Small WW1 collection, 77th Division

[NatS]

In 1978 or so, in an old trunk in a basement in Massachusetts, I found these items. I know the helmet is from the 77th Division out of NY. I believe the helmet, mess kit, cup and holster were all part of the gear of the soldier who had recently died in the house (that had then been sold and was being remodeled). The shoulder straps and gas mask are German and likely souvenirs he brought back. The holster seems to be stamped G 1916 AG and has an ink stamp on the inside flap that might be 1694 (?). There are carved initials in the mess kit cover, and the year - AB 17, and there is also writing on the bottom of the cup that I cannot entirely decipher; Maybe Erzwu Jr ?. The helmet is heat stamped ZE 31, but seems to have no other maker marks.
I guess I would like to find out if the heat stamp indicates the manufacturer or anything else, who AB might have been (and Erzwu (?) Jr), what the holster stamps might indicate. Also what the shoulder straps numbers represent (might be a clue to where he fought?). I have called the town hall (Gloucester Massachusetts) as I have the address of the house where I found these items, but they are closed for the foreseeable future, so I am not sure I could get the name of the soldier that way at the moment. I looked at some Lost Battalion lists and found some men with AB as their initials, but I do not know what company or regiment he was in, so it is impossible to know if he participated in this historic fight. The helmet has a faded ink stamp on the liner that might say 3rd DA... but it is not very legible.
Any suggestions for how to proceed or information anyone can decipher would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[NatS]

A few more pics

Here are a few that did not fit in my original post. Thanks for any information.

[mike ross]

HI, the German 183rd Infantry Regiment was a component of the 192nd Infantry Division. In 1918 they were in the St Mihiel Salient but the American 77th Division was not. Later they were involved in the Meuse Argonne offensive but I am not sure they fought the 77th. The 87h strap could be from either the 87th Infantry Regiment or the 87th Reserve infantry Regiment. The 87th Infantry was a component of the 21st Infantry Division while the 87th Reserve was in the 21st Reserve Division. In 1918 both of these units fought in the British sectors. IN short, I am afraid I could not connect either of these straps to 77th Division battles.

[NatS]

Thanks

Wow, thanks for that research/information. I appreciate it. As I said, I found all the items in a trunk in a basement over 40 years ago and I have just begun to try to figure out the history of it all. Since I have not even discovered the vets name I am still in the dark about what company/unit/platoon etc he might have been in, but knowing where the shoulder straps are from is very helpful. If the holster was his would that indicate he might have been an officer? Thanks again.