OUTSTANDING, One of a Kind Ramcke Brigade Paratrooper Grouping Including DD Camo Helmet-WOW! Where do we begin? Well, some provenance to start with. This grouping was once part of the collection of well know Canadian collector Doug Buhler. He purchased it from a well known collector in California who got it directly from the family of the paratrooper. We purchased it from Doug in 2016 and now it is time for some other lucky collector to enjoy it. For those of you not familiar with the Ramcke Parachute Brigade, it was a Luftwaffe paratroop (Fallschirmjäger) brigade which saw action in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. The brigade was formed in 1942 and sent to join the Afrika Korps in North Africa. Ramcke's unit fought during the Afrika Korps's assault towards the Suez Canal, fighting alongside the Italian 25th Infantry Division Bologna before British opposition solidified near the town of El Alamein. The British action resulted in the separation of the Brigade from German forces, and, lacking motorized transport, unable to move as fast as the battle lines. Taking heavy losses (about 450) fighting surrounded on all sides, they captured a British supply convoy carrying food and fuel, about which Ramcke later remarked the most welcome surprise was the tobacco and luxury goods. Using those trucks, about 600 survivors returned to German lines. The brigade was then engaged in the retreat into Tunisia. Ramcke was transferred back to Germany where he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, and command passed to Major Hans Kroh The remaining brigade was part of the capitulation of German Panzer Army Afrika in May 1943. This was an elite and well known brigade to say the least! This grouping includes the personal belongings of Alfred Forster. Everything in this grouping belonged to him. He was of course a member of the Ramcke Brigade. He was first a member of 7th Flieger Division. The helmet is inscribed 5R for Fallschirmjäger Regiment 5. It is also marked “102” which would have been his personal enlisted mans number. He served with the Ramcke Brigade in Tunisia. He was seriously wounded in North Africa and convalesced in Italy. After returning to battle, he was captured by the Russians and spent time in a POW camp, to be released in 1947. There are letters and telegrams included in the grouping that were cleared by British military censors. The other document that is included is a copy of the Paratroopers “Pictures of the Week” newsletter, dated 2 November 1941. A copy of his personal unit history (commemorative book), Kreta, Sieg der Kuhnsten, is included with some personal notations inside. Also included is his Luftwaffe paratroopers badge, an outstanding early example by C.E. Juncker. The case for the Luft paratrooper badge is included as well. No one is quite sure why there is an army paratrooper badge included in the grouping, but it is an incredible early aluminum example in mint condition and containing his initials on the reverse, AF. His Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge (missing the pin) is included. Two pieces of his insignia from when he was in the Hitler Youth, a shoulder strap and a district triangle. Are part of the grouping. There is a Luftwaffe chevron and enlisted style breast eagle too. The officer style bullion breast eagle is absolutely incredible! Same goes for the insanely rare bullion “Fallschirm-Division” cufftitle. This is incredible in itself. The cuff titles for Kreta and Afrika are also included. There is a section of EKII ribbon from his uniform. The last but certainly not least piece of cloth is a fantastic Luftwaffe Paratrooper Badge with beautiful gold flat wire highlights. Next up, his personal boot knife with engraved (in the handle) and colored ground assault badge along with a zinc panzer skull. His gravity knife is also personalized with a panzer skull and his initials, “AF”. This is by SMF and is in the first style with spike marked with a waffenamt and the number 5. That’s about it for this grouping. Oh yeah, wait, there is this little helmet we have here 😊 This is the crème de la crème of all paratrooper helmets, perhaps even of all of the Wehrmacht helmets. This is an early, double decal, tropical camouflage example that is named to Forster and as mentioned earlier, unit marked. This is as good as it gets! The tan camouflage finish has a wonderful patina and was intentionally applied a little bit lighter over the decals so they are still very visible. Inside, the Heisler produced brown leather liner is marked L.B.A.B. 38. It is still very soft and supple, with just the right amount of patina. Wow! It is a 57 and the shell is a 68. You can clearly see the hand written marking on the liner as mentioned earlier. The skirt of the helmet is where he wrote his name, very clearly visible, “Förster”. Also seen written in the skirt is “Eidin a H.”. The harness bolts are untouched. The harness is very clearly cut. Perhaps this was done when he was wounded as it was common to find these harnesses cut this way to aid removal in a timely fashion. The white buffer pads are a bit corroded and very stiff. This is not a bad thing lol. I could go on for days about this grouping and we will be sad to see it go. But this can easily be the shining star of any collection!