Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This helmet is a fine example on an M1 helmet and still retains all of its original WW2 parts. The shell has all original "corked" grain paint with front seam and fixed bails. It did see service, so there are some small dents and wear to the paint, as shown as well as the typical stress cracks in the rear. The inside crown of the helmet as well as the sides has the name Robert U. Cassel O-1289691.
The most notable aspect of this helmet is the beautiful hand painted 94th Infantry Division unit logo which was painted during the early part of the Occupation of Germany and applied Captain’s bars insignia, both retaining their finish and color nicely.
Included with the helmet is a lovely First Edition of the History of the 94th Infantry Division In World War II. The best feature of the book is that it is signed with dozens of names of members of the 94th when they met in Europe for their 1985 reunion. Most of the signatures are present on the first few pages but as you flip through the rest of the book you will find more names, remarks and addresses present.
We did our best to transcribe all the different signatures and notes in the book as follows:
1985 EUROPEAN REUNION
ELMER + PAULINE KAUFMAN - HqCo - 1st BN 376 CLINTON - IOWA
BETTLE J LEN OSTROM - Hq Btry MT. PROSPECT. ILLINOIS
MARION M. JEREB - C - 301ST INF NEW PROVIDENCE
ELMER NOYER 3 376 NOBLESVILLE IND NJ
BILL PARDUE - L - 376 B’ham, AL
BEN GERMANO 376 -L NORRISTOWN PA.
Stanley Purnell Cannon 376
Bruce Helen 495th Dent
Michael Bahrie - 301st Co B.
Joe E Haupt
Angelo “Bruce” Brucato B 302A
Herman H. Finke HQ 2ND 376th
Maryalice M.O. Breen 4301
Bob Heggins Con. C.. 376th Inf.
Bill Hilton Con. Co. 376th Inf.
Jerry Flynn 376 Inf. KCO
June Flynn 376 Inf.
Paul R.O Brien Lco. 301st
(Gottenstroeter) Adalbert - Stifter - Str. 1 D - 6227 Oestrich - winkel 2
Carl S. Schultze H - 301
Howard W. Johnson 94th
Lucille Melton “Mike” Welch
Jim Bridgeman
John M Burke Hq 1 - 301st
“He was so far back it took hours for him to show up” R.C
George O. Mack 11271 Aaron Dr Parma, Ohio 44130
Beth Mack
Joe Duffy
Bill Johnston - No. Brunswick, NJ G-376
Robert U. Cassel To friends and family, he was "the grand old man," "the stuff of legend," a World War II veteran who believed in hard work and service to family, country, and the environment. Robert U. Cassel, 95, a decorated infantry captain in Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army and was a devoted naturalist. He graduated from Lebanon Valley College, where he studied biology, and soon began working as a chemist at a Mobil Corp. laboratory in Paulsboro. As World War II loomed, Mr. Cassel received a draft notice and was told by his supervisor that he could be exempted from military service because his job was considered essential. He declined the exemption and entered the Army. Mr. Cassel arrived with the 94th Infantry Division in France about three months after D-Day. He was a battalion operations officer in the 301st Infantry Regiment. In early 1945, the 94th went up against the heavily fortified Siegfried Line, suffering severe casualties in bitter cold before punching through with the help of the 10th Armored Division. Mr. Cassel helped organize the crossing of the Saar River in boats under direct fire from Germans. One of two Bronze Stars he received during the war was awarded for helping fellow battalion members escape a trap that could have decimated the unit. During the war, Mr. Cassel shipped some battlefield artifacts to his home and kept a small, unofficial museum in his house. He took the collection to veterans events and Veterans Day presentations at schools. One artifact was a large NSDAP flag that he had found neatly folded and hidden in the basement of a police station in Ludwigshafen, Germany. He donated his collection to the University of Georgia. Until his illness, Mr. Cassel was the editor of the Hoodlum News, a quarterly newsletter for the 301st Infantry Association. He also attended reunions of the 94th Veterans Association and the Battle of the Bulge Veterans Association. After the war, Mr. Cassel resumed work at Mobil and served as a councilman in Paulsboro. He retired in the late 1980s.
The liner is correct “high pressure” WWII issue and stamped with an F logo over 54 for the FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY Manufactured in Akron, Ohio this “high pressure” manufactured M-1 helmet liner is identified by an embossed “F” in the crown. Firestone Tire and Rubber Company started M-1 helmet liner delivery to the US Army in September 1942. They produced approximately 7,500,000 M-1 helmet liners and discontinued production around August 17 1945 when the war ended.
This true US WWII M-1 helmet liner can be identified through the frontal eyelet hole. Other correct WW2 features include cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth suspension. This HBT suspension is held tightly within the M-1 helmet liner by rivets and a series of triangular "A" washers. The three upper suspension bands are joined together with the correct string. This way the wearer could adjust the fit. There is no leather chinstrap present. The sweatband dates to the Vietnam War era.
The U.S. WWII M-1 helmet was only produced from 1941 to 1945. The first production batch resulted with over 323,510 M-1 helmets before the start of the American involvement in the war. This helmet is stamped but the wear from the liner has made it too difficult to read.
The Ordnance Department selected McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company of Detroit Michigan to produce the steel M1 helmet bodies. These bodies were made from a single piece of Hadfield Manganese steel that was produced by the Carnegie-Illinois & Sharon Steel Corporations. Each completed raw M-1 helmet shell weighed 2.25 lbs each.
The early M-1 helmet shells had a set of fixed chinstrap loops called "bales" and a stainless steel rim. These rims were both rust resistant and had "non-magnetic qualities" that reduced the chance of error readings when placed around certain sensitive equipment (such as a compass).
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