104th Infantry Division M1 with family provenance!

[ObKrieger]

Hi guys,

Let me start this one off by saying that this is not my helmet. It belongs to my anthropology professor. Upon starting a conversation with him about WWII, he told me that his father was in the 104th Infantry Division, and that he still has his father's helmet! Of course, I asked him to bring it in. After weeks of forgetting, he finally remembered it today.

The helmet is a McCord fixed bale with a heat stamp of what looks like '93A'. The chinstraps and brass hardware are early as well. The liner looks like it came a bit later, but it is a Westinghouse with a green buckle chinstrap and a full sweatband. Both the shell and the liner have 104th I.D. and 414th I.R. insignias on the sides. The liner decal is typical of those I have seen on 104th I.D. liners.

The story is that this helmet belonged to my anthropology professor's father- Silver Star recipient and radioman, Sgt. Adrian L. Davies, of the 414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division. Sgt. Davies brought the helmet back with him (which he repainted in Germany, by the way), and it eventually found itself being used as a prop in my teacher's army games as a child.

I only had my phone on me today, so the pictures might not be the best. Enjoy!

[ObKrieger]

Here's the kicker... The man on the left in Sgt. Davies himself! There is another Timberwolf beside of him, which my teacher told me was a good friend of his from Alabama. This photo is on page 47 (I think?) of the book, 'Timberwolf Tracks'. The helmet is the same one in the photo, minus the net and plus a repaint.

[geelong]

thats a great m1. and intresting how he repainted the lid, do you no why he painted this helmet with the lighter green.

[ww2relichunter]

Thats a great lid and with the prvance makes it that much more awesome ,good hunting !!

[GIZMO8Z]

Nice lid, Mo! The coloring of paint looks much more wartime in the photo showing the yellow emblem verses the photo showing the timberwolves emblem.

Remember, it doesn't hurt to ask!

[ObKrieger]

thats a great m1. and intresting how he repainted the lid, do you no why he painted this helmet with the lighter green.

Apparently, his father was ordered to repaint it while he was in Germany in 1945. I'm guessing he had lost a lot of paint because even the inside is a little bare. I have no idea on the color, but I'm guessing that's just what happened to be available.

Dr. Davies also has his father's uniform, medals, and other bits of militaria that I didn't take any photos of. I was too entranced by the helmet...

P.S. Sorry for forgetting to post this in the M1 subforum. Would a mod kindly move it for me, please?

[gel65]

Wow that is a beautiful helmet the timber wolf division I think is their nickname the regimental insignia is very cool great helmet and the history behind it is just as great

[patches3]

great helmet, i wish i could get a helmet that has photos of the soldier. love it!