WW1 NAMED 3RD DIVISION PAINTED HELMET GAS MASK WWI

WW1 US 3rd Army named painted helmet and gas mask bag. The gas mask bag in purple ink is nicely inked "Sgt. 1st Class Frank A. Downes Co. B. - 5th F.S.B. (Field Signal Battalion) I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR" Also inked is three overseas stripes along with a third Army patch as well as a 3rd Division insignia. The bag is in excellent condition and size marked 3. The helmet likewise is in excellent condition, complete with liner and chinstrap with a lot number ZC 181. On the leather chinstrap are the initials F.A.D. (Sgt. 1st Class Frank A. Downes). To the front of the helmet is am expertly crafted 3rd Divisional insignia. History World War I The 3rd Division was activated 21 November 1917, seven months after the American entry into World War I, at Camp Greene, North Carolina. Eight months later, it saw combat for the first time in France on the Western Front. Order of battle Headquarters, 3rd Division 5th Infantry Brigade 4th Infantry Regiment 7th Infantry Regiment 8th Machine Gun Battalion 6th Infantry Brigade 30th Infantry Regiment 38th Infantry Regiment 9th Machine Gun Battalion 3rd Field Artillery Brigade 10th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) 18th Field Artillery Regiment (155 mm) 76th Field Artillery Regiment (75 mm) 3rd Trench Mortar Battery 7th Machine Gun Battalion 6th Engineer Regiment 5th Field Signal Battalion Headquarters Troop, 3rd Division 3rd Train Headquarters and Military Police 3rd Ammunition Train 3rd Supply Train 3rd Engineer Train 3rd Sanitary Train 5th, 7th, 26th, and 27th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals At midnight on 14 July 1918, the division earned lasting distinction. Engaged in the Aisne-Marne Offensive as a member of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) to Europe, the division was protecting the French capital of Paris with a position on the banks of the Marne River. The 7th Machine Gun Battalion of the 3rd Division rushed to Château-Thierry amid retreating French troops and held the Germans back at the Marne River. While surrounding units retreated, the 3rd Division, including the 4th, 30th and 38th Infantry Regiments, remained steadfast throughout the Second Battle of the Marne, and Colonel Ulysses G. McAlexander's dogged defense earned the 3rd Division its nickname as the "Rock of the Marne". During the massive attack, the 3rd Infantry Division's commanding officer, Major General Joseph T. Dickman, famously cried out "Nous Resterons La" (We Shall Remain Here). Their Blue and White insignia also earned them the nickname The Blue and White Devils." The rest of the division was absorbed under French command until brought back together under the command of Major General Joseph T. Dickman and by 15 July 1918 they took the brunt of what was to be the last German offensive of the war. General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, Commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of the AEF on the Western Front, called this stand "one of the most brilliant pages in the annals of military history". During the war two members of the division were awarded the Medal of Honor. Casualties during the war were 3,177 killed in action with 12,940 wounded.