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M2 Parachutist's Helmet - Operation MARKET GARDEN

Side view of the M2 paratrooper helmet showing the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment winged boot combat marking — M2 steel paratrooper helmet recovered near the Nijmegen Bridge after Operation MARKET GARDEN.

Front view of the World War II M2 paratrooper helmet recovered near the Nijmegen Bridge — M2 steel paratrooper helmet recovered near the Nijmegen Bridge after Operation MARKET GARDEN.

This rare M2 steel helmet, used by American paratroopers during World War II, was recovered from the south end of the Nijmegen Bridge during the Market Garden combat operation in September 1944.

In the 1960s, Mr. Uijen, a former Dutch underground agent, presented the helmet as a gift to the 82d Airborne Division War Memorial Museum at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Mr. Uijen had joined with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment shortly after the parachute assault by the 82d Airborne Division on Nijmegen. He was able to provide the 508th valuable information during the first few days of the operation.

On the helmet is the combat marking of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a winged boot. The helmet was featured on the television program The Today Show in May 1963.

The helmet, along with many other historically significant artifacts, is on exhibit at the 82d Airborne Division War Memorial Museum at Fort Bragg.