And speaking of Old Military Helmets....

Not a Helmet but my Grandfather's WWII Hat. His name was Morris Lincoln Gerst and he desperately wanted to serve in the Infantry during WWII but his eyesight kept him out. It took him 3 tries ( and drinking a lot of carrot juice) before he was accepted and when one of the officers found out he was an Attorney, he was sent over to Japan and was a JAG prosecuting our own boys who had gone wayward of the law. He was pissed off that he could not fight but he did his duty nonetheless. Another remarkable thing about my grandfather was that he was in the last group of folk ever accepted into the Arizona Bar Association to practice Law without graduating from Law School. He once showed me his note cards when I was bitching about having to study for my CPA and they were incredibly meticulous! He passed away over 16 years ago and I think of him often.

This is one of my most prized possesions:

nice story Marc, thanks for sharing it

I'd shadow box that thing. Find a copy of his DD-214, get replacement or if you have the originals of his awards and put that in a shadow box and hang it prominently.

InfantryYJ Wrote:

Now that's a treasure and and a great story. As for the DD214 I belive that most WWI - WWII - Korea - and Vietnam troups had copies of their DD214 copied and kept on file at the local courthose in their community :)

My Grand Father was a Marine Pilot during WWII. He was stationed in Cherry Point and few PBY's up and down the coast looking for german subs. When I was a kid I used to play "army man" in his hat and uniform. Now my dad has it proudly on display. I love to admire it!

FWIW - My Grandpa's brother (my great uncle) was a Navy Pilot and was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. He stayed in the Navy and eventually retired long after the war. I used to spend a few weeks out of the summer. sailing with him on his Hobie Cat down in Daytona Beach, FL and listening to his incredible stories.

Great men, I miss them.

They don't make them like they used to.....my generation included.

AzMarc - DD214 is the discharge papers. It lists time in service and awards.
NA - they still suggest to file your DD214 at the local courthouse. I filed mine at the courthouse of the place I was living at the time (Ft Cambell/Clarksville,TN). I've since moved to Alabama and haven't done it here. But my family knows it's on file in Clarksville and I have certified copies.

AzMarc Wrote:

B.D. Wrote:

We have a hat an Italian POW gave my father when he was a little boy during WWII. Some Italian prisoners were kept at a camp in North Carolina. Dad says they didn't even have a fence. Those guys were happy to be out of the war and had no ideas about doing anything but staying put and waiting it out.

My father-in-law had German POWs working on his farm in Roanoke during the war. He said they were great farmers and never once had any thoughts of escaping; just happy to be in Virginia for the duration of the war.

Maybe someone in your family will have a copy of the DD-214, I'd start there, otherwise, it would be a real pain to get a copy from DoD.

As to cleaning it up, nope, I wouldn't do it, that looks like a well worn cover you have there, a nicely used one. I'd box it as is. The only thing I would possibly do is take the green off the brass.

I agree, I wouldn't clean the hat. Keep its natural patina and the history that goes with it.

Marc, Get your Grandfathers name, rank, and service number and go to your state Archives & History and they will have a copy of the DDform 214

Marc, I know how you feel having something like that. My father
served WWII in submarines, and I have many of his old things.
I know they are hard to part with; but at some time, maybe not now
but possibly in the future, you may want to consider donating that
cover to a military museum of some type. They would probalby know
how to preserve something like that the way it needs to be for many
others to enjoy also. I had many items that I and my family donated
to the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack,NJ, both before and
after my dad passed away. Amoung the items donated was a battle
flag from the USS Sea Devil(SS400) which my dad served on. I cherished
that flag, even had it hanging on the wall in my bedroom when I was a kid.
Now however, many more people can enjoy seeing it. Below is a link to the
NJ Naval Museum site. Check it out. My dad was very involved in the NJ
Naval Museum. I remember being there the day in 1973 when the USS
Ling(SS297) was towed to its present site at the Museum.
http://www.njnm.com/subtour/index.html