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The Helmet, Steel, M-1
The helmets we wore were as comfortable as anything that heavy can be. Unlike
German soldiers, whose first action when captured was to discard theirs in favor of a gray
field cap, even when still in danger zones, I never knew an American soldier in combat
who wanted to give his up.
Captain Jacobs lost his while landing in Normandy, when the truck he was on
capsized. He made it to the beach, which was still under occasional fire, and he said he
had never felt so naked in his life. He picked up one which had belonged to a battle
casualty, and put it on eagerly, even though it was painted with the ivy leaf insignia of
the 4th Division instead of the
of the 90th. Nor did he particularly care that it was a
private's helmet, with neither rank insignia nor white stripe on the back. It protected his
head.
He never got around to having it repainted until Doug Myers was promoted to
major. Doug gave Jake his old one with the captain's bars on it, and had the ivy leaf one
repainted: 90th insignia, major's leaf, aiming stake, red squares, and all. So far as I know,
he wore it until the end of the war.
131, (132 Blank)
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