US WW2 M1 ‘5th Infantry Division’ front seam swivel bale helmet

Description

Late war USM1 swivle bale front seam helmet from the 5th Infantry Division. The 5th Infantry Divisional emblem ‘Red Diamond’ is painted along the front on both the liner and helmet. The exterior shows use with several areas of paint loss. Normal scuffs and scraps are present including wear around the rim. The photos in the slideshow show great detail in the paint structure. The helmet retains its original web straps with late zinc hardware. The helmet comes with its original liner, maker marked by CAPAC and is complete with all the interior suspension system. Chin strap is missing. A beautiful and Unique M1 helmet!

On 16 October 1939, the 5th Division was reactivated as part of the United States mobilization in response to the outbreak of World War II in Europe the previous month, being formed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, under the command of Brigadier General Campbell Hodges.

The following spring, in 1940, the division was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia and then temporarily to Louisiana for training exercises, before being transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison at the end of May 1940. That December the division relocated to Fort Custer, Michigan, from where it participated in the Tennessee maneuvers. The division went next to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas, in August 1941 for staging into both the Arkansas and Louisiana maneuvers before returning to Fort Custer that October. The division, under the command of Major General Cortlandt Parker from August, was stationed there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Germany declared war on the United States in December 1941, thus bringing the United States into the conflict. As the winter passed the division was brought up to strength and fully equipped for forward deployment into a war zone. During April 1942, the 5th Division received its overseas orders and departed the New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) at the end of the month for Iceland. The 5th Division debarked there in May 1942, where it replaced the British garrison on the island outpost along the Atlantic convoy routes and a year later was reorganized and re-designated as the 5th Infantry Division on 24 May 1943.