Bring Uncle Pat's Helmet Back Home

Since I was a teen my grandfather regaled me with stories of his wartime experiences as well as those of those his brothers and sisters. My grandfather's oldest brother (Born in 1905) served early in the war and was wounded multiple times while serving in North Africa and Italy. Famously (in Massachusetts) he brought his shrapnel torn helmet back home in 1943 which he used to promote war bond donations.

My mother, uncles, aunts and cousins all remember seeing my great-uncles helmet in a family home in Webster, Massachusetts but nobody knows where it went after Ca. 1970. I'm an avid history buff with degrees in Archaeology and Historic Preservation and had a bucket list item of tracking down my great uncles helmet.

Luckily, a friend of mine (thanks btw!) alerted me to the sale on an online auction site of my relatives helmet that has been a family enigma for decades. Through a fate of luck I was able to get in contact with the buyer of Uncle Pat's helmet and now need $8,000 to buy it back for the family. Nobody knows how it left the family and this will be a touchstone piece for future generations of the family.

Uncle Pat was hit in the helmet (and head) by a piece of German shrapnel in 1943 and was later transported home and went on to raise $ for the war effort in Webster, MA. He never married or had children and sadly passed away in 1960. His death was related to the wounds he received in Italy in 1943.

His helmet was a talking point in my family for decades and I now the ability to purchase to bring it back to the family. Any donations above will go towards the Winooski VFW Post # 1767.