But at least the shell survived !! Good Ole' US steel.

  4. #4

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    Quote by BrodieBartfast View Post
    Regardless of its condition, it's a wonderful reminder of your grandfather's service. The personal history of it is still there, even if some idiot family members did abuse it. Unfortunately, the majority of people don't have the collector's mindset. They don't look at these things and see valuable historical items; they view them as annoying junk that they need to get rid of after the relative passes. Those without the passion will lump them in with the rest of the person's estate. Essentially, they see it as money to be made and nothing more. That's also why so many items of this nature are often found thrown away with household rubbish.

    Your story about family members selling bringbacks resonates with me on a personal level. Both of my great grandfathers fought in North Africa and Italy, and my great grandad on my father's side supposedly brought back a 'German desert cap'. Any militaria collector will know exactly the type of cap that likely was. A family member took it after he passed, and the story is that they promptly sold it, probably for a fraction of what it's actually worth.

    To any reasonable person, you'd think the sentimental value of these items would massively outstrip any monetary gain. It seems not. To many, it's just 'old junk'. It's only us collectors that really appreciate it for what it is. All the more reason to ensure that it passes from our hands to those of the next generation as smoothly and as safely as possible.

    Regards, B.B.
    It seems we both have similar stories of family members selling valuable bring back items for little to nothing. Its a great shame how some people can be so careless with historical pieces. You said it perfectly. They either see it as money to be made, or junk that needs to be thrown away. Once again I agree 100% with your statements B.B! This helmet will be with my family for a long time, and I will someday pass it down the line to the next generation.

    Best regards- Jarret

  5. #5
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    Great Helmet! Thanks for showing. I remember getting into Opa's items when I was 8 when he was not home. Me and the neighbor kid Billy were walking out in the yard with a Luftwaffe Sword and a Police SS Degen and were gonna begin sword play and fencing. Just before we made a mortal error my Grandfather pulled up in his Jeep and yelled "what the F@ck are you boys doing. STOP! Give me those. Billy go home. Butch (as he called me) get in the house. I got a boot on my arse on the way in. First and only time my Opa ever gave me hell and rightfully so. I have both those swords below still today. They are reminders of my childhood. So on DDAY they mean even more as a reminder of the precious sacrifice made and the value of bring back items. Moral of the story..."Keep your war booty under lock, key, alarm and safe".

    My grandfathers M1 helmet

    My grandfathers M1 helmet

    My grandfathers M1 helmet

    My grandfathers M1 helmet
    "It's not whether you get knocked down...It's whether you get up"



    My Collection: www.tothehiltmilitaria.com

  6. #6
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    I can't imagine how much stuff just went to the trash. Growing up my Great Uncle had a police bayonet, a RAD hewer and a MVSN dagger all in a cabinet behind some junk. I asked all sorts questions about them growing up and this is one of the things that got me into collecting. He passed away when I lived 2000km away and had no way to get back to the farm (they informed me a month after his death). I talked to my family who said that no one wanted anything and everything just got tossed. My Grandpa used a pair of HJ knives as skinning knives and wore the blades down to about the same width as a filleting knife, but it made a really good skinner.

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    Jarret you need to find his DD214 papers and I can help you get any medals he had coming to him reissued. If you can not find his paper you can get them from the court house in his home county that he came home to after the war, he had up to 6 months to file his discharge papers.
    Marty
    Fortune favors the brave 644th td

  8. #8

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    [QUOTE=Rossi;1861364]Great Helmet! Thanks for showing. I remember getting into Opa's items when I was 8 when he was not home. Me and the neighbor kid Billy were walking out in the yard with a Luftwaffe Sword and a Police SS Degen and were gonna begin sword play and fencing. Just before we made a mortal error my Grandfather pulled up in his Jeep and yelled "what the F@ck are you boys doing. STOP! Give me those. Billy go home. Butch (as he called me) get in the house. I got a boot on my arse on the way in. First and only time my Opa ever gave me hell and rightfully so. I have both those swords below still today. They are reminders of my childhood. So on DDAY they mean even more as a reminder of the precious sacrifice made and the value of bring back items. Moral of the story..."Keep your war booty under lock, key, alarm and safe".

    Kirk, I love your grandfathers bring homes, he had good taste.

    Marty
    Fortune favors the brave 644th td

  9. #9
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    As others have stated, some people just see a piece of junk when they look at militaria as my brother puts it "its just an old helmet" (yes he really says this almost every time I send him a picture of one of my new pieces.)
    As far as I know no-one in my family has abused any militaria the older members of my family have brought back, but I do know that every single piece that the members of my family have brought back (Oscar, Blaine and my grandfather) have some how all disappeared. (I think that they were probably all sold.)

  10. #10

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    All of these stories strike close to home. My Father had mentioned that while he was growing up he members his grandmother selling two civil war era swords that were in her attic to a junk man rumbling through the area for a presumed pennies on the dollar.

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