Original Items: Only One Lot Available. This is an excellent named grouping of WWII gear that once belonged to Captain Harry R. Kern Jr. From what little information we could find on Kern is that he enlisted in the Army on June 30, 1942 and served as a Captain of the Corps of Engineers, Office of Strategic Forces and later on the Green Berets. Very little information was found in regards to his service, making this an excellent research opportunity.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Other OSS functions included the use of propaganda, subversion, and post-war planning.

The OSS was dissolved a month after the end of the war. Intelligence tasks were shortly later resumed and carried over by its successors, the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) and the independent Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

On December 14, 2016, the organization was collectively honored with a Congressional Gold Medal.

Notable Items In The Lot:
- Fixed Bale M1 McCord With Westinghouse Jump Liner: 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 with lot and lift number 680C, which indicates the approximate manufacture date of late 1943, just before the transition to swivel bales. To note, the shell is not configured for paratrooper use and may have been a replacement.

The liner is an original WWII issue M1 helmet "high pressure" liner, stamped with the Westinghouse Company logo, and is an original manufactured paratrooper liner. Many liners were "updated" after production to fill the need, but this example was that way from the start. The liner is complete with full suspension and sweatband, with the original open cup paratrooper chin strap missing. The liner is definitely a correct "high pressure" WWII issue, and stamped with a W for the Westinghouse Electric Co Manufactured in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This "high pressure" manufactured M-1 helmet liner is identified by an embossed "W" in the crown (which is still Westinghouse's logo to this day). Westinghouse was the largest M-1 helmet liner producer and had two production divisions; Micarta and Bryant Electric. The Micarta Division produced about 13,000,000 M-1 helmet liners and the Bryant Electric Division about 10,000,000. Westinghouse Electric Company started M-1 helmet liner delivery in May 1942. Westinghouse did have a contract to produce airborne liners and converted an unknown amount to airborne configuration. Westinghouse discontinued production around August 17, 1945 when the war ended.

This true M1 liner can be identified through the frontal eyelet hole. Other correct features include OD Green #3 cotton herringbone twill (HBT) cloth suspension liner. 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 tie string.

This way the wearer could adjust the fit. The original suspension is definitely aged and worn, with some tears. The sweatband is present but deteriorated slightly due to age and use. The paratrooper chin strap extensions are both complete with their cast steel buckles.

- Airborne Paratrooper Brown Leather Jump Boots - Service Used: The "Corcoran Style" Jump Boot was devised specifically for the airborne infantry; the most significant change from regular infantry boots were the lack of leggings which prevented the snagging of parachute risers. They were designed in 1941 and put into action for the 82nd Airborne. After training, the troopers were allowed to blouse their M42 Trousers into their boots, when before during training they needed to be over the boots for they were not paratroopers at the time. They saw action in Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. In 1945, they were replaced by the M43 Combat Boots, which came with major opposition from the paratroopers as the two buckles on the leggings could be snagged on the parachute risers and injure the trooper.

This is a nice service used pair of WWII Airborne Jump Boots, which definitely saw extensive service during the war, and possibly after. They are nicely broken in, and definitely show wear on the rubber soles and heel extensions. There is also extensive cracking and a bit of leather separation in the leather portion of the soles. They have the correct 12 eyelets and leather laces, as well as the correct construction. The tongues are in delicate condition with tearing.

Also included are various magazine pouches, web belts, suspension straps, personal hygiene kit, flask, canteen set and more. Please consult the images for all items included.

A fantastic lot that comes more than ready for further research and display!

Prior to the formation of the OSS, the various departments of the executive branch, including the State, Treasury, Navy, and War Departments, conducted American intelligence activities on an ad hoc basis, with no overall direction, coordination, or control. The US Army and US Navy had separate code-breaking departments: Signal Intelligence Service and OP-20-G. (A previous code-breaking operation of the State Department, the MI-8, run by Herbert Yardley, had been shut down in 1929 by Secretary of State Henry Stimson, deeming it an inappropriate function for the diplomatic arm, because "gentlemen don't read each other's mail.") The FBI was responsible for domestic security and anti-espionage operations.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was concerned about American intelligence deficiencies. On the suggestion of William Stephenson, the senior British intelligence officer in the western hemisphere, Roosevelt requested that William J. Donovan draft a plan for an intelligence service based on the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Special Operations Executive (SOE). Donovan envisioned a single agency responsible for foreign intelligence and special operations involving commandos, disinformation, partisan and guerrilla activities. Donovan worked closely with Australian-born British intelligence officer Charles Howard 'Dick' Ellis, who has been credited with writing the blueprint.

Said Ellis:

I was soon requested to draft a blueprint for an American intelligence agency, the equivalent of BSC [British Security Co-ordination] and based on these British wartime improvisations... detailed tables of organisation were disclosed to Washington... among these were the organisational tables that led to the birth of General William Donovans OSS.

After submitting his (and Ellis's) work, "Memorandum of Establishment of Service of Strategic Information", Donovan was appointed "Coordinator of Information" on July 11, 1941, heading the new organization known as the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI).

Ellis, described as Donovan's "right-hand man", "effectively ran the organization".

Ellis was sent from New York by William Stephenson "to Washington to open a sub-station to facilitate daily liaison with Donovan, who reciprocated by sending [future Director of Central Intelligence, DCI] Allen Welsh Dulles to liaise with BSC in the Rockefeller Center". According to Thomas F. Troy, paraphrasing Stephenson, Ellis 'was the tradecraft expert, the organization man, the one who furnished Bill Donovan with charts and memoranda on running an intelligence organization".

Donovan had responsibilities but no actual powers and the existing US agencies were skeptical if not hostile to the British. Until some months after Pearl Harbor, the bulk of OSS intelligence came from the UK. British Security Co-ordination (BSC), under the direction of Ellis, trained the first OSS agents in Canada, until training stations were set up in the US with guidance from BSC instructors, who also provided information on how the SOE was arranged and managed. The British immediately made available their short-wave broadcasting capabilities to Europe, Africa, and the Far East and provided equipment for agents until American production was established.

Writes Fink:

William Casey, who headed up OSS's Europe-based human-intelligence operations, the Secret Intelligence Branch, and went on to become director of the CIA, wrote in his autobiography, The Secret War Against Adolf H, that Ellis was not only writing blueprints but involved in on-the-ground, logistical programs: "Dick Ellis, [an] experienced British pro, helped establish training centres, mostly around Washington." United States Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle commented: "The really active head of the intelligence section in [William] Donovan's [OSS] group is [Ellis] ... in other words, [Stephenson's] assistant in the British intelligence [sic] is running Donovan's intelligence service."

The Office of Strategic Services was established by a Presidential military order issued by President Roosevelt on June 13, 1942, to collect and analyze strategic information required by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to conduct special operations not assigned to other agencies. During the war, the OSS supplied policymakers with facts and estimates, but the OSS never had jurisdiction over all foreign intelligence activities. The FBI was left responsible for intelligence work in Latin America, and the Army and Navy continued to develop and rely on their own sources of intelligence.