Original Item: Only One Available. This is an incredibly rare M1917 helmet that was issued to a United States Marine of the 2nd Battalion,5th Marine Corps Regiment during the Great War. This very nice example is complete with complete liner and complete chinstrap, and still has original period textured paint on the outer shell. Most notably the helmet features a P1917 EGA (Eagle Globe Anchor) cap badge. The hole for the badge is punched, not drilled. The front features a remarkable hand painted Indian head insignia inside of White Star on a Yellow Square, the unit insignia for ⅖. These helmets are routinely faked, but this is authentic to the period with period applied paint and EGA.

The shell is maker marked with a stamping on the underside of the rim that reads ZD 52. This maker marking indicates that this is a U.S. produced shell, which is further indicated by the solid rivets used to retain the chin strap bales.

The outer shell still has 95% or more of the original textured finish, with the interior finish a bit less due to rust and staining. There is some dirt and rust on the shell, which we left in place to preserve the patina.

The liner is correct to the helmet and 100% complete in the sense of the original user making a personal modification. To further add comfort to the helmet, the Marine cut a section of felt from a campaign hat and inserted it into the crown of the liner. Definitely adds a beautiful personal touch!

This is a wonderful and seldom seen piece of Marine Corps history. Comes ready to be proudly displayed! Semper Fi Marines.

Starting in boot camp, all Marines study the actions of those who have served before them. The history of the Marine Corps is a rich tapestry weaving together the contributions of all Marines. Over the past two centuries, certain aspects of the Corps’ history have taken on an almost legendary status. Below are examples of some of the stories, terms, and traditions that have come to be known as the “Lore of the Corps.”

According to Marine Corps tradition, German soldiers facing the Marines at Belleau Wood called them teufelhunden. These were the devil dogs of Bavarian folklore - vicious, ferocious, and tenacious. Shortly thereafter, a Marine recruiting poster depicted a dachshund, wearing an Iron Cross and a spiked helmet, fleeing an English bulldog wearing the eagle, globe and anchor.

A tradition was born. Although an “unofficial mascot,” the first bulldog to “serve” in the United States Marine Corps was King Bulwark. Renamed Jiggs, he was enlisted on 14 October 1922 for the “term of life.” Enlistment papers were signed by Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler. Although he began his career as a private, Jiggs was quickly promoted to the rank of sergeant major. His death at the age of four was mourned throughout the Corps. His body lay in a satin-lined casket in a hangar on Marine Corps Base Quantico until he was buried with military honors.

Other bulldogs followed in the tradition of Jiggs. From the 1930s through the early 1950s, the name of the bulldogs was changed to Smedley as a tribute to Major General Butler. In the late 1950s, the Marine Barracks in Washington became the new home for the Marine Corps’ bulldog. Chesty, named in honor of the legendary Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, Jr, made his first public appearance on 5 July 1957.

Today the tradition continues. The bulldog, tough, muscular and fearless, has come to epitomize the fighting spirit of the United States Marine Corps.

Battle of Belleau Wood
In June of 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria set in motion a series of events that would lead to the outbreak of World War I in August of that year. On one side were Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (commonly referred to as the Central Powers). On the other were Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan (commonly referred to as the Allied Powers). After three years of neutrality, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies in April of 1917.

Roughly a year after entering the war, the first major battle involving American troops took place in June of 1918 at Belleau Wood-- a 200-acre forest near the commune of Chateau-Thierry, France, approximately 53 miles northeast of Paris.

The Battle of Belleau Wood began on June 6, 1918, and would prove to be one of the most ferocious battles fought by American troops during the war. The 5th and 6th Marine Regiments, under the command of the U.S. Army's 2nd Division, were tasked with capturing Belleau Wood and clearing it of German soldiers.

To launch their assault on the forest, the Marines first had to cross a wheat field into oncoming German machine gun fire. Trying to cross the field proved to be an incredibly dangerous undertaking and over 1,000 Marines died on the first day of battle, more than the Corps had lost in its entire 143 year history up to that point.

After three weeks of brutal tree-to-tree fighting, including multiple charges on German machine gun nests with fixed bayonets and hand-to-hand combat, and after trading possession of the forest with the Germans six times, the Marines cleared Belleau Wood of the German Army entirely on June 26, at the cost of almost 2,000 Marines dead and almost 8,000 injured. The battle proved to be the end to the last major German offensive of the war, and less than six months later the war came to an end.

The Battle of Belleau Wood was a landmark event in Marine Corps history. Prior to the battle, the United States Marine Corps was a little known, unproven commodity. After three weeks of displaying the courage, determination, and win-at-all-costs attitude that has become synonymous with the Marine Corps in the years since, that all changed, and the Marines have since been known as--arguably--the most formidable fighting force in the world.

It was also here that the Marine Corps' "Devil Dog" nickname was supposedly born. As the story goes, German officers, in their battle reports, referred to the Marines as "Teufel Hunden" (German for "Devil Dogs") as a result of the ferocity with which the Marines fought, and the name stuck.

After the battle, the French Army renamed Belleau Wood in honor of the Marines, changing the name to "Bois de la Brigade de Marine"--"The Wood of the Marine Brigade." Furthermore, the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments received the Croix de Guerre, an award for distinction and heroism in combat with the enemy, three times during the First World War--the only regiments in the American Expeditionary Force to do so. As a result, The 5th and 6th Marine Regiments are authorized to wear the French fourragere,a military award that distinguishes military units as a whole and that is shaped like a braided cord, on their dress uniforms.

Belleau Wood was also the setting for two of the most famous quotes in Marine Corps history. On June 2, 1918, as the Marines were arriving at Belleau Wood to support the French Army, they found the French retreating. A French officer ordered the Marines to do the same. Captain Lloyd Williams, of the 5th Marine Regiment, refused to do so, replying, "Retreat, Hell! We just got here." Four days later, on June 6, First Sergeant Dan Daly is said to have rallied his men by yelling, "Come on you sons of b******! Do you want to live forever!" as they charged into battle.