83rd Division M1 Helmet and painted Liner
Very rare 83rd Infantry Division helmet identified to Alton J. Skelly. The 83rd never marked their helmets but only the liners. The helmet shell itself is a front seam fixed bail Schlueter with steel hardware. On the interior is the partial ASN (Laundry number) of S-7588 which matches to Alton Skelly’s Army Serial Number #33297588. The liner is a later war Capac with blackened A- Washers and is all complete. Painted on the front is the unit patch of the 83rd Infantry Division.
The helmet came out of a yard sale in Pennsylvania, and after finding Skelly's info it tied it in a little better that it would make sense since he was from Erie, Pennsylvania. It only has his partial ASN on the lid but the chances of someone pairing up a lid and a liner like this to make a 100% match I would say is almost impossible. I do think the liner was put with the helmet shell during the war. There's rust patterns that match perfectly on the liner and shell as well as where the scuffs are in the ASN that you can see the paint transfer to the liner.
