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    #16
    Jean-Loup, are some of these guys on this forum amazing, or what??? Ben did the same thing for me with my great uncle on a thread a few down from this one. He was in the 325th GIR, 82nd AB. Took part in Normandy, then was KIA in Holland during Market Garden. Ben gave me all kinds of information from his name....I didn't even have his DIVISION correct! Anyway, thanks Dave and Ben, and everyone else in the forum with the knowledge and willingness to share it with others. Awesome!


    Brian Dentino
    Brian Dentino

    ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WWII GLIDER INFO/ITEMS...ESPECIALLY 325TH GIR

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      #17
      Well, I phoned the guy up. He was a soldier in the 118th fiel artillery, in the 30th infantry division. He said he was attached to an armored brigade at some point as well. He doesnt remember losing his helmet, or being in the Somme region, but was in the general sector the helmet was lost in, so I guess it is his. He wasnt to exited about the discovery (his daugter was) , although he was interested. I told him I would send him pics of the helmet (by the way, he told me he didnt need it) and in exchange he could send me pics and info about himself. In the meantime, he might remember more things... Oh yeah, he remembered his serial number off by heart, and the last four digits were 0757...

      JL

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        #18
        Jean-Loup-

        That's really cool!!! Amazing what the better part of an hour on the internet can turn up!!! Even if he wasn't excited, it's still awesome to put a name and (hopefully) face to the soldier that wore it!

        --Dave

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          #19
          Yes, this is when we see how powerfull this forum and the net can be. Thanks again to you for looking him up for me. What I still find the most amazing/ironical is that I got this helmet thanks to a newspaper article relating a totaly similar story. The first event caused a second similar event to occure. The most exited person is the lady who gave me the helmet and found it in the woods in 1944.
          This morning I would never have imagined I would be able to find out who the guy was, let alone phone him that very night!
          Thanks to the forum, to NARA, to Dave, to the vet and to the lady who gave me the helmet. An amazing story that occured in less than 12 hours.
          JL

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            #20
            Great thread!

            Amazing really..I mean, what are the odds?

            Accidentally offending people on the internet since 1997

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              #21
              What an amazing story! This sure doesn't happen very often. Suggest you buy a few lottery tickets.

              Comment

                #22
                I am sending this letter to the man:

                Dear Mr Ciarrocchi.

                Here are a few pictures of the helmet that is apparently yours, since according to the national archives there was only one person that had the initial C, and who’s serial number finishes by 0757 who was in France in 1944.
                The helmet was given to me by a person called Madame Flibert. She found it in the woods near her house on September 1st 1944 at Pierrepont sur Avre, near Montdidier, south of Amiens, in the Somme region. American troops had spent the night in the woods, and left lots of things behind when they left. Madame Flibert, who was 19 years old at the time found your helmet and kept it as a souvenir. You told me that you don’t remember having lost your helmet; but because of the serial number inside, and the place it was found (on the way to Liege) I am certain that it was really yours; or at least yours at one point in time. On the side of the helmet there is a triangle of paint scraped off. Was a triangle the insignia of one of the units you were in?
                It is actually incredible that I managed to find you after all these years. A few months ago, I had managed to find the original owner of another American helmet. Since it was an interesting story, there was an article about the helmet and me in the local newspaper. When Madame Flibert saw the newspaper article, she phoned me to say that she had a US helmet she could give me. This helmet was yours, and by incredible luck, I managed to find you as well. I simply posted the information on the internet, and within minutes, a person called Dave X, who lives not to far from Philadelphia, had located you thanks to the national archives.
                Since I am a helmet collector; I would like to have as much information as possible about the original owner of the helmet; that means you. So if you can send me photocopies of a few pictures of you during the war (maybe one with the helmet) and any other documents relative to your war experiences (Silver Star citation, unit history, etc) that would be great. I will be able to expose these items with the helmet.
                I hope that this letter and my phone call might help you remember a few things about your experiences in France, and maybe you might even remember having lost your helmet.
                I hope to hear from you soon.

                Sincerely

                Jean-Loup
                Last edited by Jean-Loup; 09-15-2004, 06:15 AM.

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                  #23
                  Great work Jean-loup. Keep us updated on any documentation you get from the vet!

                  Comment

                    #24
                    Jean
                    incredible story...great work and accolades to all involved...are you saying he was a silver star recipient???
                    mike

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                      #25
                      Yes, he told me he got the Silver Star but didnt even know why (well, thats what he said). Obviously, I suprised him on the phone yesterday; and he will probably remember more things when I get in touch with him again.
                      JL

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                        #26
                        I sent a letter to the vet, with pictures of the helmet, but have had no reply. I phoned, and his daughter said he was in the hospital right now, so things are going baddly for him I guess.

                        Here are pics of the helmet
                        Attached Files

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                          #27
                          Closer view of "insignia"
                          Attached Files

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                            #28
                            Serial number. Not the helmet was period repainted inside and out, but this is only visible in the area of the rim, and the area of the serial number, that was not repainted.
                            Attached Files

                            Comment

                              #29
                              Is it possible that the Division insignia was a decal that was painted around at some point, and then flaked off later?

                              Comment

                                #30
                                Maybe, thats what I was thinking as well. Stangely, the paint was scratched before the helmet was repainted, and then in the repaint, they left this triangle...
                                The original insignia may have been an armoured division triangle.
                                JL

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