WWI Helmet Returned to Wisconsin Family
United Press International
Mar 16, 2011
A 68-year-old Illinois man said his recent practice of using the Internet enabled him to track down the rightful owners of a World War I Army helmet.
Bob Baitinger of Joliet said he purchased the helmet, which has the name "Cpl. Edward S. DeNomie" on the metal brim, when he was in high school and recently decided to try to find the family of its original owner, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.
"I often wondered if [DeNomie] was still alive or who he was," said Baitinger, who had the helmet in a collection of military items.
DeNomie died in 1980, the Tribune said.
Baitinger did an online search and located the Madison, Wis., granddaughter of DeNomie, who he discovered had been profiled in "Way of the Warrior," a 2007 documentary about American Indians in World War I.
DeNomie's granddaughter, Patty Loew, said her family was overjoyed to receive the helmet from Baitinger.
"We are so grateful to him," Loew said. "To me, it all seems pretty serendipitous, as if all these loose threads were dangling out there, just waiting for Bob to pull them tight."
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