Original Item: Only One Available. This is an extremely rare example of an original U.S. Marine Corps British-Made Mk. I "Doughboy" helmet, which is marked on the front with a Headquarters Company, 5th Marines, 2nd Division insignia. All U.S.M.C. WWI helmets are rare, but those bearing the painted Indian Head of the 2nd Division are the most sought after, and have become increasingly scarce as time marches on.

This very nice example is unfortunately just a shell without a liner or chinstrap, and the original liner rivet has been replaced with a screw. More importantly, the front still has a genuine blacked brass WWI USMC EGA Badge over the division insignia! The hole made for the insignia is most likely punched, but we have not attempted to remove it to check, as the paint 100% verifies this helmet as genuine. We would not recommend removing the EGA, as it’s likely been where it is for decades, if not longer.

The shell is maker-marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads FS136. This maker marking indicates that this is a British produced shell, which is further indicated by the split rivets used to retain the chin strap bales. The “FS” is the marking for Thomas Firth & Sons Ltd of Sheffield who manufactured helmets from 1916-1918. This firm also produced shells marked “F” and most likely used “FKS” according to research.

The outer shell still has some remnants of original paint. There is some dirt and rust on the shell, which we left in place to preserve the patina. There also are a few small dents on the crown of the shell.

The EGA (Eagle, Globe, Anchor) insignia on this helmet can be identified as a World War I Era EGA by its use of both latitude and longitude lines on the Globe, while later EGAs would only use latitude lines.

The best feature of this helmet however is definitely the original hand painted HQ Company 5th Marine Regiment, 2nd Division - Indianhead Division emblem in the center of the front of the helmet. Marines under this division used specific colors and shapes behind the "Indianhead" to designate which unit they were in, and the "black square" indicates the Headquarters Company of the 5th Marine Regiment, part of the 4th Marine Brigade. The Unit Insignia maintains almost all of the original paint, around 80%, and remains bold and easy to see, though it is a bit faded due to dirt, which we have left to preserve the authenticity.

The Headquarters Company, 5th Marines, along with the rest of the 5th Marine Regiment, was first organized on June 8, 1917, as the United States prepared for World War I. Six days later, manned by Spanish–American War and Boxer Rebellion veterans along with a large number of raw recruits, they set sail for France. They participated in campaigns and battles such as Bois de Belleau, Vierzy, Château-Thierry, Pont-a-Mousson, Limey Sector, Fleury, Meuse-Argonne, Blanc Mont, St Michiel, Leffincourt and Soissons. The French Government recognized the regiment by presenting it the Croix de Guerre along with the Fourragère and changing the name of a French landmark, Belleau Wood, to "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" or "Wood of the Marine Brigade".

The U.S. Marine Corps did not field divisional size units during WWI, so they were made part of the divisions of the U.S. Army. In fact, the entire 2nd Division was for a time during WWI commanded by U.S.M.C. Major General John A. Lejeune himself!

To find a 2nd Division USMC Helmet which is a British shell means that it was one of the very first helmets issued to U.S. Troops in France, meaning this was almost certainly worn by one of the first marines to arrive in France in June 1917, and was almost certainly worn at the Battle of Belleau Wood, the most prolific battle in Marine Corps history.

On top of this, helmets painted to Headquarters Companies are much more scarce than those of battalions, as only one company of men would have painted their helmets in this color, compared to the four companies of a battalion. It cannot be overstated how scarce this helmet is, likely being one of only 250-350 painted in this exact configuration.

This is a wonderful RARE example of a genuine USMC Great War helmet, complete with divisional insignia, all original and ready to display!