Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is an exceptional U.S. WWI M1917 Doughboy helmet belonging to Private First Class Otto Heinrich Steege of the 8th Machine Gun Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Brigade, 2nd Division, who was wounded in action during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Steege sustained a gunshot wound to his right thigh on November 2, 1918, just nine days before the Armistice. The helmet retains its original leather liner and chinstrap, with Steege's name and U.S.M.C. identification faintly inscribed on the interior. Particularly noteworthy is the original WWI Marine Corps officer's Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) cap device attached to the front, along with the six mounting holes for the experimental Wilmer eye shield.

The helmet is stamped ZF24 on the underside of the rim. This maker marking indicates that this is a U.S. produced shell, which is further indicated by the solid rivets used to retain the chin strap bales. This helmet also has 3 holes on each side of the helmet on the skirt for attaching the Wilmer eye shield, an experimental facial shield issued in limited numbers to some U.S. troops.

The Eagle, Globe, Anchor (EGA) device on this helmet may look incorrect at first glance due to the lack of longitude lines in the globe, but the twisted wire rope construction makes it clear that this is a WWI USMC Officer’s cap device, worn on Bell Crown caps. There are plenty of ways Steege could have obtained an officer’s EGA, and this one is well-attached via a punched hole by a threaded post nut and hand-cut leather washer, with heavy wear and verdigris underneath, so this EGA has been in place for a very long time. 

The helmet retains the full leather liner and chinstrap with moderate service wear. At the interior crown, the chinstrap piece is heavily worn, but faintly inscribed on one side with O.H. Steege, and on the other with U.S.M.C.. 

Otto H. Steege enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 14th, 1918. He trained stateside until August 1918 when he joined the Sixth Separate Battalion, and was shipped to France, where he joined the Machine Gun Company, 5th Marine Regiment on October 11th, 1918. He fought through 23 days of the bloodiest battle in U.S. history, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, before being shot in the right thigh on November 2nd, 1918. He was sent to hospital and upon recovering, he was shifted between Marine Guard Company #69 and several companies of the 11th Marine Regiment, 5th Brigade. This is why his helmet is not painted, and only has the EGA attached, but he never forgot having fought and bled with the 8th Machine Gun Company of the 5th Regiment, 4th Brigade. 

Steege was awarded the Purple Heart Medal on September 23rd, 1932 for his wounds received in 1918. Steege passed away on March 16th, 1984 at the age of 87, and was buried in Zumbrota, Minnesota.

This helmet is particularly significant because its surviving O.H. Steege and U.S.M.C. inscriptions can be associated with a Marine whose wartime service and November 2, 1918, wound are historically documented. The ZF24 shell marking, American-style solid chinstrap bale rivets, experimental Wilmer eye shield mounting holes, and unusual officer's EGA provide additional points of interest beyond the personal attribution. Although the exact circumstances surrounding the attachment of the officer's insignia and the helmet's unpainted appearance remain uncertain, these details do not diminish the importance of its named identification. As a surviving M1917 helmet associated with a wounded Marine of the 8th Machine Gun Company, 5th Marine Regiment, it represents a compelling connection to the American Marine Corps' participation in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the final weeks of the First World War.