The real USMC B2000 does not have a wire cutter (as mentioned) AND it is the only one that has the USMC EGA logo on the blade. When I bought mine in 2014 from Frank Trzaska, I asked him if he was keeping a record of all the ones he sold, so the collecting community would know who has them. He said he wasn't going to do that; respecting the privacy of his customers. I get that. I had several email conversations with Bill Porter, and he said he bought all 50 of the bayonets and was pretty sure that that was all there were.  I would not be surprised if Bill held l back several for his family and friends, and Frank may have done that too.  I think the value of these will rise quickly once someone writes a book with a complete review of the subject.  At this point, most collectors have no idea that these exist. Present company excepted. Marv This one has never been in the scabbard.

Hello all, I am the son of Dale Sandberg and (to anyone interested) regret to inform that he has passed away May 31st 2025 at the age of 85. Dad hasn't made knives for a while. He had cancer and was pretty much sick round the clock. He could function well enough to take pictures and fly drones but not well enough to continue in knife making. He passed early in the morning in his sleep and will be missed by family and friends.  I have acquired most of his correspondence with buyers literally all around the world. (Not bad for a knife that at one time he couldn't even really give away.) As time went though, dad gained some traction with his knives and the knife community. I know he was featured in Fighting Knives magazine and was in one or more "Knife makers bibles". He did some work at one point for Mr. Stone's (son or grandson) back in the 90's duplicating the WWII skull knuckle knife. It seems to me he did 25 or maybe 50 of them? I think that he cast handles on K bar blades supplied by Mr Stone. (Might have some of the details incorrect) I can't say for sure, but dad "thought" he  made around 2000 knives since the mid to late 80's. His very first ones DID NOT have knuckles, dates or serial numbers. As he continued making knives and branching into the knuckles, dad ran into a fellow that suggested for collector purposes he should date and put serial #'s on them. Dad did indeed take his advice, but DID NOT start with #1. He guessed how many he had made and started there. (I have a lot of his hand written forms and from what I have and what he's said, it seems like 40's may be the very first serial numbers.) If anyone claims to have a #1 serial number they are INCORRECT, there is no #1. (I will need to verify that over the next few weeks)  I have one of his very first knives which will say ,"1/186 CSC" on them which was the Oregon National Guard unit I was in from 1987-1990. You will find no dates or serial #'s on these. I moved to Indiana in 1996 and all that I am saying is from memory. As I get back to Indiana I will be going through his records to verify that what I've said is correct. If I'm NOT correct, I'm close.  THANKS to EVERYONE that has purchased my dad's knives over the years for military, police or collector.....it has meant a TON to dad to do it.  The family has taken his ashes and spread them up in the vicinity of Eight Dollar Mountain on a road he often would visit and take pictures. Dad will be missed. Dale Sandberg 4-10-1939 to 3-31-2025

Have to say, I find this thread very interesting, never knew about these helmets and there different variations. Look forward to more info you come up with!

Thank you, you seem quite knowledgeable on navy flight gear, do you know what flight suit they would have worn in 1944 to 1945?

Yes, a safe bet for an 1944-1945 Corsair pilot.  However, Hellcat and Corsair Navy and Marine aviators did not always have the need for oxygen, especially the fighters as many flights did not require an altitude over 10,000 feet.

I knew I had at least another.  This example I lean towards immediate post WWI manufactured in the CONUS and before the WD abolished all Shoulder Insignia usage with the exceptions of six in the interior.  Ross Ford cover those (6) in his excellent reference book on authorized and approved Shoulder Insignia of the AEF.  The 59th CA Regt was not among them.  Regardless, they did came up with their own insignia, had them made, and worn them.  Fortunately, being far enough away from the flag pole, had their WWI vintage Shoulder Insignia carry forth in locally made example while in the Philippines during the 20s and 30s.  However, this die-cut example of quality construction made of Melton Wool oozes a product made in the good ole' U.S. of A.  

Recently, I acquired a named WWII Bronze Star Medal from a vintage clothing store's eBay store. After careful research and piecing together multiple sources, I was able to confidently attribute this medal to Corporal Howard Baker of the 101st Airborne Division, a veteran who fought in some of the most pivotal campaigns of the Second World War. I would like to share my findings here to help keep this veteran's memory alive.   According to information found in HQ 101st Airborne Division GO 119 (June 25, 1945), Howard Baker was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service from June 6, 1944, to January 15, 1945. This period covers some of the most famous operations of the war: The D-Day landings in Normandy (June 6, 1944) Operation Market Garden in Holland (September 1944) The defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 to January 1945) Newspaper articles from the time confirm that Baker served with the 101st Airborne Division, and they published a detailed citation for the Bronze Star, highlighting his participation in these key battles. Additionally, GO 61 (June 1, 1945) indicates that Baker also received a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the fighting in Belgium at Bastogne on January 3rd.   The attribution was confirmed through several key pieces of evidence: WWII Army Enlistment Records from the National Archives showed only one Howard Baker from Alabama. The eBay listing came from a vintage clothing store based in Alexander City, Alabama, the same location listed as Baker’s birthplace on his draft card. The BIRLS Death File provided a birth date matching the draft card and an enlistment date matching the NARA enlistment record. The same eBay store also sold an unnamed Purple Heart medal on the same day, suggesting that the medals may have originally been grouped together. Family tree research on Ancestry revealed a match between the father’s name listed for Howard Baker and the name mentioned in the wartime newspaper articles. Unless there are lots of coincidences, I feel each of these independent pieces fits together to confirm the attribution of the medal to Corporal Howard Baker of the 101st Airborne Division.  

Another interesting detail to note is that helmets belonging to other regiments of the 82nd and 101st, are often repaired by brazing the original D loop back on or using replacement wire shaped to match the original D loop. Because the repairs still used a protruding D shape they were still known to break after repair.    Repairs on 507th M2 helmets appear to  be an attempt at improving the D loop problem. By using squared loops brazed on that sit higher inside of the helmet or replacement loops that allow flexibility (grenade rings, mess kit loops and even hardware from slings!), the repairs seem to have been done with a focus on improvement.    Interestingly enough all Normandy recovered 507th M2 helmets that I’ve seen, have been repaired. If anyone has come across an identified 507th M2 helmet with non repaired D loops I would be very interested in seeing it! It is also worth mentioning that to a lesser extent similar repairs are found on 508th helmets too.    This is only observational from my research and examination of original 507th helmets from the Normandy campaign. I only used helmets that had solid provenance and Identification with them and I excluded any examples with no provenance or questionable authenticity.  

This helps very much. Thanks man.

Thank you John, I was not aware of when the berries got added. Small but pretty in my opinion, I can see myself hunting for more USN wings. I’ve mis understood the sizing too, so it looks like I’ll have to see if I can find the 1.5” sized wing to complete a set.    Sadly USN stuff is not as common as the USAAF wings here though.