Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a fantastic USGI bring back offering! This is a great set of three original German WWII items, including a Metropolitan Police Shako, a Canteen, and an NSDAP Banner Flag, which were sent back home during the war. Even better, we still have the original crate that they were sent back in! It is marked with both the sender and recipient address, which looks to originally have been written using pen, but then was painted over at some point.
The sender address is as follows:
T/3 ROBERT L CAMPBELL
33664466
2ND SPEC. SERV. CO.
CAMP PHILLIP MORRIS
APO 316 ℅ PM NY NY
The recipient address is:
MAY CAMPBELL
R13
LIMESTONE TENNESSEE
The box looks to have had some labels affixed to the exterior in the past, but they are no longer present. It looks to be a box for some type of provisions or other light weight items, as the corners are not finger jointed and the walls are relatively thin. It measures 14 1/2" wide x 10 1/2" deep x 12" high. It shows wear and tear, and some of the nails are now pulling out, but it still displays great!
NARA records for ASN 33664466 are for ROBERT T CAMPBELL, so we are not sure whether the middle initial error is in the address, or in the Army records. They show that he was born during 1905, but there is no information on wear, and they also indicate that he enlisted September 21, 1944 in Roanoke, Virginia. His rank is given as private, but no further information is listed. With the information in the address however, this definitely would make a great research project.
The most impressive item that Campbell sent back is definitely the German WWII Metropolitan Police Shako by Hans Römer, which still retains the original leather chin strap. It is a very nice 1936 Officers pattern Tschako, with the late pattern police green wool body and black leather trim. It has a very fine quality police officer eagle with a Feldzeichen simulated wire aluminum cockade on the front (often missing) and black leather chinstrap around the "pickelhaube" style lugs. It definitely shows wear from use and probably long storage. The interior is still marked on the inside crown with the maker information:
HANS RÖMER
Echt
Fiber-Tschako
Neu-Ulm (Donau)
Unfortunately there is no size information visible anymore, and the interior is relatively dirty, so this looks like it was picked up off the ground during or after the war. It has a great "salty" look that is impossible to duplicate.
Along with the shako Campbell sent back a very nice service used German WWII Aluminum M31 Canteen with a Leather Harness and Steel Cup. This looks to be a Pre-WWII canteen set, marked C&C.W. 36 on the aluminum cap and body, as well as on the inside button closure of the felt cover. It has an aluminum belt clip on the leather harness as well. However it looks like the original strap for the cup broke and the cup was lost, so a new strap was riveted to the harness, and then a later RFI43 marked steel painted steel cup was added to the set, which was then put back into service. It really has a great service used look, and shows how items were reused during the war.
The last item in the set is a very nice most likely unissued German WWII NSDAP Large Multi-Piece Double Sided National Political Banner Flag measuring a nice large 45" x 87". These were used inside buildings, or possibly on podiums during speeches. It is of all cotton construction, and features a large red field which is made from two pieces of material, stitched together, only seen on these larger examples. The banner is double sided with a single piece cotton white circles with dyed black Swasses (Hook Crosses) sewn onto both sides. It features a hemmed hanger loop on one of the narrow ends, and is in excellent condition, with just a bit of wear from storage.
Definitely a lovely USGI bring back set, fairly typical of the items that were sent back home during and after the war. Ready to research and display!
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon