Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. The 14th Engineers were, along with the 11th and 12th Engineers, the very first troops of the United States to arrive at the Front during World War I, and among the last to leave. They spent most of their service attached to the Sixth British Corps, who formed an unbreakable bond with these men from New England. The 14th Engineers first entered the fray on August 21st, 1917 in the Arras-Bapume Sector, building & repairing railways under heavy artillery fire.

This is a gorgeous M1917 Doughboy Camouflage painted helmet for the 14th Engineer Regiment, 1st Army. The exterior is painted with a gorgeous camouflage pattern of blue, yellow, and green. The front of the helmet is painted with the 1st Army Engineer insignia, with 14 painted in the A, indicated the 14th Light Railway Engineer Regiment. The regiment arrived in France on July 27th, 1917 and arrived at the front less than a month later. 

The shell is maker-marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads ZC46. The solid rivets and heat lot number indicate that this helmet shell was produced in the United States. The paint is in very good condition both inside and outside the helmet. Much of the original corked texture from the original paint can still be seen. The liner is intact, and still attached correctly to the chinstrap, which is also intact and supple. The oil cloth sweatband is in good shape, though as expected it is quite stiff now. The underlying netting is in great shape, with an intact tie string and paper tag. 

The 14th Engineers participated in the following engagements and sectors:
Arras-Bapaume sector, 21 August, 1917, - 20 March, 1918; 7 April – 20 May, 1918.
Somme defensive, 21 March – 6 April, 1918.
Aisne-Marne offensive, 2 August – 6 August, 1918.
Aisne-Marne sector, 7 August – 17 August, 1918.
Oise-Aisne offensive, 18 August – 10 September, 1918.
Meuse-Argonne offensive, 26 September – 11 November, 1918.

This helmet is named along the rim to Henry A. Kohler, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Kohler was inducted on April 25th, 1918, going overseas in August 1918 and participating in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. We have found a photograph of Kohler in a newspaper article which also states he was “in the thick of the fighting overseas and won warm commendation for his bravery.”

A great example of an authentic WWI "Doughboy" helmet from the First Army 14th Engineers, identified and with hand-painted camouflage, ready to display!

The First United States Army
First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army.[citation needed] It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korean War and the Vietnam war under some of the most famous and distinguished officers of the U.S. Army. It now serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command.

The First Army was established on 10 August 1918 as a field army when sufficient American military manpower had arrived on the Western Front during the final months of World War I. The large number of troops assigned to the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) required the activation of subordinate commands. To fill this need, First Army was the first of three field armies established under the AEF. The first commander was General John J. Pershing, who also served as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF. The headquarters planned and directed the first major American offensive, the St Mihiel Offensive (September 12 to 16, 1918). It later went on to fight in the largest and deadliest battle in the United States Army's history, the Meuse–Argonne offensive. Serving in its ranks throughout World War I were many figures who later played important roles in World War II. First Army, now under Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett, was inactivated on April 20th, 1919, five months after the Armistice with Germany which ended hostilities.

History of 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 steel buckle.