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Update May 3rd, 2008
Check out the latest additions to the Pricing and ordering page. I am now pleased to offer a highly detailed reproduction of the rare and famous 2nd pattern Hawley Fiber Liner with HBT suspension.
Without a doubt, the photos below represent what is easlily the single most historic helmet that I have ever had the pleasure and honor of producing in the ten years since I've been doing this. This helmet is shipping to Kuwait where it will be presented to the Officers and Soldiers of D Company 3/116th Infantry of the 29th Infantry Division; the same historic division that braved murderous German small arms, mortar and artillery fire when it stormed Omaha Beach on the morning of D-day, June 6th, 1944. This helmet will be presented in honor of their service during Operation Iraqi Freedom and will accompany them back home. The following is what will read on the plaque that will be with this helmet on permanent display in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the HQ of the 3/116th Inf:
2007- Task Force Normandy (Kuwait) -2008
Commemorative Omaha Beach Helmet, 29th Division 3rd /116th
Presented to:
The Officers and Soldiers of
D Co. 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division (Light)
By:
The Individual Augmentee (IA) sailors, in commemoration of their joint
service during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and their appreciation for the
opportunity to add their story to the illustrious history of the 29th.
From the Beach Head to the SPOD, "Lets Go!"
 
 
The Officers and Soldiers of this unit will never know how honored I am to be just a small part of their continuing story.
In the past several years of doing this, I have had literally hundreds upon hundreds of requests for information on how to correctly restore a WW2 M-1 helmet. I've been doing this now for approximately 10 years, longer than any other vendor, and the fruits of my labor have resulted in a worldwide reputation for personalized service that is second to none, as well as the most accurately reproduced helmet on the market. It has occurred to me that I have been giving away my talents and secrets for free. Being a staunch fan of capitalism and free enterprise in general, I am in the process of writing an e-book detailing the step by step restoration process for the do it yourselfer. This book will include a complete vendors list on where to obtain the correct color paint, full color photos, and a complete list of all materials and tools needed to do the job. I would love to continue to freely share the process via e-mail, but unfortunatley, that in itself is nearly an entire book in length. I anticipate this book being available on line thru this website by Spring 2008. In the mean time, if you need your helmet expertly restored, please feel free to call me.
COMING SOON: Custom, hand-painted leather unit patches for your A-2 leather flight jacket. These will be custom Lawdog original recreations of the famed painted leather insignia seen on WW2 vintage A-2 leather jackets. Available for purchase will be copies of famous bomber nose-art as well as Regimental parchute infantry insignia. These will be full sized recreations. The cost will be $45.00 per insignia plus shipping.
NEW ORDERING PROCEDURE: Using this link copy and save it to your "my documents" file as a WORD attachment. Complete the order form with a detailed description of the item(s) you need to order. Please be sure to fill in all of your correct shipping and contact information at the bottom of the form. Once you complete the form, e-mail it back to me at lawdog5311@hotmail.com. You will then receive a return e-mail with the price for the helmet or accessories with the shipping cost included. You will be given payment options: Pay Pal, Money Order, or Personal Check. International buyers must use Pay Pal. Following this link, and direct phone orders, are the only methods of processing your order at this time.
Have any re-enactment photos wearing one of my helmets?? I'd love to se them and post them in this section. Just e-mail them in jpg format to lawdog5311@hotmail.com
Dr. Natalie A., a Los Angeles based surgeon, wearing a Lawdog WW2 Steel Helmets fixed bale helmet with welded Major's rank during a memeorial parade thorugh the streets of Italy in March of 2008.
Jason Wolcott (left) of the WW2 Airborne Demonstration Team, getting his Jumpmaster Personal Inspection from 1st Sgt Richard Wolf prior to jumping at the New Orleans Airshow in October 2007. Jason wears a Lawdog WW2 Steel Helmets M2 fixed bale jump helmet as a tribute to his great-uncle who was KIA with the 508th PIR in WW2.
Here I am recently at the filming of the independent film, "A Company of Strangers". This photo was taken just before we boarded the C-47 for the night jump sequence. This turned out to be a picture perfect jump with an even more picture perfect landing
Randy Wells (right) and son. Randy wears a Lawdog WW2 Steel Helmets swivel bale and liner.
John Delmonte, an 82nd ABD pathfhinder-historian and re-enactor, wearing his new LDSH D-bale helmet. Thanks for the pic, John!
Our latest creation. This helmet was commissioned by a customer whose father commanded a WW2 USN bomb disposal detatchment on Utah beach on D-day. This hand-painted insignia depicts a cartoon stylized rabbit wearing a magicians topcoat and a sailors hat, and waving a magic wand as he commands a pair of scissors to assist in disarming a rather dejected looking bomb. The helmet itself is a late war front seam Schlueter with it's original wartime navy grey paint over the factory applied OD cork finish. This is a nice diversion from the usual spades, hearts and clubs that flood the market, and goes to show, that no insignia is too difficult for me to reproduce for you.
My Dad, Gary H Underhill Sr. This is a photo of my father who was a medic with Charlie Company of the 63rd Engineer Battalion Combat in Germany in the mid to late 1950's. In the background of the photo on the far left, you can see engineers of the 63rd EBC fitting a pontoon bridge over the Rhine River. I have an enlarged copy of the photo in the upper left, and you can see that the helmet he's wearing is a WW2 era front seam McCord with its original cork finish OD paint and the Korean War era T-1 chinstrap assembly. The medics Geneva cross in white is surgical tape.
APRIL 2006 : Lawdog WW2 Steel Helmets goes Hollywood!! Edelman Productions, in Association with the History Channel just wrapped up filming of the new Season Premier of Man, Moment, Machine near Lake Tahoe. This episode centers around General Patton and the Sherman tank, and the role it played in rescuing the beleagured men of the 101st Airborne Division who were surrounded at Bastogne, Belgium. Of course, you can ask any surviving member of the 101st who was there and get a sprited response as to whether they actually needed rescuing! I had the honor and privelege of playing one of the men of Easy Company along with members of the WW2 Research and Preservation Society's 2/506th PIR of the 101st Airborne. These are an outstanding group of men who portray Easy Company with scary accuracy. I also had the honor of consulting with the prop department regarding two key helmets: those belonging to the actors who portrayed General Patton and General McCauliffe.
Me, in one of "Easy's" fighting positions outside the Belgian town of Foy (AKA Alpine Meadows, Lake Tahoe, California) during the filming of Man, Moment, Machine for the History Channel.
The two actors who portrayed General Patton and General McCauliffe. Okay, so I know that Patton's helmet is missing its 3rd Army insignia, and McCauliffe's is missing his Brigadier General rank, but I put these two helmets together at the request of the film crew's prop department literally minutes before they went on camera.
Men of the 2/506th PIR Easy Company 101st Airborne Division take a moment to pose for a group photo 25 December 1944 (L to R standing: Me, Bacon, Howie, Paul. L to R kneeling: Sgt "Pops" Pitts, Lt Kline, Cpl "Junior", "Red" AKA "Hotpants")
Picture proof of the ultimate endorsement!!
I invite all of you who visit my site or those of you that have purchased form me in the past to visit the link below and post comments about my services or this website. Greendevils.com provides a reenactor vendor list where you can critique a vendors work. Your comments and suggestions will help me to provide better service and stay on top of the competition. I invite all comments, good or bad, so dont be shy, so long as your criticism is constructive in nature.
http://www.greendevils.com/greendevils/Consumer/default.asp
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