Hello all, hopefully this is the appropriate area to ask, if not, Mods feel free to delete/move.   I have a basic party armband, "early" as understand, mixed-materal construction, leftover brown thread, maybe off a SA uniform or other Brown color party uniform? Anyway I was wondering what these stampings/markings on the inside of the armband mean/indicate?

Am discussing acquiring a helmet from a seller. I could see modern chin straps had been added. I would want it to stay on my head well. I asked for shots of chin strap retainers. Here's what I got. Obviously these have been on for a long while. are they original? If so, when did they change from the ones I know they used.  Here's the shot.   Here's a shot of a retainer on a helmet I own.  

Yep, that's what it is.     Steve 

Thank you Mr. Bushido. I was hoping you would look. It makes sense as the soldier whose family I got this from was in China during the war. Mark  

On the upper side, the names of the people gathered to inspire the soldiers on the battlefield are signed. There is not much information available from this. Based on the wording, it is highly likely that the unit were scheduled to be dispatched to the Chinese【=大陸】 front.   The lower side is also roughly the same. However, it can be seen that the soldier's name is "Hei-saku Sai-to【=齋藤 兵䇿】". It also contains national song lyrics【=君が代は…】 and slogans related to Shintoism【=神威遍耀】. The sign on the left seems to have been written by the mayor of Taira【=平市長】, a city that existed in Fukushima Prefecture at the time.  

Hi Colt, Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to sharing with you..   Best regards   Leigh 

One has to wonder if Sander's conscience got the best of him and why now all of sudden it mattered to him to come clean..   Thanks for adding this to the conversation Marshallj...   Whenever and wherever there is money to be made there will be cheaters, liars, swindlers and profiteers..   Be on guard folks and know what you are collecting..   Best regards   Leigh         

Nice.  Rich A. in Pa.

Ah what the heck, it  takes place in Spain right, Seville  LOL.   A performance of Carmen at the The Metropolitan Opera. in New York City.   Never knew this song had singing, just thought it was only instruments, nor it was sung in French, always thought it was in Spanish LOL    Les voici! Voici la quadrille! (Here they are, Here They Are, Here is the quadrille!) Here is the quadrille!  

Hello, My name is Colton Glenn, 31, I'm from Connecticut, USA you can call me "Colt" hence my username,. I've been interested in militaria/antiques and military history since I was child, stemming from learning about service history of my family. I've been collecting for years mostly WWII but also older and more modern era, both US and Foreign. I have long been a "lurker" on this forum/website and it's sister site the USMF, so I figured why not sigh up? I'm looking forward to share my collection with fellow members! 

Hi all. I have these flags and was looking for some translation please if possible. I don't know how they should be oriented but I believe I have the cotton facing forward. The silk one I took photos of both sides because I was not sure which was the front. Also, do they hang from the strings at the top? or do they hang like a U.S. flag normally on the side? thanks for any and all information. I've wondered for a long time what they said. Thanks Mark

Sadly fraud continues in the collecting of SS items. Recently the owner of BeVo Militaria, Sander van Wassenhore, publicly admitted to selling fake consigned SS items on his website. Sander claims to have not known these items were bad but others speculate that he was in on it from the start. He sold thousands of dollars worth of bogus high end tunics that fooled even experienced collectors. Google Bevo Militaria fraud to learn more.