Here's an interesting piece that came in today. I bought it from an elderly gentleman that inherited this helmet from his uncle. As you can see, it's an M35, with what I believe to be a period repaint. The liner is a little dry, but still strong and supple. The chinstrap is fantastic. What I don't understand, and what I want to get opinions on, are the shields. That' an original eagle there, but it looks as it's been augmented by black paint. The national shield has also been repainted, but when, I don't know. The guy says this helmet was never touched after the war. What do you guys think? Is it possible the soldier touched up his decal? Wouldn't that have been against regulations? Perhaps the decals were touched up after the helmet was repainted? Please let me know what you think! Here's the story of the helmet in the seller's words: "The helmet was brought home by Tom Collins in 1945. It was found at a
German farm, not sure if uncle Tom killed the solider that owned it and
I only acquired it after his death. The farm had an anti aircraft gun in
one of the fields on the farm and I know they did camp out in a shed on
the farm next to the emplacement. He did tell me one time that he rushed
a ditch and his buddies killed a couple of Germans in it and as he
approached it, a German stood up with a machine gun and the gun was
jammed and he killed the German. That was the extent of our conversation
as I was young and he did not like to talk about it. I think that the
war and his experience was the reason he became a pastor. The helmet I
found out stayed in the top shelf in a closet until I acquired it about
15 years ago. So I know for sure it is in the same condition as the day
he brought it home.
That is the extent of my knowledge about his service."
German farm, not sure if uncle Tom killed the solider that owned it and
I only acquired it after his death. The farm had an anti aircraft gun in
one of the fields on the farm and I know they did camp out in a shed on
the farm next to the emplacement. He did tell me one time that he rushed
a ditch and his buddies killed a couple of Germans in it and as he
approached it, a German stood up with a machine gun and the gun was
jammed and he killed the German. That was the extent of our conversation
as I was young and he did not like to talk about it. I think that the
war and his experience was the reason he became a pastor. The helmet I
found out stayed in the top shelf in a closet until I acquired it about
15 years ago. So I know for sure it is in the same condition as the day
he brought it home.
That is the extent of my knowledge about his service."
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