Original WWI U.S. Identified 42nd "Rainbow" Division Uniform, Helmet, Gas Mask & Overseas Caps Grouping
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Original Items: One of a Kind Set. During World War I, the 42nd Division saw more combat on the front lines than any other division in the American Expeditionary Forces. This uniform grouping is named to a combat medic who fought with the 42nd Division in France.
This is a uniform, helmet, and gas mask grouping to E. R. Pearson, a private in the medical department of the division. The uniform jacket has a beautiful hand-embroidered 42nd Division “full rainbow” patch, US & medical collar discs, and two overseas chevrons, denoting 12-15 months overseas during the war, meaning the soldier was likely a replacement for the 42nd Division. The uniform is in good shape and has little mothing. The gas mask is a full example with the mask and canister still remaining. The helmet is a plain example with no painted insignia, with a full liner and partial broken chinstrap. The helmet has the initials “E.R.P.” written on the chinstrap. Also included are his two overseas caps, one lacking an insignia and the other with a US collar disc.
Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23”
Shoulder to shoulder: 13.5”
Chest width: 17.5"
Waist width:16.5"
Hip width: 21.5"
Front length: 29"
The 42nd Division
When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, and so officially entering World War I, it federalized the National Guard and formed their units into divisions to quickly build up an Army. In addition, Douglas MacArthur, then a major, suggested to William Abram Mann, the head of the Militia Bureau, that he form another division from the units of several states that were not assigned to divisions. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker approved the proposal, and recalled MacArthur saying that such an organization would "stretch over the whole country like a rainbow." On 1 August 1917, the War Department directed the formation of a composite National Guard division, comprising units from 26 states and the District of Columbia. As a result, the 42nd Division came to be known as the "Rainbow Division". The name stuck, and MacArthur was promoted to colonel and became the division's chief of staff, with Mann as its commander.
The 42nd Division was assembled in August 1917 at Camp Mills, New York, four months after the American entry into World War I. The 42nd arrived overseas to the Western Front of Belgium and France in November 1917, one of the first divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) to do so, under the command of Major General William A. Mann although he was soon to be replaced by Major General Charles T. Menoher, who remained in this position for the rest of the war. Colonel Douglas MacArthur was the division's chief of staff until he later went on to command the 84th Brigade of the division. The AEF was commanded by General John Joseph Pershing. After initially landing at St. Nazaire (France), the 42nd was temporarily located at Vaucouleurs, Lorraine (France), from 7 November – 7 December 1917, to preliminarily train before transferring to another training area between Lafauche and Rimaucourt. The day after Christmas, the 42nd, along with other divisions it had now linked up with, departed for another training area near Rolampont, Langres (France). French officers had been attached to the 42nd at Lafauche, Rimaucourt, and Rolampont as instructors in trench warfare who "...seemed, from Menoher and MacArthur's view, to think more highly of the Rainbow's performance than did Pershing and his Chaumont staff".
The M1917 Helmet
The M1917 was the US Army's first modern combat helmet, used from 1917 and during the 1920s, before being replaced by the M1917A1. The M1917A1 helmet was an updated version of the M1917 and initially used refurbished WW1 shells. The M1917 is a near identical version of the British Mk.I steel helmet, and it is important to note that when the US joined the Great War in 1917 they were initially issued with a supply of around 400,000 British made Mk.Is, before production began state side. The M1917 differed slightly in its lining detail, and exhibited US manufacture markings.
M1917 helmet liners typically show a paper label at the crown and the dome rivet head. The liner is set up as on the British versions, with an oilcloth band and net configuration, attached to a leather strap, riveted to the shell. The chinstrap is leather with a steel buckle.
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