Pacific Steel: The American Helmet of the PTO

Pacific Steel: The American Helmet of the PTO

A Helmet for the Far Side of the World During the Second World War, the Pacific Theater of Operation (PTO) covered a wide swath of the world. From the icy Aleutian islands to the steaming jungles of New Guinea, to the black sands of Iwo Jima.  The steel helmets the American fighting men of the Pacific would …

Blood and Ice- The forgotten story of the Christmas Battle

Blood and Ice- The forgotten story of the Christmas Battle

A Misunderstood Monument In Riga’s old town there stand an imposing monument. It’s called the Latviešu strēlnieki, or Lativan riflemen monument. It consists of three men wearing Tsarist era uniforms clutching rifles standing back to back. With resolute expressions they gaze outward. They stand as sentinels, one looking toward the Gulf of Riga the other two silently watching Latvia’s borderlands. The …

What's inside II, German Helmet Liners 1940-1945

What’s inside II, German Helmet Liners 1940-1945

War Brings Changes During any war the uniforms and equipment used by the military inevitably will go through changes. Certainly this was true of much of the equipment utilized by the German armed forces during WWII. These changes would  include helmet liners. Between 1940 and 1945 the German M31 helmet liner would see several modifications. Many of these changes …

An Imperial Killing, The Legend of the Romanov Murders

An Imperial Killing, The Legend of the Romanov Murders

A Worrisome Discovery On July 25th of 1918 the White Guard, a force made up of  a motely mixture of Russian monarchists, democrats, right-wing socialist, (all of them vehemently anti-communists) along with their allies The  Czech legion entered the Siberian city of Ekaterinburg. The men were exhausted after weeks of hard fighting to dislodge the well entrenched Bolshevik Red army. Yet they …

What's inside, German helmet liners 1920-1940

What’s inside, German helmet liners 1920-1940

  A New Liner for a New Era As the German Reichswehr slogged it’s way through the turbulence of the 1920s, supply issues were a constant concern. With the armistice of the Great War and subsequence treaty of Versailles, Germany had been forced to sell off or destroy much of it’s military equipment such as steel helmets. Immediately after the end of the …

Geronimo's helmet, a short history of the U.S. M2

Geronimo’s helmet, a short history of the U.S. M2

A New Helmet for a New Soldier The Second Word War was a war full of “firsts”. Many new tactics would be pioneered during the conflicts. Notable of these was the use of airborne paratroopers. As the U.S. army developed uniforms and equipment for their new airborne troops, one piece of equipment that would need a complete …