Original U.S. WWII Outstanding Painted 75th Infantry Division Front Seam Swivel Bale McCord M1 Helmet Shell Presented by Co. L, 290th Infantry to Lieutenant Victor Katen with “Kilroy Was Here” & Key From S.S. Brazil - Bronze Star Recipient
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Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an outstanding M1 helmet shell presented by the men of Company L, 290th Infantry Regiment, 75th Infantry Division, to their Lieutenant, Victor Katen, a Bronze Star Recipient, at the end of World War II. The front is painted with the large insignia of the 75th Infantry Division with 290th Infantry over and below it. The best piece of the decoration is to the right of the insignia, a depiction of “KILROY WAS HERE”, a fantastic bit of soldier culture that you never see painted on helmets during the period!
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 faintly stamped 841A, which indicates a 1944 manufacture date.
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). In late 1943, a set of bales which swiveled were introduced, which reduced the risk of breakage like the earlier fixed bales. This particular helmet is of the swivel bale variety, but the chinstrap is entirely gone and the bales are dented.
This helmet is a fine example and still retains all of its original WW2 parts and the shell has all original "corked" grain paint with front seam and swivel bails. The helmet is gorgeously painted and decorated with the travel diary of the unit. The top of the shell reads:
FROM:
Co “L”
To:
LT. KATEN
RHINE
CROSSING
Some of the larger inscriptions include OCCUPATION / ISERLOHN, ARDENNES, COLMAR, RHINELAND, RUHR POCKET, and NORMANY, this obviously being a misspelling of NORMANDY. Under the larger inscriptions are the smaller towns and locations traveled to during their time in each campaign.
Over the Kilroy depiction reads:
N.Y.C.
CAMP BRECKINRIDGE
USAT BRAZIL
This denotes the U.S. Army Transport ship “Brazil”, on which the men to Europe. What’s really interesting is that with the helmet is a large brass key labeled J642 with a tag attached reading:
(Written) 1ST LT. KATEN
DK. DEPT. RECREATION RM.
“C” DECK S.
(Written) K-4715
And on the other side:
MOORE
McCORMACK
LINES
N.Y.C.
S.S.
BRAZIL
This is the key to the recreation room the company used aboard the SS Brazil while traveling overseas. It is inscribed during the period with the name and laundry number of Katen, what a rarity!
The underside of the helmet shows a very faint laundry number to the side, B-365E, and under the front rim is a more recently painted laundry number, K-4715, his enlisted laundry number.
The helmet and key come with a printout of Katen’s obituary. He passed away on November 14th, 2014 at the age of 96. After World War II, Katen remained in the Army Reserve and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel! In a newspaper article, we found that he was commissioned at OCS at Camp Davis, NC, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge while overseas!
Victor Katen’s “Combat Diary” was compiled and uploaded online at this link.
This is a truly remarkable M1 helmet decorated and presented by a company of men to their Lieutenant who they respected so much. Ready to become a centerpiece of your M1 collection!
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