Original U.S. WWI Named 80th Division Painted M1917 Helmet with Liner & Chinstrap - Cook Lawrence Geist Shirk, Company D, 313th Machine Gun Battalion

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. There were very few American units of the First World War which painted their helmets before the end of the war. The 80th Division were one of these very few, painting their helmets with “flashes” akin to those used by British & Commonwealth soldiers, who utilized a variety of shapes & colors to signify their unit. This helmet was worn & painted by Cook Lawrence Geist Shirk, Company D, 313th Machine Gun Battalion, 80th Division. He painted the front of the helmet with the “Blue Ridge” insignia of the 80th Division, and on the left side with a spaced red circle around a blue triangle with a D inside, signifying Co. D, 313th MGB.

The underside of the rim is stamped ZC 228. The heat stamp and the solid rivets on the bales identifies this as an American made helmet. This example retains its original liner which is in fair but service-worn shape, and the original adjustment tag is still present under the dome rivet. The chinstrap is still fully intact and pliable as well. The liner is stamped Size 7⅛. On the chinstrap is written LAWRENCE G. SHIRK, which is how we were able to identify the helmet. The rim is also painted with his initials, L.G.S., in the same colors as the insignia.

Lawrence Geist Shirk was born in Blue Ball, Pennsylvania on January 23rd, 1896. He was inducted into the draft on April 29th, 1918. He was assigned to Co. C, 313th MGB on May 16th, 1918, and 10 days later he embarked for France on May 26th. On September 1st, 1918, he was made a cook. He saw heavy combat in the Artois Sector, Somme Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, returning to the U.S. on June 7th, 1919.

This is a great helmet worn by an identified soldier of the 313th Machine Gun Battalion, which saw heavy combat in the Artois Sector, Somme Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. A great helmet, ready for further research and display!

The 80th Division in the American Expeditionary Force
On 5 August 1917, the War Department directed the organization of the 80th Division at Camp Lee, Virginia. The division's units were intended to be made up of draftees from Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

The 317th Infantry included men from central and western Virginia; the 318th Infantry was made up mostly of men from the Shenandoah Valley and Tidewater areas; the 313th Machine Gun Battalion mostly had men from the Erie, Pennsylvania, area. These units comprised the 159th Infantry Brigade. The 318th Infantry were nicknamed the "squirrels" while training with the British in the Artois/Picardy section of France; the 1st Battalion was the "red squirrels," the 2nd Battalion was the "gray squirrels," and the 3rd Battalion was the "flying squirrels."

The 319th Infantry included men from the Allegheny County and Erie areas, and a few from eastern Ohio. The 320th Infantry had men from Pittsburgh; the 315th Machine Gun Battalion had men from Pittsburgh and Erie. These units combined to create the 160th Infantry Brigade.

Each infantry regiment in the 80th Division used a unique helmet marking; the 317th used a diamond, the 318th a square, the 319th a circle, and the 320th Infantry Regiment a bowl shape. The headquarters of each regiment divided their shape using three vertical stripes of red, white, and blue; the 1st battalion of each regiment used solid red, the 2nd battalion white, and the 3rd battalion blue. Each company painted their respective letter inside the shape. The machine gun company of each regiment divided their shape vertically in half in red and blue; the supply company divided their shape in red and white.

The 313th, 314th and 315th Field Artillery Regiments were composed of men almost exclusively from the state of West Virginia, and formed the 155th Field Artillery Brigade.

Serving with the division were the 314th Machine Gun Battalion (men from the Tidewater area) as well as the 305th Engineer Regiment (men from the area east and north of Pittsburgh); the 305th Trains (Ammunition, Engineer, Supply and Sanitary) were men from western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. The engineers were more often than not sent out ahead. During the rest period from 14 October through the Armistice, they finally were outfitted with U.S. Springfield and Browning automatic rifles. They had two weeks to train before the third and final push began in the Meuse-Argonne. It was also during this period that an attack formation was reorganized to allow for more maneuverability.

More on the M1917 "Doughboy" Helmet
The M1917 was the US Army's first modern combat helmet, used from 1917 and during the 1920s, before being replaced by the M1917A1. The M1917A1 helmet was an updated version of the M1917 and initially used refurbished WW1 shells.

The M1917 is a near identical version of the British Mk.I steel helmet, and it is important to note that when the US joined the Great War in 1917 they were initially issued with a supply of around 400,000 British made Mk.Is, before production began state side. The M1917 differed slightly in its lining detail, and exhibited US manufacture markings.

M1917 helmet liners typically show a paper label at the crown and the dome rivet head. The liner is set up as on the British versions, with an oilcloth band and net configuration, attached to a leather strap, riveted to the shell. The chinstrap is leather with steel buckle.