Courtesy photo
In honor of Memorial Day, the Salem Museum wants to highlight an important and interesting item from World War II in their collection.
An iconic part of United States military history is the M1 helmet, one of the most successful attempts by the U.S. at making an original combat helmet.
The M1 was introduced for use in World War II. It covered more of a soldier’s head and provided more protection than World War I’s M1917, a British designed helmet. The M1 was the first helmet to use two pieces- the iconic outer steel shell and an inner lighter-weight liner. They were approved for combat in 1941, and were used for many conflicts until 1985.
You can see this helmet on display this weekend as part of the Salem Museum’s Hands-On History display. For May and June items are from D-Day and World War II.
Join the Salem Museum for “Remembering D-Day” on June 8 from 10am-4pm. To commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, the 24th Virginia Infantry Living Historians will be on hand in uniform with an extensive collection of objects from D-Day and WWII.
The Salem Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and located at 801 E. Main St.
