I picked this one up in a grouping last summer from a USN vet. He was stationed in the Aleutians as a Seabee and picked this helmet up while he was there. His son said that the helmet came from the Battle of Attu. I have two other helmets from Attu, and the color is nearly the same, a kind of brownish olive drab. US Army documents state that olive brown was the typical color of helmets used in this battle. Some were also painted white (a recent white relic helmet from Attu surfaced lately).

Named to Hanada. I recently received a very rare and interesting wartime commemorative book on the Battle of Attu, that lists the names of every soldier lost in the battle, with portraits of almost all of them. I hope to match a face to the name shortly.

The last picture shows the Navy vet’s helmet alongside the Attu helmet. I do not believe that he was in the battle, or even on Attu. But he was a store manager and no doubt did some trading. His son said the helmet came from Attu, and I have no reason not to believe that. As stated, I hope to find more information on the soldier soon.

The other named Attu helmet that I owned was used by a soldier with the surname of Higuchi. Unfortunately, there were five soldiers on Attu with that name. I have pictures of them all, along with particulars about where they were from, rank, etc. Interestingly, the entire unit hailed from Hokkaido, which makes sense since they were experienced winter troops.

Click to enlarge the picture