442nd Regimental Combat team helmet. USM1 helmet... Lot 2017

442nd Regimental Combat team helmet. USM1 helmet shell. Front snap fastener. Lot number illegible. Partially twisted snap ring. Mobile bridges. Original late-war chinstrap present but not mounted. Paintwork with cork in places, covered by another coat of lighter khaki paint. 442nd Regimental Combat Team insignia on right side, at 60%. Private grade on the front of the hull. Westinghouse high-pressure composite liner. Cuff present, with a few visible tears. Sweatband missing, as well as neck band. Brown leather chinstrap, well marked Care. Smooth khaki paint, obviously later. Helmet found at a flea market in Italy in 1982. Some wear and patina. Condition II+. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was a mixed unit of the United States Army, comprising the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 232nd Engineer Company, an anti-tank company and various support units, and was primarily made up of second-generation Japanese-American volunteers enlisted to demonstrate their loyalty and patriotism to their parents' adopted nation, as well as their families. Comprising some of the most highly decorated soldiers of the Second World War, the 100th Battalion was nicknamed the Purple Heart Battalion because of the military medal of the same name that every member of the battalion received in at least one instance. The 100th Nisei Battalion. On January 24, 1944, the 100th was in place to attack Monte Cassino, facing the elite German 1st Airborne Division, entrenched on the defensive Gustav Line after destroying bridges to halt the advance and vegetation to clear the firing range. There was also the torrential Rapido River to contend with, where for 200 m there was nothing but a field of mud and mines. After the Italian campaign, the unit was engaged in the Vosges, where Bruyères, a major road junction, had been holding out for almost 8 weeks against three of the most prestigious American divisions. To take the town, the 100/442nd Combat Regiment was asked to come over from Italy. In position on October 14, the 100/442nd RCT took the town on October 19 and 20, 1944, losing over 1,200 men. Having to rest, they learn that a Texan unit, the 141st RI, is surrounded by a numerically superior force. The 65th Infantry Regiment was tasked with relieving the 442nd's 2nd Battalion on December 13, 1944. The aim was to rescue a lost battalion encircled by the Germans. With great bravery and losses estimated at 863 men, the Japanese Americans of the 100/442 saved 211 Texans from annihilation. The 442nd no longer existed as a fighting unit, leaving only 275 men able to fight. They were sent to the Côte d'Azur for almost 6 months before returning to Italy for victory. With no more units to support, the 522nd Field Artillery then headed for Germany, where they were the first to arrive at the gates of the Dachau camp. After the end of the war in Europe, it was a triumphant return, and some continued to the end, joining their fellow Merrill's Marauders in combat and in the MIS in Burma. The 442nd RCT became the most decorated unit in U.S. Army history for a unit of its size and short operational career. The unit itself received seven Presidential Unit Commendations, five of which were awarded in the same month, at the Battle of Bruyères. Its other decorations, awarded to individual servicemen, include 21 Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Cross, 1 Distinguished Service Medal, 560 Silver Stars, 22 Legion of Merit Medal, 15 Soldier's Medal, 4000 Bronze Stars, 9486 Purple Hearts. Condition II+. 442nd Regimental Combat team helmet. USM1 helmet shell. Front snap fastener. Lot number illegible. Partially twisted snap ring. Mobile bridges. Original late-war chinstrap present but not mounted. Paintwork with cork in places, covered with another coat of lighter khaki paint. 442nd Regimental Combat Team insignia on right side, at 60%. Private grade on the front of the hull. Westinghouse high-pressure composite liner. Cuff present, with a few visible tears. Sweatband missing, as well as neck band. Brown leather chinstrap, well marked Care. Smooth khaki paint, obviously later. Helmet found at a flea market in Italy in 1982. Some wear and patina. Condition II+. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was a mixed unit of the United States Army, comprising the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, the 232nd Engineer Company